A Fife submariner who is rowing across the Atlantic has faced waves as high as houses and encountered whales within feet of his tiny boat.
Matthew Harvey, 33, is part of a team of four from the Royal Navy taking part in the 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
They set sail in a 28ft row boat from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, on December 12 and expect to reach the finish line in Antigua and Barbuda mid-January.
On Hogmanay, just over half way through their voyage, the foursome known as HMS Oardacious, had climbed to sixth place of 35 teams.
Matthew and his team mates are rowing two hours on and two off in pairs, taking turns to sleep in tiny cabins at either end of their vessel.
crew member Hugo Mitchell-Heggs said in his blog: “We count ourselves lucky to have been challenged by a wide range of weather conditions typical of the North Atlantic this time of year, from 25 knot winds, waves taller than houses as well as yesterday’s frustratingly calm waters where every stroke felt like rowing through tar!
“Wildlife has been another special compound of this journey, meeting some of the native species.
“The dolphins were a huge boost, showing off their aerial acrobatics. We still have a pair of sea birds following us since the Canary Islands swooping across the deck and catching little critters in our wake, flying fish – Dylan got hit in the head by one of these, in fact we often find a few on deck after a night shift as they kamikaze themselves at us – and finally, our most recent visitors were a pod of whales, including a calf, who curiously came within a couple metres of the boat on Christmas Eve!
“Sadly we have also seen a significant amount of single use plastics floating past us – bottles, bags – even 900+ miles from nearest land.”
Royal Navy Rugby Union player Matthew, formerly of Kirkcaldy Rugby Club, is one of two Fifers taking part in the challenge.
Scots Guards officer John Ford, of Lochgelly, is part of the Atlantic Guardsman team.
HMS Oardacious hope to raise £100,0000 for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and Greenwich Hospital.
Their progress can be followed on the Yellow Bricks app and donations made through their Facebook page HMS Oardacious.
