Former Marine completes unsupported row across Atlantic, spending 119 days on his own at sea

Dave ‘Dinger’ Bell spent 119 days in the Atlantic Ocean

File: Dave ‘Dinger’ Bell’s journey was marked by several struggles, including a huge storm, jellyfish stings and his fear of open water (Twitter/Dave ‘Dinger’ Bell )

A former marine has successfully rowed across the Atlantic Ocean alone and unsupported, in what is believed to be one of the first such journeys.

Dave “Dinger” Bell spent 119 days travelling from New York to the UK, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. He reached Newlyn, Cornwall, on Sunday afternoon.

Photos shared on Twitter showed Mr Bell’s family and friends welcoming him home at Newlyn Harbour with fanfare.

The journey was marked by several struggles, including a huge storm, jellyfish stings and Mr Bell’s fear of open water. His team kept his followers informed with regular updates on social media.

His last hurdle, however, was to face heavy winds that made him change his destination from Falmouth to Newlyn.

“I didn’t want to finish in the Scillies — I wanted to make the mainland,” Mr Bell told BBC. “It was a race against time,” he said, describing his non-stop rowing for 40 hours in harsh weather off the Isles of Scilly.

For the last three miles, a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat was sent to guide him. “Dinger has gone from seeing nobody to starting to see people and having real conversations with people, albeit it shouting!” an update on Twitter read. “Incredibly, Dinger has not slept in 40 hours!”

“I’m never doing anything dangerous ever again,” Mr Bell told the BBC upon arrival.

Organisers said it had “been a nail-biting couple of days waiting for him to arrive”.

Mr Bell said his endeavours are to raise funds for two charities — the Special Boat Service Association and Rock 2 Recovery, UK.