A TEAM of rowers led by a sailor from Shandon has raised more than £25,000 for charity in an epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

Steve Hughes and his team-mates – all of them aged over 60 – set out from La Gomera in the Canary Islands in December at the start of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, with the goal of crossing more than 3,000 miles of ocean inside 60 days.

And it was a target the self-styled 'Ancient Mariners' smashed in style, as Mike and his fellow rowers Guy Munnoch, John Moorhouse and Mike Winn reached the finishing point at Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua in 49 days, eight hours and 40 minutes, with their families cheering them on.

Back at home near Helensburgh, Steve said the messages of encouragement received during the voyage from readers of the Advertiser had helped inspire the team to beat their target.

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"We survived!" Steve told the Advertiser this week.

"The advice we got beforehand from the company who ran the event was that it would take us about 60 days to complete the distance, so we were really pleased to reach Antigua in less than 50."

The quartet undertook the challenge not only to push themselves to the physical and psychological limit, but also to raise money for two charities – Blind Veterans and Open Arms Malawi – which are close to them all.

Blind Veterans UK, a cause backed by Steve and Guy, gives former service personnel who have lost their sight a range of support, from rehabilitation and training to practical advice and emotional support.

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Open Arms Malawi, meanwhile, was set up to care for orphaned children in the African country at infant homes, foster homes, nursery schools and through an outreach programme.

Mike and John have collectively spent more than 40 years living and working in Malawi and seeing the charity's work at first hand.

Working on a shift pattern of two hours on and two hours off, the group took around 1.5 million oar strokes to complete the course in their specially-adapted boat.

"Both the boat and the crew members took a bit of a pounding," Steve continued.

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"I trained fairly hard beforehand, but still lost more than three stone in weight during the race.

"But despite that the whole experience was extremely positive.

"We were able to access some electronic media during the race, including messages of support from readers of the Advertiser – and while there were invariably black days, and nights, having those messages from people encouraging us to keep at it was truly inspirational, and quite humbling.

"We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude, and we also must say thank you to our families, who flew out to Antigua to welcome us across the finish line."

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The Ancient Mariners weren't the only rowers with a local connection to compete in the event – as previously reported in the Advertiser, the challenge was also taken up by 'HMS Oardacious', four submariners based at HM Naval Base Clyde, who reached Antigua in 37 days, six hours and 40 minutes.

At the time this article was published, the Ancient Mariners' supporters had raised more than £13,600 for Blind Veterans UK and more than £12,500 for Open Arms Malawi – and that doesn't include valuable corporate support, which Steve, who celebrated his 61st birthday on the day the race began, hopes will push the final total towards £25,000 for each good cause.

Much of Steve's training before the event was done in his small coastal rowing boat in the sea lochs near Helensburgh and Lomond.

And while that boat, christened 'The Grumpy Old Man' by his daughters Lauren and Rachel, will still see some use in the weeks and months to come, Steve says his days of extreme challenges are, for now at least, at an end.

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"I've still got my boat," he added, "and I will continue to enjoy that, but as far as extreme challenges are concerned, that's it for now.

"As a keen rower, crossing the Atlantic has always been on my bucket list.

"But now I need to pay back the massive debt I owe to my wife and family. I have a 'to do list which is bigger than the Atlantic!"

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