‘I learned that less is more’

Helen Butters, 46, says ‘When we were planning the trip, there was so much to do that the only solution was for me to go to bed an hour later, and get up an hour earlier. I did all my training in the kitchen while cooking – there’s a photo of me doing a “plank” on weights and opening the oven door to check on the chicken at the same time, which says it all!

I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone, but I couldn’t have done it without my family’s help. My mum is 82 and said, “I don’t want you to do it but if you do, I’ll support you”. She and my mother-in-law helped out at home, and I knew my kids, Lucy, 17, and Henry, 15, would be okay with them.

At first, my husband, Richard, wasn’t keen either. He thought the race was dangerous and we couldn’t afford it – I work in NHS communications, and not working for three months would have a big impact. So I increased my hours from four to five days, and didn’t take holiday for a year, which turned out to be the thing I found most challenging during the whole adventure! Finally, Richard realised it was a real opportunity and said, “You’ve got to do this”.

On the water, I was probably the sanest. We all had ups and downs, but I coped quite well because for the first five days I was seasick. It was horrific, but once that passed, nothing else was as hard!

Life on the ocean is simple: all we had to do was row, and do our jobs on the boat. There were no distractions, and I learned that less is more: to enrich your life, you need to take things away.

Doing this challenge totally changed my mindset. We were at sea for 67 days on high alert: at any moment, a wave could cause you to capsize, which made me realise how short life is. Now I do things I’d never have done before, like indoor climbing, even though I’m not great with heights! The big thing I learned is that you can achieve anything you want – you’ve just got to want to do it.’