A British-led rowing team is attempting to break a 114-year-old record for crossing the North Atlantic from New York to the Isles of Scilly.

The four men are on course to cross the finishing line at St Mary's Harbour after 44 days at sea - beating the existing 55-day record, the Daily Express reports.

Norwegian fisherman George Harbo and Frank Samuelson, set off from America in an open rowing boat on June 6 1896, arriving in the Scilly Isles on August 1.

Now, the Artemis North Atlantic Rowing Challenge team, which includes skipper Leven Brown, 37, from Edinburgh; Ray Carroll, 33, from Galway; Don Lennox, 41, from Bellshill, Glasgow, and Livar Nysted, 39, from the Faroe Islands, aiming to improve on that record.

During their two months at sea, the team has already battled ten-metre waves, a bout of food poisoning and narrowly avoided crashing into fishing boats in 35 knot winds.

They managed to set a new 24-hour record of 118 miles on July 14, previously held at 117 miles by Brown and his team in 'La Mondiale' on the Trade Winds route on January 3, 2008.

The four hope to raise thousands of pounds for charity through their rowing efforts, with money donated going to The National Autistic Society, Help for Heroes, Jigsaw and Aware. (ANI)