Champagne bottle plugs hole in boat after Marlin attack

A transatlantic rowing crew have been forced to patch up their boat with an empty champagne bottle and a broken oar after being attacked by a marlin.

The fish skewered the trio's vessel over New Year as the team were partway through the 3,000-mile challenge called the The World's Toughest Row.

The women, known as the Vibe the Wave team, said the marlin had put three holes in the boat.

Maddie Difazio-Wright, from Bath, said the ordeal was "utterly terrifying".

"I saw the fish coming at the boat and then we heard a crunch," she said.

"It happened so quickly and our training kicked in we tried to utilise what we had on board to save our journey."

She said they had a champagne bottle from Christmas Day and New Years Eve "so it was just instinct to use it to mend the hole".

"The poor marlin fish must have got a massive headache," she said.

"It went up around a metre into the boat and whacked their head."

All three women in the Vibe the Wave team started the race in December and are currently just under a month away from Antigua where it ends.

Before taking on the challenge, they had never rowed before and had never met each other.

"To be able to capture the attack on our GoPro camera was amazing - watching it back has been surreal," said Ms Difazio-Wright.

"The boat is still taking water on board from one of the holes.

"We are still on track thankfully and making good progress on our journey."