Irishman among rowers adrift in North Atlantic

Six sailors, one Irish and the others British, were adrift in a life raft in the North Atlantic after their rowing boat capsized, coastguards said last night.

Aodhán Kelly, 26, from Dublin, is the youngest crew member on board.

The crew of the Sara G, which is taking part in the Atlantic Odyssey challenge to row from Morocco in North Africa to Barbados in the Caribbean, were 27 days into their journey when the 36ft (11.1m) vessel overturned at 11am yesterday, about 520 miles (830km) from the finish.

Coastguards in Cornwall, co-ordinating the rescue with authorities in Martinique, said the crew were “safe and well” in the raft, which was lashed to the hull of their overturned boat.

The Nord Taipei, a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, was due to get to them at about 1am this morning.

A coastguard spokesman said: “The shore contact for the Sara G managed to get through to the crew of the boat via satellite phone and ascertained that the boat had capsized and they had abandoned to the life raft, which was tethered to the capsized vessel. All crew are said to be safe and well.”