:00:00. > :00:26.# Take it easy, better slow down girl
:00:27. > :00:46.# Four years ago four friends took up
:00:47. > :00:52.rowing for fun, but then hatched a plan. I used to be very sociable.
:00:53. > :00:57.LAUGHTER We used to have people all over the
:00:58. > :01:05.time, but not any more. Basically because I'm a rower. The plan was
:01:06. > :01:18.for these amateurs, Helen, Jeannette, Francis and Niki, to Rome
:01:19. > :01:24.and ocean. -- row an ocean. Why? Because I thought we needed a bit of
:01:25. > :01:31.adventure in our lives. And then back down on strike, lovely,
:01:32. > :01:35.following Francis. Busy working mums, the youngest 45 and the oldest
:01:36. > :01:43.51, but two years of training took place right here, in York. This is
:01:44. > :01:52.nothing like the ocean. Maybe it was a midlife crisis, it was a positive
:01:53. > :01:55.take on midlife crisis. I thought, this would be amazing, not sure I
:01:56. > :02:02.could do it, but why not, I will have a go. That is more like it.
:02:03. > :02:06.They became the ordinary women who decided to do something
:02:07. > :02:21.extraordinary. The odds were always against them.
:02:22. > :02:30.Two years after they hatch their plan, Yorkshire Rows arrived here,
:02:31. > :02:39.in the Canary Islands. This is home to the Pantic challenge, -- Atlantic
:02:40. > :02:47.challenge. Allow 15 minutes Boukerou to register. -- per crew. This is
:02:48. > :02:51.where you will find the extreme athletes and the survivalists stop
:02:52. > :02:59.how hard is it going to be? Very hard. You will be -- we will be the
:03:00. > :03:07.worlds first boat with amputees go across the ocean. Big winds, sharks,
:03:08. > :03:14.Wales. We will be out there for a maximum of 50 days. Bring it on,
:03:15. > :03:19.can't wait. Janette, you are the first one. This is not normally the
:03:20. > :03:24.domain of working mums from Yorkshire who have never even done a
:03:25. > :03:32.fun run. No second thoughts? Not at all. Hanlon, is there since you have
:03:33. > :03:35.signed life away? -- Helen. It is becoming scary, but we will
:03:36. > :03:44.definitely get to Antigua. And your timing? I would like to get home for
:03:45. > :03:47.half term. When Yorkshire Rows signed for this, this is a life
:03:48. > :03:53.changing experience, across the Atlantic Ocean, starting from here,
:03:54. > :04:01.where Columbus started many years ago and across the Atlantic to
:04:02. > :04:08.finish in Antigua. You say it is the world's toughest row, give me
:04:09. > :04:15.evidence. First of all, they are alone out there, they going to with
:04:16. > :04:21.mother nature at her best and worst. Paddy McNair 18 like them before? --
:04:22. > :04:26.have you met a team like them before? Yorkshire Rows are a special
:04:27. > :04:33.team, everyone can feel that when they are around them. They are just
:04:34. > :04:41.great, special and great women. LAUGHTER
:04:42. > :04:51.Oh! That was for the camera. LAUGHTER
:04:52. > :04:56.I'm excited. They have come to the harbour where it all begins for some
:04:57. > :05:03.last prep, to hit the professionals for some killer advice. Family pairs
:05:04. > :05:11.of knickers you taking? -- how many. I'm not wearing any now. This is the
:05:12. > :05:18.typical face of the Atlantic challenge. Yorkshire Rows, the
:05:19. > :05:24.upstarts. We are business executives and we like to work hard and play
:05:25. > :05:30.hard. We are four ordinarily mums. Nothing to see, move along. Their
:05:31. > :05:37.motto. We have the ability to endure and persevere. That is why I think
:05:38. > :05:44.it will take to win this race. It will be fine. The board outside
:05:45. > :05:51.headquarters shows a full list, experienced Atlantic rowers at the
:05:52. > :05:56.very top and Yorkshire Rows at the very bottom. Where is she? They are
:05:57. > :06:03.putting their faith in the fifth member of the team. She is right at
:06:04. > :06:07.the back. Oh my God. Her name is rows, the oceangoing rowing boat who
:06:08. > :06:17.will take them on their journey. Add as everyone else climb on? -- how
:06:18. > :06:22.does. This will be there at home, they will sleep and Rome in two hour
:06:23. > :06:25.shifts, and they need not worry about how many knickers they need to
:06:26. > :06:41.take, for Ocean rowers they will sing realise they are a hindrance.
