Kayakers Mick Berwick, 51, and Patrick Winterton, 46, were hoping to row from the Butt of Lewis in Scotland to the capital of the Faroe Islands, Torshaven.

The trip should have taken three days but the duo became stranded on a remote Island and were forced to drink brackish water which made them sick.

High winds forced them to row through the night to another island, Sule Skerry, but Mick said he saw his companion vomiting continuously and feared for the worst.

"There was a lot of low pressure around so we decided to do a night paddle to the next island Sule Skerry which is 45 miles due east of North Ronay," said Mick.

"We set off at about 9.15 on Sunday evening and we had been drinking water from Ronay and Patrick became really sick. We had both been feeling a bit iffy but Patrick was particularly bad.

"At about 2.30am Patrick became really ill and I was also feeling a bit under the weather.

"Patrick got very cold at this stage and we had to make a decision on what we were going to do," he said.
Sule Skerry is notorious for its rocky shores and mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as the most remote lighthouse in Britain when the beacon was manned.

Unfortunately for the adventurers there is no jetty and the force-six winds would make it impossible to land and seek refuge.

"We decided to head south to Cape Wrath and were still about 42 miles from the mainland," said Mick, who lives in Sutton Coalfield.

"When dawn broke Patrick was a bit better but he could only paddle using his shoulders because of a hernia problem.

"Unfortunately the wind was coming from the west and backing south-westerley and we were only moving at 1.5mph.

"We had been paddling for fifteen hours and we were down to 1.5 litres of water, the tide was due to change by midday and we would have to paddle against the wind and tide.

"We called Stornaway coast guard on the sat-phone and told them where we were.

"Five minutes after a Nimrod that was on a training mission from RAF Kinloss flew over us.

"They relayed a message to us that the Lochinver lifeboat was coming to us but it would take 1-2 hours.

"The Nimrod circled overhead and it was nice to know they were there.

"We were getting weaker to be honest and at about 1pm we could see the lifeboat coming towards us.

They managed to clip a line on the front of my boat first and I just felt these two strong pair of arms heave me onto their deck,"

A spokesman for the crew of the Nimrod said they were able to help the coastguard find the tiny kayakers in the two-metre swell.

"The Nimrod crew used their electronics to pinpoint the kayaker's position very accurately," he said.

"I know they did tremendously well but I think it was a bridge too far."

The pair's kayak was only built weeks ago by Holyhead boat-builder Mike Webb, specifically for the record-breaking challenge. Mike who owns Rockpool Kayaks said the sea-kayak had been designed and customised for long distance trips.