A team of charity rowers that were mistaken for migrants by an MP have welcomed the blunder as it has helped to boost donations for their fundraiser.
The ROW4MND crew arrived at the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh on Friday, marking the end of the first leg of their bid to circumnavigate Britain.
Since departing from Land’s End in Cornwall on 25 July, the rowers have covered approximately 900 miles and burned some 450,000 calories, while battling sleep deprivation and physical exhaustion.
The have also faced a number of unexpected obstacles, including Storm Floris and being mistaken for a “migrant dinghy” by Norfolk MP Rupert Lowe while rowing up the east coast of England.
In a post on X on 7 August, Mr Lowe wrote “Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW”, alongside a grainy picture of the ocean rowing boat, before acknowledging his mistake in a post the following day.
The incident made headlines and boosted donations by upwards of £30,000 – including £1,000 from Mr Lowe himself.
The original route also took the crew north into the Irish Sea, but after rowing 100 miles strong headwinds forced them to return to Land’s End to start the row again, this time heading east along the English Channel.
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The ROW4MND team, consisting of Aaron Kneebone, Liz Wardley, Mike Bates and Matt Parker, is aiming to raise money for research into motor neurone disease (MND), with the first leg of their circumnavigation being the first of four epic rows over four years.
As they passed underneath Scotland’s famous bridge, the crew were welcomed by supporters, well-wishers and members of the MND community.
Mr Parker, co-founder of the ROW4MND project, said: “While we may have been fortunate in that the ‘migrants’ story made ROW4MND huge news, the media and public interest has now shifted from Rupert’s tweet to everyone wanting to talk to us about raising £57m.
“We couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.”
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Mr Bates, a former Royal Marine and British record holder for rowing solo across the Atlantic, said the row had “exceeded our wildest dreams” and he also thanked Mr Lowe for bringing it to the world’s attention.
“A huge amount of effort and detail goes into planning a challenge like this,” he said.
“Coastal rowing is very different to ocean rowing and we’ve encountered some of the most challenging conditions that any of us have faced – including in the Atlantic and Pacific.
“We’d like to thank Rupert Lowe MP for inadvertently bringing the eyes of the world onto our crew, which has opened the floodgates in terms of donations.
“Maybe he can lend a few further words of encouragement for the second leg next year.”
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Representatives from three charities involved in the project – the Motor Neurone Disease Association; the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation; and the Leeds Hospitals Charity – were among those welcoming the rowers to shore.
So far, the crew have raised more than £135,000.
Mr Parker said: “At the outset, we wanted to deliver two objectives: raising £57m to have a material impact on the search for a cure to MND; and building awareness about this cruel illness, which will affect one in 300 people over a lifetime.”
The crew plan complete the second half of their circumnavigation next year, before rowing from California to Hawaii in 2027, and from New York to London in 2028.