:06:42. > :06:50.-- they will soon realise. On December 26, 2015, the ocean called.
:06:51. > :06:57.How excited are we? Very excited. Really excited. A few of us have not
:06:58. > :07:04.slept last night, but we have had some rest this week and so we are
:07:05. > :07:13.good to go. At 8:45am, Yorkshire Rows pushed off. The hope that two
:07:14. > :07:22.years training and good Yorkshire stock would be enough to make sure
:07:23. > :07:32.it really would be fine. Ten days in... It was anything but.
:07:33. > :08:12.the storm later became a hurricane, and when the teams finally emerged
:08:13. > :08:15.it had taken its toll. Niki has been reduced to a single word for most of
:08:16. > :08:26.the night, but we don't want to say it. I have three words. Because this
:08:27. > :08:34.is pure hell. It is. This is what my life has come to. Bailing water out.
:08:35. > :08:49.Hurricane Alex had hit the crew and rowers. Oh my God. At four o'clock
:08:50. > :08:54.this morning we started working, but now the screen outside is not
:08:55. > :08:59.working. We are having to hold the rudder and steer it in the right
:09:00. > :09:07.direction continually. We are a bit tetchy and falling out, sort of. It
:09:08. > :09:10.is a bit annoying and frustrating. We are happy, but not happy about
:09:11. > :09:18.the situation we are in. It is tough. It is a bit doom and gloom, a
:09:19. > :09:36.bit scary, but hopefully better days are going to come.
:09:37. > :09:51.In fact, the days were monotonous, broken down into repetitive moments.
:09:52. > :09:57.Eat, sleep, row, repeat. What gets you is the monotony of the whole
:09:58. > :10:03.thing. You have two hours sleep and then someone is waking you up to go
:10:04. > :10:12.back on the blades and to row again for another two hours. In between
:10:13. > :10:18.each shift is the changeover. An act experienced rowers have down to a 20
:10:19. > :10:23.seconds fine art. This is a classic example of a late shift changeover.
:10:24. > :10:33.They have been messing around, faffing about. Frances is ready to
:10:34. > :10:45.leap into her spot. That is a nice view for Janette, and then we have
:10:46. > :10:49.to put on the seat pad for Frances. Janette is doing what we call the
:10:50. > :11:00.cat in a yoga position, it she is not falling. LAUGHTER
:11:01. > :11:09.This is called the Sparrow walk. Cushions go down. Fleece goes down
:11:10. > :11:19.and she is in her spot ready to row. CHEERING
:11:20. > :11:23.And that is our changeover. Two minutes later, and with a yoga
:11:24. > :11:28.stretch for you, as well. They reckoned it was two minutes, but it
:11:29. > :11:41.was four minutes and a half, but then this was never about speed.
:11:42. > :11:47.The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into a month, half term
:11:48. > :12:10.back in Yorkshire came and went. Now then, ladies, 40 days at sea.
:12:11. > :12:17.Today is the 44th day. This is day 46. I had hoped initially we would
:12:18. > :12:31.be finished and done with in 49 days. I don't think that will be the
:12:32. > :12:49.case. So, it is day 40... We are on day something or other. Day 50. Day
:12:50. > :12:56.50. Dave 15. Dave 53 -- day 53. Let's just get there, OK.
:12:57. > :13:17.A glass of champagne, and sages. -- and say cheers. What are you fed up
:13:18. > :13:22.about? That I'm still on this ocean, I don't want to be here any more.
