The Weekly spoke to Ben Turner this morning when he was safely back on dry land at Port Welshpool after a 16-hour rescue operation by water police.

Mr Turner, along with his two crew members Margaret Bowling and Clark Carter, was on an expedition to Tasmania when the seven-metre boat overturned around 5.30am yesterday, 30 nautical miles off Wilson’s Promontory..

Mr Turner sustained a broken elbow . There were no other injuries or damage to the boat, which immediately flipped itself upright again.

The crew rowed towards Flinders Island to call for help and were rescued by water police at 8pm last night, 130 nautical miles off Port Phillip Heads.

The 27-year-old said the crew bunkered down inside the water-tight hull because they were encountering some ‘‘really crazy waves’’.

Winds of up to 100km/h were reported in the area between 1am and 3am yesterday morning.

Water police towed the boat to Port Welshpool by 2.10am this morning.

Mr Turner told the Weekly all crew members are on their way back to Melbourne: ’’You leave no man behind.’’

The Tasmanian trip was a training run for Mr Turner’s world record attempt in April to be the first Australian to row solo across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Sydney to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research.

He said the incident was a ‘‘worst case scenario’’ for what could happen when he is by himself.

‘‘We felt completely safe the whole time. The boat did everything it was meant to and it was a true testament to how strong it is.’’

He said the Pacific Ocean row won’t be as treacherous: ‘‘Bass Strait waters are very unpredictable.’’

Mr Turner is still optimistic the ocean row will go ahead but will see what doctors say about his arm.

‘‘I want to continue to do what I set out to do and raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis.’’

To donate go to benturner.com.au