Rowing Marine makes brief pit-stop in Canaries

The Rowing Marine, Lee Spencer, has arrived in the Canary Islands this morning after suffering illness and technical problems just days into his attempt to row solo across the Atlantic.

Mr Spencer took the decision to carry out a brief stop in the Canary Islands after encountering problems with his AIS navigation system, which alerts him to the position of vessels and lets ships know he is there too.

“The navigation system is down - no AIS, no GPS,” his spokeswoman said.

“If he was further into the ocean he'd battle on but being so close to the Canaries he's going to do the right thing and have it fixed.”

A boat was on standby to shadow him into harbour as the wind was so strong he could not get in without its guidance.

Mr Spencer hopes to only be in Gran Canaria for no more than three or four days, depending on how serious the problem is with his AIS equipment and how long it takes to fix.