Galway Bay fm newsroom - One of the two Galway men attempting to break a world record for rowing across the Atlantic has been forced to abandon the attempt after becoming unwell.
Project Empower saw city-native Damian Browne and Fergus Farrell from Athenry set off from New York two weeks ago.
But Fergus had to be extracted on Sunday after 13 days at sea, after experiencing severe exhaustion.
Lifelong friends Damian and Fergus undertook the almost 5,000km journey from New York to Galway with the aim of breaking a pairs record set in 1896.
But their shared journey has now come to an end, after Fergus experienced severe exhaustion and failed to recover despite lots of rest.
After consultation with medical consultants and the US Coast Guard, it was decided that he should be extracted with all possible speed.
A commercial boat was diverted to their location and took Fergus onboard for treatment, before transporting him back to New York.
He arrived this morning and was transferred to hospital to undergo tests and assessment.
Damian says he's gutted that Gussy won't be with him for the rest of the journey, but has pledged that the project will continue as a solo journey.
The Renmore man previously rowed the Atlantic Ocean solo from the Canary Islands to Antigua.
He's made incredible progress over the past couple of days, with the boat clocking her best distance days since the expedition began.
This, he says, is in no small part due to the massive contribution Fergus made in getting them into the Gulf Stream.
Project Empower is in aid of four charity organisations - National Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Ability West, Madra and The Galway Simon Community.
The public can continue to sponsor every km of the 5,000km journey and full details are available at ProjectEmpower.ie.
