THE wife of one of the Dorset men rowing the Atlantic got a nasty taste of what her husband is going through - when she damaged her back on a rowing machine.

Jane Fooks, of Portland, was able to be treated by a chiropractor when her back seized up after a session on the ergometer.

For husband Gary, 40, however, such luxuries are out of reach. He and fellow adventurer Dominic Marsh, 37, of Radipole, are hundreds of miles from land in the middle of the Atlantic.

The two friends are competing in the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge, a 3,000-mile rowing race from Tenerife to Barbados.

They have each been rowing for 12 hours every day and have had no contact with land since leaving on October 7. Race organisers predict their arrival for December 12.

Jane said: "When Gary went, I started rowing, just 10 to 30 minutes a time on the machine. But I went to work one day and I couldn't sit down or stand up. My body just gave up. That'll teach me!"

Jane's thoughts quickly turned to what Gary might be going through, far from land in a 24-foot rowing boat.

She said: "They've probably had similar problems. I've been reading all the news that comes from the crews doing the race and you hear about what they're going through."

Two rowers in the race gave up in the first week after suffering severe sleep deprivation. Their height, at over six feet, meant they couldn't rest properly in the cramped boats. Gary and Dominic are 6ft 1in and 6ft 2in tall. Others have endured seasickness and exhaustion as they battle to make headway in heavy swells and adverse winds.

Jane said: "What I've got is nothing. At least I can go to a doctor. They've just got to work through it."

Gary and Dominic are lying 21st in the fleet of 34, with 800 miles to go. They're covering an average 38 miles per day.