Third time still unlucky for cross-Channel rowing crew

It should have been third time lucky for a charity rowing team attempting to become the first to row from Big Ben to the Eiffel Tower and back.

The team's first attempt ended in disaster when their skiff was cut in half by a Thames Clipper passenger boat in 2009. Last year the 12 rowers had to be rescued when they ran into a gale in Herne Bay.

Their latest attempt ended yesterday because of bad weather after reaching Ramsgate.

The 12-man crew of the Reivers12 Cornish gig, made up of City workers, two architects, businessmen and a tree-house builder, is attempting to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Skipper Mike Hosie, 52, a chartered accountant, said: "There are only three weather windows a year. We are all hugely disappointed. We have been training since November but there is something quite compelling about this challenge and there is a real desire to have another go."