Scary night but rower back on course for solo crossing

Shaun Quincey. Photo / Sarah Ivey

New Zealand rower Shaun Quincey, who is attempting to row across the Tasman, is back on track after going through what he called an "intensely scary night" that threatened his adventure.

The 25-year-old is looking to become only the second person to make the solo trip across the Tasman, after his father Colin Quincey rowed from New Zealand to Australia, a distance of more than 2200km, in 1977.

On Tuesday night, Shaun Quincey was almost forced to pull out after his boat, Tasman Trespasser 2, flipped twice as he went through heavy waters..

A distress signal was sent to the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre and on a notice on his website, Mr Quincey was said to have been knocked around "quite severely" by the capsizing.

Rescue and emergency services were on alert but after getting in touch with the rower, held back as Mr Quincey decided to "sit tight" in his cabin and wait until morning to assess the situation.

Yesterday, Mr Quincey put his supporters at ease when he posted on his website that he was okay.

"What an intensely scary night. Rolled numerous times last night [and] emergency signal was set off.

"I am okay and just got a big fright I think last night and have to move forward from there and be positive about finishing the journey," he said on tasmantrespasser.com.

The water ballast, several oars and other equipment were lost when the boat capsized. Late yesterday afternoon, another post revealed he was continuing with his expedition and was "fairly positive but also trying to get his head around the past 12 hours".

The incident comes after his water-making machine stopped working on Friday, leaving him with around 2.5 litres of fresh water a day for the remainder of his journey.

Dozens of comments of support were made on his website.

Barry Nolan said: "Keep up the effort. Don't you give in. Things like this are worth fighting for!"