Rower back home and on dry land after 2,000-mile Atlantic voyage
A SCOTS mother-of-two who rowed her way into the record books with a history-making solo crossing of the Atlantic is back on home soil.
Elaine Hopley, 45, from Dunblane, flew back into Glasgow last night to be greeted with banners and balloons three weeks after her epic 2,000-mile voyage across the ocean ended with landfall in Antigua.
The intrepid sailor spent spent nearly two months at sea competing in Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and her finishing time of 59 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes was enough see her claim the title of the fastest woman to cross the Atlantic solo in the 30-year history of the race.
Her sons Guy and Harvey turned seven and nine, respectively, during her time at sea and were there to greet her at the finish line.
She said: “It’s really good to be home. My family came out to Antigua to meet me and it was nice to spend time in the Caribbean, but there comes a point in any long trip when you think ‘I just want to go home’.”
The adventurer, who lost almost one and a half stones during her voyage, said that her exertions left with a sore backside and aching feet in the initial days after completing the race because of all the time spent in the boat.
However, the experienced endurance athlete said she had no plans to put her feet up yet.
She said: “I just want to keep moving, and I might go for a row tomorrow. It’s hard to just stop.
My plans now are to keep fundraising and see if I can keep the boat and use her for sea rowing around Scotland. I also want to do more work in schools, especially the local ones which supported me along the way.”
Ms Hopley was raising money for Alzheimer Scotland and rowed across in a boat named after her mother, Jan.
Last night her fundraising effort stood at £7,485, smashing past the initial £5,000 target. Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland’s chief executive, said: “It was important for us to be there today to welcome home Elaine after her incredible challenge, we are blown away by her courage and determination to not only take part but finish the race in record breaking time.
“Elaine is a true inspiration to all of us and we are so thankful to her for helping us to raise awareness and vital funds to support people living with dementia across Scotland.” With more than 90,000 people living in Scotland with dementia and the number on the increase, dementia is currently one of Scotland’s biggest health and social care challenges and it isn’t going to go away.
“We are working hard to put dementia firmly in the spotlight.”