:13:23. > :13:31.CHEERING In Antigua the winning team arrived,
:13:32. > :13:37.ocean reunion setting a new race record in 37 days. And then the
:13:38. > :13:46.first pairs crossed the finish line soon after the first solo rower made
:13:47. > :13:52.it across, but back on Yorkshire Rows, isolation was taking its toll,
:13:53. > :13:56.especially on the captain, Janette. I'm going to complain to the tour
:13:57. > :14:05.operator, because things could be better. They never stop talking. And
:14:06. > :14:14.our accommodation, it is a bit small. It is not very good. I want
:14:15. > :14:24.the world to know how mean they've been. Yesterday they put a Mars bar
:14:25. > :14:27.in front of my face and made me smell it, that is the truth about
:14:28. > :14:34.this journey, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The truth was
:14:35. > :14:37.Yorkshire Rows had slowed, fighting wind and waves which were always
:14:38. > :14:45.against them. And one other thing, barnacles. Barnacles which kills
:14:46. > :14:51.speed. We are waiting for the support to reach us, it is half a
:14:52. > :15:01.mile away. We can see it on the arising, directly behind us, it is
:15:02. > :15:05.quite big... B team pledged the -- the team plucked up the courage to
:15:06. > :15:13.leave the boat for the first time, to leave their home which they had
:15:14. > :15:23.been on for 60 days, to scrape barnacles from the bottom.
:15:24. > :15:31.# Somewhere beyond is the sea, somewhere waiting for me
:15:32. > :15:41.# My lover stands on golden sands and watches the ship
:15:42. > :15:45.# This gave the girls a new surge, they reached their highest speed, 40
:15:46. > :15:55.knots, the end was in sight and it could not come soon enough. I had
:15:56. > :16:00.just watched the sun come up and watching a crazy bird flying around,
:16:01. > :16:14.trying to make its way against the wind. An emotional morning. We had
:16:15. > :16:20.our families on, they have booked their flights to Antigua, that is
:16:21. > :16:25.very exciting. I shed a few tears. Emotional to know that they will be
:16:26. > :16:39.there. To be cheering us at the end, that is fantastic. Moments when we
:16:40. > :16:42.see the sun come up and we see a solitary bird battling against the
:16:43. > :16:47.wind like us, these are special moments. It has been such a long
:16:48. > :16:53.journey. With all the problems we have had, it is much longer than we
:16:54. > :16:59.wanted it to be, but we are ready to be in Antigua now. The fact that our
:17:00. > :17:04.families are going in one week exactly to wait for us for us to
:17:05. > :17:32.come in in the next 14-20 days, that is just sensational.
:17:33. > :17:40.I can't tell you what is going through my head. I can't believe she
:17:41. > :17:49.is on her way. We are heading out to meet Yorkshire Rows, they are three
:17:50. > :17:53.nautical miles away. It is not, it is in here, what is going around
:17:54. > :18:02.inside my stomach, I can't believe they are here. They are coming in
:18:03. > :18:09.now. It is brilliant. Last position? She has warned me not to cry, but I
:18:10. > :18:14.can't help it, I'm sorry. On February the 26th, just after ten
:18:15. > :18:23.o'clock in the morning, through the waves, Yorkshire Rows finally
:18:24. > :18:26.appeared. Welcome to Antigua! This was the moment they had officially
:18:27. > :18:29.made the crossing. More people have climbed ever rest than have rode the
:18:30. > :18:45.Atlantic. Well done, girls, amazing. CHEERING
:18:46. > :18:53.How does it feel to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean? Completely amazing
:18:54. > :18:59.and fantastic. But how hard. It has been the best time. You have done
:19:00. > :19:04.well. The UK and especially Yorkshire are very proud. That is
:19:05. > :19:10.fantastic we are so proud of ourselves and we have done more we
:19:11. > :19:18.possibly thought we could. You never ask a woman's age, but you are now
:19:19. > :19:19.officially the oldest female rowing team to have crossed the ocean.
:19:20. > :19:44.Congratulations. Oh! Oh! They had been apart for ten weeks.
