SCOTTISH adventurer Mark Beaumont and his crew have fallen behind in their world record attempt to row across the Atlantic in 30 days.
Beaumont, from Perthshire, says heavy seas and poor winds meant the last couple of days have been the slowest yet for the team on the 36ft Sara G.
The 29-year-old also said low power supplies meant that they had been forced to ration water and rehydrated food supplies.
The group are rowing in teams of three, in shifts of two hours on and two hours off, in a bid to break the 33-day record for the 3000-mile trip.
In his blog Beaumont wrote: "With little help from the wind and increasing temperatures, it's been another tough week for the crew who have until now still kept neck and neck with the world record.
"However, the last couple of days have been some of the slowest yet with heavy seas, poor swell and hardly any wind, which has meant losing 10-15 knots a day on the record.
"In addition to this, they came into cloud cover which, along with the lack of wind, meant they were taking in very little power on the boat.
"The most important equipment the batteries power are the auto helm which controls Sara G's direction and the water-maker. They are both big drains on energy but with no sun and little wind to feed the batteries, the crew had to start water rationing and for 24 hours were on one-and-a-half litres of water each for drinking and rehydrating food.
"There was a noticeable physical effect on the pulling power of the team from dehydration and lack of food."
He added power supplies have since picked up, allowing the crew to take in more water.
The adventurer's latest tweet suggested the team was beginning to pick up speed again, but struggling with direction.
He wrote: "2489 miles completed by 8am today. Good speed but looks like crew fighting to hold their direction."
The team began the challenge – considered the toughest ultra endurance event in the world – on January 2.
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