Hello again and greetings from Antigua. We did promise blogs from dry land, and apologies for the delay, but here we go.

Our first few days on land were extremely busy and a little overwhelming. After our unforgettable arrival, we wobbled our way to the villa that our families had rented, enjoyed a shower and something to eat (tea and buttered toast!) then had our first night sleeping in beds that didn’t move, and had dry sheets and pillows!

Walking proved tricky. Firstly we had to cope with getting around on a surface that wasn’t moving, after spending 76 days on something that was moving constantly. Then all the muscles that hadn’t been used for standing upright for that time, decide to let you know that they are not happy with your decision to get back to normal. Lin had the added issue of her injuries so we were both hobbling around in pain for some time!

Despite the draw of the villa’s pool and Antigua’s beaches, we had a lot of work to do on the boat to get her ready for shipping. So our first days were spent emptying the hatches, disposing of rubbish (and items just too yukky to use again!) and repacking her. These were relatively simple jobs, but took ten times longer than expected, as we were bombarded by interested visitors who wanted to know all about the trip and have their photo taken with us. Lin has done a couple of radio interviews, and there is more media activity planned for our return.

We also had to go through scrutineering, to make sure that we did arrive with all the essential safety equipment onboard. Luckily, we hadn’t lost anything important during the capsize, so passed with flying colours. Immigration was a funny experience too – they were so relaxed about it that we only got our passports stamped 2 days after we arrived! We also had to remember our home addresses and sign our names on the official forms. Very strange when you haven’t had to think about things like this for two and a half months!

The day after we arrived, we were privileged to be in Nelsons Dockyard to see our great friends Elin and Herdip (Dream Maker) row in. We’d been speaking to the girls every day in the last couple of weeks, with both teams supporting each other, and we couldn’t wait to see them again.

Elin’s family arrived from the airport with just minutes to spare which was a really emotional moment as we hadn’t been sure they would make it in time. We saw the flares go up for them on the fort and then the boat came into view. They rowed straight for the quayside and didn’t appear to be slowing at all!  This time we got to set off flares and the best bit for us was that we were able to take the ropes from the girls and we were the ones that helped them out of the boat, their home for 77 days, to take that first step onto dry land and into the arms of their loved ones. Unforgettable!

We have been taking it easy though, and now the boat is ready for shipping, we’ve been able to see a bit more of Antigua and enjoy the Caribbean. We’ve made some friends over here and certainly wouldn’t rule out a trip back sometime. We also held a party last week for all the rowers and those associated with the race – in La Gomera you’re all together, all the time, but here we felt that the experience could ‘fizzle out’. So we made sure that there was one last chance for everyone still here to get together before we all go our separate ways again.

 We fly back into the UK on Saturday and will then have another period of adjustment – to the cold weather, work, driving and the realities of life. But we have plenty to look forward to as we get to see our partners at last, and will also continue to fundraise and work with Breast Cancer Care over the coming months. There’s no doubt that this experience will change our lives forever, but it’s likely to take some time before we can fully appreciate just how and to what level.

Huge thanks to everyone who has supported us over the last few years and we hope that you will keep up to date with our fundraising progress in the coming months. We will be attending a number of events and will let you know about them nearer the time, or if you’d like to book one of us for a talk or seminar, then please email info@atlanticrowingchallenge.co.uk to discuss requirements, fees etc. Proceeds will contribute towards the Challenge fundraising target.