Bexhill boys back home

They haven't wasted much time though...having flown from Mauritius they landed at Heathrow on Friday morning and next day competed in a rowing regatta at Herne Bay and Folkestone.

They are already looking forward to Bexhill Regatta this Sunday when they will compete in the Senior Fours.

"We're not as fast as we were," said Phil.

"But give us time, and we will be."

They are still recovering from the gruelling challenge of rowing across 3,500 miles of ocean, through storm, dangerous water and 50ft waves, and the constant demand of their two-hours-on, two-hours-off regime of rowing and sleeping.

Along with the other half of the crew, Matt Hellier, who stayed on in Mauritius with his fiancee and family, and Ian Allen, Phil, 24, and Nick, 25, experienced amazing highs and lows during 68 days they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Phil said: "One we got into the routine the hardest thing for me was dealing with frustration - you can only go as fast as the weather lets you. One day you get good weather and you make good miles, but the next day you might have to go slower because of what the weather is doing...but once you learned to accept that, it was fine."

Nick's most difficult moments were at the end of the race when the rudder on the Bexhill Trust Challenger kept breaking and needing constant repair during the last few days.

He said: "If we hadn't repaired our rudder we would not have made it to Mauritius. We tied it with bunjees and straps and string and it was really just hanging on by a thread. We had done over 3,000 nautical miles...then the rudder failed three times in the last 108 miles. It was pretty bad.

"Back in the first ten days we had the worst weather they ever had in any of the previous races...It was a massive eye-opener. It was pretty bad at the beginning with 50 ft waves - it was hectic and we were pretty scared."

Communication was a problem from the start because the Bexhill Trust Challenger had not enough power for the laptop computer so the crew was not able to email or read the messages of support coming from home, but they were however able to talk everyday on the satellite phone.

Phil said: "The good thing was that we pulled away from the rest and were going further and further ahead. That was a great feeling. Every day we were 100 miles up, 120, 150...every time we did that it was a great feeling. Also, we never went backwards - we never got blown backwards, even if we went slow we were always going forward. And there was also hearing about the support from Bexhill, that was good as well, the messages of support were increasing all the time."

Nick added: "We are all different personalities but we all had the same goal - we all went out there to win it. We didn't just want to get across, we wanted to win. We wanted to be the first Four, and so much preparation went into that and we had so much support as well. We were doing it for ourselves, but we wanted to deliver for everyone back in Bexhill."

The crew had to ration food towards the end of the race and biscuits and chocolate became luxury treats to look forward to every other day. Phil lost one and a half stones during the race while his brother lost three, and once on dry land the entire crew celebrated with a fried breakfast and some cold beer, having been welcomed back by their loved ones.

Phil said: "I think it is something we will never forget - words can't describe some of the thoughts and feelings. So many people were anxious to see us because they had been waiting, and they were as excited as we were."

The aches and pains are almost gone, but both brothers say after so long in the boat they had trouble walking when they got back to dry land and their backs seized up after the first night back in a normal bed. The beards which grew during two months out at sea are now gone, but the tans remain - amazingly none of them burned and they didn't use up all their full 10 litres of suncream.

Next week they return to real life - Phil works for East Sussex County Council as a school travel plan advisor, and Nick is a rowing coach in Shoreham, and works part-time at Bexhill High School.

They both grew up in Bexhill, attending King Offa school and then Bexhill High, and parents Sue and Steve live in Cantelupe Road. It was because their grandmother suffered from stroke, and subsequently passed away earlier this year, that the Row4Charity team chose the Stroke Association to raise money for alongside taking part in the race.

Phil said: "It's humbling to know how many people supported us, all those people who paid to have their names on the boat, or chucked a pound in the bucket when it went past, without all that we would not be where we are. We'd like to thank all the sponsors, especially the Bexhill Trust, all the 10 names, everyone who left messages of support, Andy Bristow, Geoff Allum, Geoff Dixon - and our employers for all our time off."