A Scots sailor on a solo rowing trip across the North Atlantic said his “only option” was to call for help after being injured by a freak wave.
Niall Macdonald, 39, from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, was forced to call the coastguard and abandon his intrepid adventure on the NY2SY Solo North Atlantic Row on Friday.
The UK coastguard in turn notified their US counterparts and a rescue mission was initiated that involved him being picked up by the US Coastguard Cutter “Sailfish”.
Niall, who is sponsored by Dundee-based Alliance Trust, said: “At about 4pm on Friday afternoon, nine days into my row, I had just finished stowing my oars and was getting ready to get into the cabin to get some sleep when I was hit by a wave on the starboard beam that caused me to lose my balance and fall.
“This wave just caught me unawares and the boat seemed to just drop down straight off the back of it, instead of sliding down.
“This sudden jolt threw me into one of the oar storage stanchions where I hit my head and then I fell backwards into the footwell of the boat.
“It all happened very quickly and I knew instantly from the pain in my lower back that I was in trouble.
“I was in terrible pain and even the smallest movement was causing me to call out.
“It was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to continue rowing and that I may well have suffered a serious spinal injury. Given the circumstances, I felt that the only option was to call the coastguard and ask for help.”
Niall says he spent seven hours before the coastguard crew reached him and were able to take him off the boat and back to New York.
Tests showed he had only suffered a severe muscle spasm in his back and there was no spinal damage.
“Unfortunately, the coastguard were unable to retrieve my boat and she remains out there adrift on the Atlantic Ocean,” he added.