Nigel Rogoff, an amputee whose parents and brother live in Ross, was rescued off Lands End around 10.30 pm on Monday, June 23rd, after capsizing during his bid to circumnavigate Great Britain by Sea Kayak, to raise money for the British limbless ex-servicemen association. Nigel, and fellow-canoeist, Richard van Niekerk, were rescued by a yacht that, luckily, just happened to be in the vicinity. They were taken in to Falmouth, but undeterred, Nigel says he intends to continue with his challenge. His log of the trip explained how they left Mousehole at 7.15pm, making for Lands End "in good weather but against the tide." He continued: "The scenery was stunning and we were trying to put in a double shift to make up for continued lost time. We, I think, had taken our eye off the ball. "Lands End was not the place to be at 22.08 hours with a very strong tidal stream. But we were, and we were 'in my case', out on a limb! Out of my depth, and upside down. "Richard and I worked well together as we got sorted, I pumped like mad and hoped we would not be swept back onto breaking waves on rocks, lots of them, on a notorious unforgiving stretch of UK coastline. "We had an option of landing on 'Longships' Lighthouse Jetty but at 22.30 hours, with light almost gone in a big running swell, we decided to 'pull the pin' and I called Falmouth Coastguard. "At the same time, and purely by luck, the yacht Falbala, in transit from the Isle of Man via Milford Haven, was passing, using the tides as a sling-shot around Lands End. The skill of the skipper was not to be underestimated as he positioned himself to pull us out of the water. We cannot thank all the crew on board enough. "In hindsight, we have lessons to learn. After 1000 kilometres plus from London to Lands End, we have ticked a number of boxes. We feel we need to continue to judge every decision we face with the respect that the sea asks for. "Our spirits are high, Richard and I handled last night well considering a big slice of luck that just appeared in the dark at the most convenient moment. We understand that 'next time' we may not be so fortunate." Nigel Rogoff has a history of living 'close to the edge'. He came within a centimetre of losing his life when he did a 'skyjump', dressed as Father Christmas, into Aston Villa stadium during a half- time display at a Villa v Arsenal game in December 1998. Watched by 40,000 horrified football fans and millions of TV viewers, the experienced skydiver went off course and smashed into the Trinity Road stand before plunging 200ft to the ground. His legs, hips, pelvis and ribs were broken and he needed an astonishing 177 units of blood - almost the entire stock of Birmingham's blood bank. Later while living at Hildersley, Ross, he pursued a damages claim against the Ministry of Defence. Nigel made an astonishing recovery after the accident, he fell in love with and married his nurse, Sarah Collins, and the couple have twin sons, Oliver and Harry who were born in the county. The family now lives in South Africa Car-washing lorry stolen at Ross Spur
