Former British Marine Attempting to Become First Disabled Person to Row Solo Across the Atlantic

Yesterday I shared an update on Fedor Konyukhov’s attempt to row around the world via the Southern Ocean. Today, we’ll take a look at another inspirational rower who is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean. That is a monumental task to be sure, but each year a number of people row the Atlantic. What make’s Lee Spencer’s attempt so impressive is that he is attempting to become the first physically disabled person to make that journey solo.

Spencer is a former British marine who served three tours in Afghanistan. In 2014 however, he was in a car accident that cost him his right leg. He hasn’t let them slow him down too much however, and in 2016 he was part of a four-man team of rowers who crossed the Atlantic. The group consisted completely of injured veterans, and they managed to finish their row in 46 days, 6 hours, 49 minutes. Now, he’s hoping to make the same journey, this time completely on his own.

On his second ocean crossing Spencer set out from Gibraltar and is aiming to finish in Venezuela. He’s also hoping to set a new solo speed record in the process, completing that crossing in less than 96 days, 12 hours, and 45 minutes. The journey has gotten off to a bit of a rough start however, as not only as the former marine experienced bouts of seasickness, his rowboat is in need of repairs. Currently he is approaching the Canary Islands, where he plans on going ashore to perform some maintenance before embarking on the journey once again.

If successful, Spencer will row more than 3500 miles (5632 km) while crossing the Atlantic, which he is doing for charity. He is using this expedition to raise cash for the Royal Marines Charity and the Endeavour Fund. You can follow those efforts, as well as his herculean task of rowing the Atlantic, on his website and Facebook.

Tip of the hat to the team at Explorers Web for sharing Lee’s story.

Author
Recent Posts

Kraig Becker

Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.