DIY adventurer’s epic bid to row the Atlantic
52-year-old set to row more than 3,000 miles in boat he made in garden
A former lifeboat volunteer is set to row more than 3,000 miles across the Atlantic - in a boat he built in his garden shed.
Duncan Hutchison, 52, is getting ready to embark on the trip from New York, to his home village of Lochinver, Sutherland, on Sunday.
The dad of three, who served as a lifeboat volunteer for 20 years, spent more than two years building the boat and says he is “looking forward” to the epic feat.
The self-built 23ft boat has been constructed from marine plywood costing Duncan more than £10,000 of his own money.
Duncan flew to New York on Friday and is preparing to start the journey, which is raising money for Water Aid, on Sunday. So far he has raised £6,000. The solo navigation is expected to take 100 days and will see Duncan operate a two hours on, two hours off rota with the aim of rowing for 12 hours each day.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it. I’m feeling fit and have been preparing for this for the best part of two to three years. Really, I just want to get going.”
Earlier in the week, he faced a nervy wait to discover if his DIY boat would arrive on time in the States.
A hold up with the container ship carrying the boat in France almost saw the charity challenge delayed.
The rope access technician says he designed and built the boat based on his design on a four-man racing skiff hull design.
Duncan was inspired by his daughter Franci who spent a year in Malawi working with street children at a rehabilitation centre.
She saw first-hand some of the work of Wateraid and Duncan now hopes to raise £50,000 to aid the charity.
He added: “We take clean water for granted and I thought it would be really good to do it for Wateraid. None of this would be possible without the continued support from everyone and especially my understanding family.”
Duncan said his quest started more than three years ago after getting involved with the local skiff club.
Just 15 people before him have managed to successfully complete a west to east solo Atlantic row in the last 50 years. And until 2012, when the twelfth brave adventurer completed the trip, more people had walked on the surface of the moon than crossed the Atlantic west to east.
Most adventurers go east to west because of better rowing conditions. But Duncan is taking on the challenge back to front, which will see him encounter some of the strongest and most dangerous tides in the world.