Novice rowers cross Atlantic

Faye spent 59 days crossing the Atlantic

A Newark woman has crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 59 days in a charity rowing race.

Faye Langham, 25, said the first few days of the Canary-Islands-to-Barbados race were tough as she and her partner had no ocean rowing experience.

"It was a big shock to the system for the first two days - we went backwards for a while because of the currents," Ms Langham told BBC News.

"Later we had very bad weather for a couple of days and had to sit in the boat with the hatch closed - it was like sitting inside a washing machine."

Unbearable heat

Ms Langham and her work colleague Andy Giles, 31, from Lincoln, finished the 3,000-mile Atlantic Rowing Challenge on 17 December in fifth place.

"We had to be towed for the last mile because of strong offshore winds ... so we might be disqualified," she said.

"But two other crews had to be towed that day as well so we think they might rule in our favour."

A New Zealand pair set a race record by making the crossing in 40 days.

The race had 16 boats but only two mixed crews.

The pair, who work at Cottam power station near Retford, Nottinghamshire, spent 18 months training for the event on the River Trent.

Flower power

They raised more than £10,000 for the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Doncaster.

"We spent hours and hours on rowing machines preparing for this race," Faye said.

Their 23-foot-long boat had only a small cabin at the rear for sleeping.

Ms Langham said the heat in the cabin was unbearable on most days as the temperature often reached 35C.

She said when their boat Bluebell arrived at Port St Charles in Barbados it had a bunch of flowers on its mast.

It was the same bunch given to her by Stefan, her boyfriend, at the start of the race.