Man attempting to row across Atlantic gives up quest

BOSTON – A Scottish man seeking to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a rowboat has abandoned his 3,400-mile quest after being rescued 500 miles off Massachusetts.

The Coast Guard’s Boston office says Niall Macdonald triggered his emergency radio beacon about 12:30 a.m. Friday after his specialized ocean rower started taking on water during rough seas.

Macdonald abandoned the ship, boarded the vessels’ life raft and contacted officials in the United Kingdom by satellite phone.

A Dutch cargo ship, the Dolfijngracht, responded to a distress bulletin from authorities and located Macdonald around 5 a.m. The Coast Guard says Macdonald will be travelling with the ship to Canada.

Macdonald set off from Norfolk, Virginia, on May 23 and was trying to go to his hometown of Stornoway, on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis.