Rowing: Gritty challengers go it alone

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

London businesswoman Debra Veal has been ditched by her husband in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - but she is determined to carry on alone, all the way to Barbados.

Andrew and Debra Veal were the only husband-and-wife team in the transatlantic challenge - until Andrew, a management consultant, was picked up from their Troika Transatlantic boat on Sunday, suffering from exhaustion.

Rather than join her husband on the rescue boat and set their rowboat on fire, Debra Veal has decided to go it alone for the rest of the 2256-mile journey.

"This is the first time I have ever been completely alone in my whole life - so far so good," she said yesterday.

Since the start of the race in Tenerife 16 days ago, Andrew Veal had been fighting sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

Last week, the couple attempted to phone the race record-holder, New Zealander Rob Hamill, for advice, but Hamill was in transit when they called.

Debra Veal says she has loved every moment of the race so far and is determined to finish it, even though her husband wanted her to retire too.

She is constantly clipped to a safety harness while rowing and resting, and Andrew will stay at sea to check on her from a support yacht.

Another competitor has been left to row singlehanded after his partner withdrew.

Dominic Biggs, a journalist with the South China Morning Post, was taken off the Star Challenger at the weekend, leaving Jonathan Gornall, chief sub-editor of the Times in London, holding the oars.

The two New Zealand crews in the race continue to push forward near the front of the 35-boat fleet.

Policemen Steve Westlake and Matt Goodman were yesterday 43km behind the Australian leaders, despite conflicting reports that the New Zealanders had the race lead.

Confusion in the position polling put the New Zealand men ahead late last week, when they were still trailing the Australians on Freedom.

The women's crew, Steph Brown and Jude Ellis, have taken a 32km jump on the Win Belgium duo to grab third spot.

In an unusual coincidence, the New Zealand women found themselves within spying sight of the Belgians two nights ago, after a fortnight at sea.

In what was defined as a moment "rarer than finding a needle in a haystack," the New Zealanders saw the Belgians' mast light behind them. Tactically, they left their light off and did not contact the boat.