Devon brothers complete Atlantic rowing challenge

Four brothers have completed a “life-shaping and “life-enhancing” challenge to row across the Atlantic.

The two sets of twins, 26-year-olds Jack and Hamish Friend and 24-year-olds Arthur and Euan, set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands in December.

They crossed the finish line at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua earlier.

Hamish said the 3,000 mile (4,800km) row, which saw them face storms and be “slapped in the face” by flying fish, had been “incredible”.

“You think about the finish line so much in a challenge like this, so when you actually cross it, it’s just such a weird experience,” he said.

The brothers from Devon have rowed unsupported across the ocean as part of the annual Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, raising more than £90,000 for homelessness and youth charities along the way.

After crossing the line in third place at about 04:00 local time (08:00 GMT), Hamish told BBC Radio Devon it was “all very surreal”.

He said completing the challenge had been a “life-shaping and life-enhancing moment”.

The brothers, who rowed day and night, two hours on and two hours off, survived on dehydrated food.

Hamish said there had been “lows” along the way, which included getting “soaked” in poor weather conditions, and he had also been surprised by a flying fish.

“Suddenly, out of nowhere this fish launches itself out and slaps me in the face,” he said.

However, he said there had also been “massive highs”, such as drinking sloe gin together on New Year’s Eve and “all the sunrises and sunsets”.

Their mother Judy, who was waiting for her sons at the finish line, said the moment of their arrival had been special.

“Seeing the lights of the boat coming around the corner was a spine-tingling moment [and] it was amazing when they lit the flares,” she said.

She said Christmas Day had been a “wobbly moment” for the family, but “we’ve had some lovely conversations with them, [as] they have rung us from time to time on the satellite phone”.

She added that it was good to see them all safe, as it had been “a real journey for us as well as them”.

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