The last couple of days have been a world of ups and downs. We woke up on the morning of Day 56 to a speed of 4 knots plus speeds so after some deliberation we decided to go for a world record atmept for the highest mileage in 24 hours. To do that we’d have to average 4.3 kt for the full 24 hours, between 10.30am on two consecutive days when the marine tracker updates. Basically trying to row strokes as long as possible and put down 15% extra work each stroke. Everything was going well and we were on track with a speed of 4.6 knots average until 8pm when the speed started to drop off significatntly and we were doing low 3 knot speeds. So by about 9 o clock or 9.30 we decided we should give up because the speed always drops in the night so unless we’d been achieving really good speed before sunset we’d never make it. We gave up the attempt, it wasnt worth the extra effort required.  One good thing that came out of it is the fact that by the start of the next day, we realised that after our efforts we were close enough to make it to land that very day before nightfall. We had just 55 nm to go.

The last day our feelings were mixed as we seesawed between expecting to arrive in Barbados well before the deadline (10pm) or having to arrive in port in the early hours and spend the night on the boat as customs was closed, or deciding to slow right down and delay ourselves by going west into the Caribbean sea and turning back the next morning. Our families were all waiting for us. By about 2pm the island came into view on the horizon. I saw it first and now owe the rest of the crew a round of drinks!!  From then on it became such hard work because the conditions changed. We picked up a south-easterly current and the conditions changed as we moved from the deep atlantic to the caribbean sea. The hardest rowing of the whole trip other than leaving Agadir in the first place was that final push into Barbados. Despite the hard work we really expected things to calm down significantly as we turned into the shelter of the island. Yet again though we were haunted by “unusual weather conditions”. We had direct southerlies all the way down the west coast.  At that point we were getting so worried with the 10pm local  time deadline when the customs guys would shut up shop and leave.  We contemplated whether bribes would work in Barbados. The girls threatened to barricade the customs office until we arrived, they had been expecting us from about 6pm and it was now approaching 9.30pm local. Perhaps the visit from the British senator had something to do with it, but they decided to extend their opening times for an extra hour.

There is a large cement factory about 1.5nm from our final destination, Port St Charles Marina. Finally we rounded the corner and were past the factory. We were on the radio to a local fisherman from the Lady D, who Helen had roped in to help steer us in the dark.  Suddenly we started to hear something. We could hear something but we werent sure… high frequency signals clearly travel well… so was it girls, screaming?!

The last section, 20 minutes, went so quickly. I was expecting my shift to end at 11.40GMT but had had to row on for another hour because Mylene had a knee injury, much like my swollen elbow a few weeks ago.  Finally she swapped over so she could row into the marina which meant that i got the opportunity to light the first flare. The first white flare completely blinded Matt as he tried to steer, he was steering blind for about 100m! I heard Emma shouting my name and we could see something being waved by people on the shore. As we came around the breakwaters i lit a second red flare and held it up. The wind was now directly in Matt’s face and consequently he was covered in smoke… the flare was promptly ditched in the water, but it served it’s purpose because everyone on the bank could now see us clearly.

We were so focussed we didnt see much on the bank. We couldn’t really make people out because of the lights. I looked at the crowd but i didn’t scan the faces, we had to try and land which is hard enough in the daylight. It isn’t easy to maneouvre, we had to stay clear headed and avoid the expensive yachts!

Then we arrived. I remember the approach really well, everything is very distinct, but the arrival is a blur. I remember meeting Emma and lifting her up off the floor, and hugging my parts. The TV guys there wanted an interview with all of us together. I felt as if the landing stagewas moving up and down but it was just in my head, i could barely walk in a straight line and my head was spinning. As i stepped under the roof which jutted out over the landing stage my head was spinning so fast i fell over.  I wasn’t used to having a roof over my head. I was helped up and presented with Portuguese and Swedish flags for a few photos, and my mother gave me a printed T-shirt with a picture of me as a child in a tiny rowing boat with Pedronator written above it.

We crowded together and they took pictures of the whole crew, then individual interviews. I can’t remember what he asked me, or what i said. After that food arrived suddenly. Burgers and chips. Thanks so much to the chef on standby at the yacht club who prepared a table for the six of us loaded with food. Only there were only five of us – Matt the skipper had to deal with customs and they didnt go easy on him, it was maybe 20 minutes before he could join us. I had pick and mix and liqourice to keep me going. We finally all sat down to eat. Matt was called to make a speech, then we all said a few words in turn. There was a huge crowd of people staring at us. We had beers and then champagne.

After we had cleared our plates we went back over to the boat. I took my parents in to the cabin, they had never seen the boat before.  Then i realised i could go to the toilet… a proper toilet. It flushes on its own, running water, proper toilet paper instead of pocket tissues and baby wipes, in private, with a door you can actually lock. I could have spent a full hour in there. I was still a bit unsteady on my feet as taxis arrived to take us south to our accommodation in Hastings. It was 3am when we got in and i immediately made for the air conditioned bedroom with a cold bottle of coke in hand. I slept well.

More from Pedro later, but to confirm the crew made land just after 11pm local time last night. It was touch and go whether they would make it before customs closed for the night but an extreme effort on the oars saw them greeted by friends and family in Port St Charles at around 11.15pm, completing the crossing in 57 days and 20 hours.

After interviews, passport checks, reunions and a slap up meal of burgers and chips the crew haeded back for their first night of proper sleep in their air conditioned apartments!

Photos and videos to follow.

Click below to see live webcam footage of Port St Charles Barbados, where Pedro and the crew expect to arrive sometime after 11pm GMT tonight. (Thanks to Mike Jones and his website team for the footage).

LINK TO WEBCAM

Hope you all enjoyed a very tired-sounding Pedro on the radio this morning! If you missed him, you can still listen in on BBC iplayer by going to the BBC Cambridgeshire website and clicking on “listen again”, Jeremy Sallis Breakfast Show. The interview comes about halfway through the show.

Luckily for the crew the end of te journey is now very much in sight. They expect to make port tonight sometime after 6pm local time (we are 4 hours behind UK and Portugal, 5 hours behind Sweden) and hopefully they will be on dry land before the official closing time of the Port St Charles customs office at 10pm. There will be a webcam link to the marina so that you can follow their arrival, i’ll update later so check back tonight.

God speed to the crew!