The Seagals on board Go Commando off the Scottish coast.

by Graham Tutthill

Dover rower Laura Thomasson and her colleagues had a lucky escape when two huge ships headed towards them in the middle of the night.

The girls are taking part in the Virgin GB Row Challenge, attempting to become the first all-female team to row around Britain.

They are currently off the east coast of England heading towards Norfolk.

Laura was rowing with Angela Madsen when they called up the Coastguard to say one ship was heading in their direction. The ship changed course.

Shortly after that, there was another big ship headed toward them. They again called the Coastguard who contacted the ship.

That ship’s captain had some difficulty understanding what the Coastguard was saying. He said he could not see the girls' boat, called Go Commando, and kept on a collision course.

Angela fired a flare gun and then heard the ship’s captain tell the Coastguard he had seen the flare and were changing course.

Angela said it was the closest call with a big ship in all of her days at sea in three ocean crossings.

When Angela shot the flare gun, it had a big kick, which cut her hand, broke her left index finger and other bones in her hand.

The girls hope to cross the finishing line of the race at Tower Bridge, London, on Tuesday.

They have been battered by winds and waves, been forced to anchor for days at a time, and they've even had fishing boats steer directly at them, but now the end - and the £15,000 first prize - is in sight.

They are currently off the east coast of England, and heading towards Tower Bridge in London where the Virgin GB Row Challenge began and ends.

Laura, 24, who lives at Kingsdown, is a member of Dover Rowing Club and a Royal Navy nurse.

She and Angela are with Belinda Clark, 34, from Bristol, and Beverley Ashton, 29, from Oxfordshire.

They set out on June 1 on the 2,010-mile voyage. They had hoped to break the previous world record of 26 days, but conditions made that impossible.

As well as the prize money, the girls, known as The Seagals, will also receive the Virgin Trophy if they can finish the race.

Former Dover Grammar School girl Laura and her team, with their boat Go Commando, are raising money for the Help for Heroes charity.

The men's team, called the Misfits, withdrew from the race on June 13, after having to accept assistance from a lifeboat, which breached the rules of the race. The Seagals were leading by more than 80 miles at the time.

Further information can be found on their website at www.seagals.co.uk

Follow their progress on http://www.gbrowchallenge.com/index.php