POOLE war veteran Neil Heritage has revealed how the crew on the Row2Recovery cross-Atlantic challenge are coping with life on the waves.

The crew are currently waiting for relief water supplies to reach their vessel after the desalinator broke down.

In a satellite phone interview he explained that the six-man crew – which includes three soldiers who have lost limbs in the conflicts – have been swimming and trying to entertain each other.

“I-spy isn’t much of a game for us, there’s very little to see, so we are just chatting and entertaining each other,” he said.

“We are using our iPods quite a bit and we have all been in the sea for a swim, so that’s been nice.”

Neil, 30, was a member of the Royal Signals bomb disposal team in Iraq when a suicide bomber detonated a device a few feet away.

He required a double above-knee amputation and doctors initially predicted he would never walk again although he is now a school athletics coach and keen endurance athlete.

Speaking yesterday morning, he said the injuries suffered by the team – sore and bleeding skin – have all gone.

“We are all in really good shape now and are more rested than a week or so ago,” he said. “We are ready for our water so we can start eating again properly and getting more food. Physically, everyone’s feeling well.”

The Row2Recovery Challenge saw the men set off from the Canary Islands on December 4 and at one point were in fourth place until, on Christmas Day, their desalinator broke down which restricted the water supply.

Although disqualified on a technicality, the team are aiming to complete the 3,000-mile journey and arrive in Barbados later this month.