The four British rowers aboard Monkey Fist have abandoned their 5,500-mile Indian Ocean record attempt after a rudder failure left the boat unable to steer off Madagascar.
Lara Vafiadis, Billy Taylor, Susannah Cass and Glyn Roberts had spent more than 64 days at sea, rowing 3,520 nautical miles from Carnarvon in Western Australia. About 1,050 nautical miles remained before their planned finish in Mombasa, Kenya.
The Brain Waves crew were attempting to become the first mixed crew to row unsupported from Australia to Africa. Vafiadis and Susannah Cass also hoped to become the first women to complete the crossing.
Seven Hours of Repairs
Monkey Fist’s rudder pin snapped overnight on 12–13 September. For approximately seven hours, the crew tried to repair the damage, but worsening sea conditions meant steering could not be restored.
“We tried every fix and every bodge, and nothing worked,” Vafiadis told BBC News.
The failure followed a capsize in late August, when a large wave rolled the 29ft ocean rowing boat. All four rowers escaped with minor injuries, but the impact damaged the battery system, flooded both cabins and tore away the daggerboard.
A daggerboard is a retractable fin fitted through the hull, helping the boat resist sideways movement. Losing it had already reduced the crew’s control; losing the rudder removed their ability to steer as heavier weather approached.
“Without a daggerboard and then without a rudder with some really, really big weather coming in for the next 10 days, it would have put us in a really dangerous situation,” Vafiadis said. “We would have just been constantly capsizing and it would have been incredibly dangerous.”
The crew contacted Madagascar Search and Rescue, which alerted ships in the area. After several hours stranded at sea, the rowers were taken aboard the oil tanker Hafnia Express for passage towards Cape Town.
“When I heard that rudder break... the whole team was just heartbroken and I think it will take a long time for us to get over it,” Vafiadis said.
Life at Sea
Monkey Fist left Carnarvon on 11 July. Its rowers worked continuously in staggered pairs, alternating two hours at the oars with two hours off. The planned non-stop crossing required them to carry their own supplies and manage repairs without specialist assistance.
The crew endured 40ft waves and once spent 30 hours sheltering behind a parachute anchor. Before the rudder broke, Vafiadis said the forecast suggested they could reach Kenya within 15 to 20 days. Friends and relatives had begun arranging journeys to meet them at the finish.
The expedition also supported marine research, collecting environmental data and sending live classroom updates via an onboard Starlink connection. At the beginning of the crossing, the crew reported more floating plastic than marine life; later encounters included dorado, orcas, breaching whales and a rare beaked-whale encounter.
Brain Waves is seeking to raise £500,000 for two charities dementia charity Race Against Dementia and Rock 2 Recovery, which supports veterans, emergency responders and their families. That campaign will continue despite the abandoned crossing.
Vafiadis said the rescue had left her uncertain about another attempt. “The experience of being rescued is a very difficult one so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do it again,” she said. “But we shall see.”
