Peter Bray rows out of St. John's Harbour on July 8. He had to abandon his boat this week because of Hurricane Bill. (CBC)

A British rower who left St. John's in an attempt to cross the Atlantic solo has been rescued from the path of Hurricane Bill.

Peter Bray, 53, had to abandon his boat in the middle of the ocean around 8 a.m. NT on Wednesday morning and climb aboard the U.K.-based research vessel James Cook.

Mark Clark of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the United Kingdom said a mayday from Bray's vessel, The Black Knight, came in early in the morning.

"Clearly, he recognized that the conditions were too strong for a single man rower, Clark said."

British maritime officials had been expecting Bray's call for a couple of days.

"We'd been keeping tabs on Peter since the 17th of the month," Clark said, "when the weather was forecast to be so bad as to make his own safety somewhat perilous."

Bray left St. John's harbour on July 8 in his seven-metre boat, hoping to break the record for the fastest solo crossing of the Atlantic.

He was almost 1,500 kilometres from land when his route put him directly in the path of Hurricane Bill, which is packing winds of more than 200 kilometres per hour and sea swells six metres high.

Bray battled tough conditions for two days before calling for help. It was his fourth attempt to cross the Atlantic.