Charlie Martell sent out a mayday call on Thursday morning after his boat was damaged by 50ft seas during a storm
A second British rower has been rescued from the Pacific Ocean after getting into difficulties during an attempt to row solo from Japan to America.
Charlie Martell, a Royal Engineer Commando serving with the Territorial Army, sent out a mayday call on Thursday morning after his boat was damaged by 50ft seas during a tropical storm.
He was plucked from the ocean about 700 miles off the coast of Japan at 9pm on Friday by a merchant vessel.
The MV Last Tycoon was on its way to Canada when it was alerted to Lieutenant Marshall's situation by the Japanese coastguard.
Lieutenant Martell, 41, from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, was able to speak to friends at home from the ship's bridge to tell them he was uninjured but exhausted.
Adrian Bell, a member of his support crew, said: "He was tired on being picked up, obviously, from having spent 36 hours or so in that emergency state without power on board.
"But he is uninjured and very grateful to be picked up and pleased to be alive."
Lieutenant Martell was the second British rower to be rescued from the Pacific Ocean on Friday.
Earlier Sarah Outen, 26, was picked up by the Japanese coastguard after her boat capsized and began taking on water when it was holed.
She had set off in April 2011 on a two-and-a-half year journey to circle the globe using only human power, cycling, rowing and kayaking more than 20,000 miles.
Lieutenant Martell left Choshi in Japan in an attempt to row solo and unsupported for 4,500 miles across the north Pacific, to San Franciso.
But his planned 130-day trip was hampered by the tropical storm Mawar.
On Thursday - 34 days into his feat - his boat Blossom was up-ended in 50ft waves, breaking a bulkhead and making it too dangerous to continue.
At 9am on Thursday he issued a mayday call which was picked up by Falmouth Coastguard and passed on to its counterpart in Japan.
The MV Last Tycoon will now attempt to recover Lieutenant Martell's rowing boat before taking him to Vancouver, where he is expected to arrive in 10 days.
A message from his support crew on his Pacific 2012 website read: "Pacific 2012 wants to thank the Japanese Coastguard for its effective and professional response in co-ordinating Charlie's rescue, and to Falmouth Coastguard in the UK for its rapid response to the initial EPIRB alert.
"We would also like to thank all those who have sent so many encouraging messages during the last 36 hours."
A message of support left on his website's twitter feed, from jameskenworthy, read: "In true commando style, he has not failed, but the boat."
Lieutenant Martell has previously rowed successfully across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat which earned two Guinness World Records.
The mine clearance expert hoped his newest challenge would set a further three records - the fastest crossing of the north Pacific, the first unsupported row across the Pacific, and the first solo Brito to make the crossing.
He was also raising funds for two charities, Give Them A Sporting Chance and Toe in the Water.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/09/british-rower-charlie-martell-rescued
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