Man trying to row a boat to Scotland rescued off Jersey Shore

(FOX5NY.COM) - Just days after setting off from a dock in New Jersey, an adventurer seeking to row across the Atlantic Ocean to Scotland had to end his voyage when bad weather proved to be too much to handle.

Duncan Hutchison, 52, radioed for help at about 11:20 a.m. Monday. A Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew from Station Barnegat Light in New Jersey then responded.

The crew found Hutchison and his custom-made rowboat about 20 miles east of Barnegat Light being tossed around in 8.5-foot seas and 21-mph winds, the Coast Guard said. The crew rescued him from the boat and brought him to safety.

"It was great to use my skills as a Surfman to navigate the heavy seas and wind, and my crew did an outstanding job making this a successful rescue," Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric Thornton said. "We highly recommended always checking the weather before departing on any ocean excursion because conditions can change instantly."

Thornton said his vessel's Rescue 21 radio system was able to pinpoint Hutchison's location.

Hutchison, of Scotland, told the BBC last month that he spent three years building the rowboat and hoped to cross the ocean in 90 to 100 days and end up in Lochinver, his hometown.

"I am doing this to prove that normal people can build a boat and row it across the Atlantic," he told the BBC. "That is the idea, to prove that normal people can do unusual things."

Hutchison set off from the Manhattan Yacht Club in Jersey City on May 31, according to a social media post by the club.

"We wish him great success!" the club wrote on Facebook.