Atlantic oarsman Don Allum relaxes on Achill Island after his record making voyage from America.
Don Allum's tiny twenty-foot boat was the centre of attraction for Achill locals who flocked to welcome him ashore after his Atlantic crossing.
Achill Island was a buzz with excitement throughout the weekend as the fifty-year-old Middlesex man celebrated his epic voyage.
This was his fourth Atlantic crossing in the whimsically named QE3, which he bought for just £265 in 1971. Over the 2,500 mile voyage, the QE3 survived five separate capsizes. Don Allum describes his struggles when the boat capsized three times in one night.
Don Allum carried about 500 pounds worth of food and forty gallons of water on the trip. He also brought along a collection of about twenty-five books, which once read became toilet paper.
The crowds kept the celebrations going into the early hours at the Dooagh local pub.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 September 1987. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
