‘We swapped the school run for rowing the Atlantic!’

Meet the four ordinary Yorkshire mums who did something truly extraordinary when they spent 67 days rowing on the high seas

achievement. We’d had a few glasses of wine but I really meant it, even though we’d only started rowing two years before.

It began as a way to get fit. I love being outdoors, and thought the rowing club looked fun. I knew the other women from the school gates and, although we weren’t very good at rowing, we quickly bonded and had lots of laughs, going to a local cafe for cakes afterwards.

I’m a lawyer and was fed up at work: I felt I was on a treadmill. Apart from my family being lovely, every year felt exactly the same and I wanted to create some commas in my life; memories to distinguish one year from another.

My husband, Mark, and our sons, Jay, 15, and Jack, 14, were behind me all the way. I was very disciplined about the training. Even if I got home from work at 9pm, I’d do 20 minutes on the rowing machine or half an hour of weights, which was exhausting, but I was totally committed. The planning and the training took our weekends away but we took our families with us as much as possible.

Before we left, we put together a medical and essentials kit for £800. It included oodles of SPF30 sunscreen, two pairs of chafe-free pants each, plus a bikini, a T-shirt and our heavy weather gear. The rest was powdered food and equipment.

On day five of our journey, it was Christmas Day. We’d all brought a secret