Young rowers survive close scrape in epic race

Callum Brodie • Published 22 May 2009 12:00 0 Comments

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DISASTER struck for two young rowers halfway through their epic journey across the Indian Ocean when their small boat was thrown upside-down during a ferocious storm.

The terrifying ordeal took place in the early hours of Thursday morning as Jamie Facer-Childs, 21, from Maidenhead, and James Thysse, 22, battled through the choppy waters as they continued their attempt to become the youngest rowers to cross the vast ocean.

As huge waves began to smash against the tiny vessel 1,000 miles off the west coast of Australia the brave pair were forced to batten down the hatches and hope for the best, although it was not long before they had capsized and were faced with a race against time to turn the boat the right way up.

Roy Childs, the father of Jamie, revealed how he has been kept up to date with his son"s voyage via a satellite phone and was shocked to hear about the latest close scrape on the high seas.

He said: 'Fisherman in that part of the world have been saying that these are the worst storms they have seen for years. The two boys had capsized for seven minutes and were desperately hurling themselves against the side of the cabin in an attempt to get the boat to start turning right side up but it seemed that it did not want to move .

'It may be too early to laugh at this episode but Mother Nature chose her time carefully since one of the boys was in the process of using the bucket for ablutions. We need not imagine the rest but suffice to say that they probably have three days waiting for the storm to abate.'

The hardy youngsters have refused to be disheartened by their lucky escape, however, and with food running low the pair are still leading the pairs race with the finishing post in Mauritius firmly in sight.

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