:19:45. > :19:49.They had left their kids, husbands, their jobs and their salaries, they
:19:50. > :19:56.had left their homes and their security. But they had returned
:19:57. > :20:01.heroes. I'm so proud of her, even though I did not think she should do
:20:02. > :20:11.it in the first place. Greatest moment in my life, that. Your girl.
:20:12. > :20:17.Yes. Absolutely fantastic. Amazing. She will be dropping the kids off at
:20:18. > :20:23.the school one week, and then rowing the Atlantic the next. Incredible.
:20:24. > :20:31.Awesome, absolutely awesome. You lost it. Yes. Daresbury proud of all
:20:32. > :20:36.of them, but Frances, she a supergirl, Superwoman. --
:20:37. > :20:44.desperately proud. But we have witnessed today is four mums from
:20:45. > :20:49.Yorkshire arriving in Antigua... During
:20:50. > :21:00.setting a record for being the oldest female team to cross any
:21:01. > :21:11.ocean ever. CHEERING Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray! Well
:21:12. > :21:22.done, girls. Photos showed they had also returned changed. We have given
:21:23. > :21:25.this hour everything, nearly three years, and it has taken most
:21:26. > :21:31.weekends, almost every day for the last year, and I could relive that
:21:32. > :21:35.last morning, it was all worth it for the sheer emotion. You don't
:21:36. > :21:43.cross and ocean without training and commitment and preparation. If
:21:44. > :21:48.someone like me who was not the captain of the netball team at
:21:49. > :21:54.school can do something like this, anybody can do anything. It is a
:21:55. > :22:03.feeling that everybody should have at some time in their life, it is
:22:04. > :22:08.amazing. Also, it has made me realise just how important my family
:22:09. > :22:13.and friends are and I will make a big effort to spend more time with
:22:14. > :22:19.them. From the very start they had always said it would be fine. And it
:22:20. > :22:28.was fine. It was. It was more than fine. It has made us, to have that
:22:29. > :22:36.time to think and dissect every relationship, conversation, to go
:22:37. > :22:40.back and reassess everything, I really appreciate everything,
:22:41. > :22:45.sitting on a pillow, sitting in a bed, eating with a knife and fork,
:22:46. > :22:49.all these people we have met, it is living in a bubble of goodwill, we
:22:50. > :22:57.have got to make sure that stays with us for ever. And it will. This
:22:58. > :23:04.little boat had taken them 3000 nautical miles, the adventure of a
:23:05. > :23:09.lifetime had taken place within the confines of 26 by 5', and not every
:23:10. > :23:14.team survives those confines even if they complete the challenge. I'm
:23:15. > :23:21.told 80% of team-mates never speak to each other again. Not so
:23:22. > :23:32.Yorkshire Rows. We've done it, and we had fun doing it, as well. And we
:23:33. > :23:38.are still friends. If we can do this, anyone can do absolutely
:23:39. > :23:42.anything. We are the oldest women to cross any ocean. That is our
:23:43. > :23:50.Guinness world record. I'm proud of it. Yeah. These girls laughed their
:23:51. > :23:56.way across the Atlantic, straight into the record books. And perhaps
:23:57. > :24:05.straight onto the silver screen, a movie is in the pipeline. You cannot
:24:06. > :24:08.see my grey hair. You look amazing. It is a great diet, I would
:24:09. > :24:17.recommend it to everyone. We had a fantastic time, a fantastic time.
:24:18. > :24:26.# Daschle mother know that you're out
:24:27. > :24:30.# We have enjoyed each other's company, and it was definitely the
:24:31. > :24:41.best free people ever to do anything with -- three people. It was
:24:42. > :24:48.amazing. We have blasted the stereo and sung mamma Mia at the top of our
:24:49. > :24:58.voices across the Atlantic. It was better than I ever imagined.
:24:59. > :25:18.does your mother know that you're out
:25:19. > :25:27.# Not enough wind for sailors today,
:25:28. > :25:28.it is