DUBAI CHARM

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Tanker picked up distressed rowers

The Dubai Charm had picked up the rowers Ashley Wilson and James Ketchell on July 8, 2015, at 1.20 p.m. WST about 175km west of Kalbarri. A plane from the WA Police Air Wing helped locate the pair. One of the men, who had suffered a head injury, had undergone a medical assessment and been cleared of serious injury. The two men were taken to the nearest accessible port, Geraldton or Fremantle. The oil tanker did not pick up the stricken boat. The rowers were making a second attempt to set a world record rowing trip from Geraldton, WA, to Mauritius when they ran into trouble again. The pair had contacted friends in the UK via satellite phone in the morning after their boat rolled several times in strong winds and high seas. One of the men suffered a head injury and equipment was also lost in the incident. The friends alerted UK authorities who contacted AMSA about 8 a.m. The AMSA contacted the pair by satellite phone and instructed the men to activate their EPIRB. An ambulance chopper was dispatched to Kalbarri to provide air transport to hospital if needed. The duo embarked on July 2 from Geraldton. Earlier in May, they had to abandon a first attempt after equipment failure meant they would be unable to keep a log of their journey. They were towed to shore by a fishing boat only a day after they left Geraldton. The rowers were attempting to row to become the fastest pair to make the crossing to Mauritius by completing their journey in less than 85 days. The trip was raising money for the Young Epilepsy, ELIFAR Foundation, and the Scout Association. Mr Wilson has epilepsy but got it managed by medication. He is also a cancer survivor. Mr Ketchell, a full-time adventurer, rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 2010, climbed Mount Everest in 2011 and in 2013 cycled about 29,000km across 20 countries. He was acting as Mr Wilson’s carer for the duration of the trip, and monitoring his condition, with a specialist doctor in the UK on call 24 hours a day in case of emergency. The pair was travelling in a custom-built carbon fibre boat measuring 6 meters in length and weighing 700 kg.