December 2015 – Canary Islands
On the 20th of December 2015, less than 2 years after losing his leg, Lee Spencer along with 3 other disabled veterans, set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, aiming to be the Worlds first all amputee crew to row unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean. The crew of four only had three legs between them.
Skippered by Cale Royce MBE, the four veterans encountered whales, dolphins and the strongest January Hurricane for 61 years, Hurricane Alex. Halfway across, they were warned of the impending storm by a text on their satellite phone that read simply, “Hurricane coming. Row south.” Two days later, the hurricane hit. They prepared their boat, battened down the hatches, deployed their emergency para anchor and then rode out the storm.
Then 46 days, 6 hours and forty-nine minutes after they left La Gomera, they rowed into English Harbour, Antigua and into the record books as the World’s first physically disabled crew of four to row any ocean.