Fundraising rowers MP mistook for migrants complete first leg of journey

Charity rowers mistaken for migrants by an MP have finished the first leg of their Britain circumnavigation, reaching the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh.

The Row4MND crew rowed around 900 miles since leaving Land’s End on 25 July, burning 450,000 calories while battling sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

They are raising money for Leeds Hospitals Charity, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a group of progressive neurological conditions that damage the motor neurons – the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement – leading to muscle weakness and wasting.

The team faced setbacks including Storm Floris and being misidentified as a “migrant dinghy” by Norfolk MP Rupert Lowe while off England’s east coast.

The incident drew international attention and boosted donations by more than £30,000, including £1,000 from Mr Lowe himself.

The four rowers – Aaron Kneebone, Liz Wardley, Mike Bates and Matt Parker – first set out into the Irish Sea but turned back after 100 miles due to strong headwinds. They restarted eastwards along the English Channel.

This leg is the first of four annual rows planned to raise money for MND research.

Matt Parker, co-founder of Row4MND, said: “While we may have been fortunate in that the ‘migrants’ story made Row4MND huge news, the media and public interest has now shifted from Rupert’s tweet to everyone wanting to talk to us about raising £57m.”

He added that supportive donation messages helped them through “tough” times.

“We couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.”

Mike Bates, a former Royal Marine and British record holder for rowing solo across the Atlantic, said the row had “exceeded our wildest dreams.”

He said: “A huge amount of effort and detail goes into planning a challenge like this.

“Coastal rowing is very different to ocean rowing and we’ve encountered some of the most challenging conditions that any of us have faced – including in the Atlantic and Pacific.

“We’d like to thank Rupert Lowe MP for inadvertently bringing the eyes of the world onto our crew, which has opened the floodgates in terms of donations.

“Maybe he can lend a few further words of encouragement for the second leg next year.”

So far, the team has raised more than £135,000.

They plan to complete the second half of their UK circumnavigation next year, followed by rows from California to Hawaii in 2027 and New York to London in 2028.