Military teams battle big waves on the Atlantic rollercoaster during World's Toughest Row
Following challenging weather, the "light has come at the end of the tunnel" for the HMS Oardacious Valkyries as they continue on the World's Toughest Row.
The crew of women Royal Navy sailors are making history as the first serving military female team to attempt to row the Atlantic and have made it through some big waves to enjoy a "pleasant Christmas Day" at sea.
Lieutenant Commander Ali Aindow, part of the Royal Navy's ocean rowing team, told BFBS Radio: "The sun's coming up and the rollercoaster of the Atlantic continues."
The team are one of four military teams racing in the World's Toughest Row, which pushed off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands earlier this month to row 3,000 miles to Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua, roughly 40 days later.
HMS Oardacious Valkyries, like the other crews being out at sea at Christmas, mine clearance diver Ali Aindow was asked whether Santa was able to reach them to made any special drop-offs.
"He did actually," she said.
Thanks to his little helper Abby, they were able to. "He had to preload the boat before we came. We got some Christmas snack packs, which is essentially a bag full of treats to increase our calories for the day.
She added: "All I can see in there is a Terry's Chocolate Orange, which I can't wait to devour."
HMS Oardacious Valkyries have been at sea for more than 15 days now, and Ali says "fingers crossed" she "hopes for 40 days", to get to the finish line.
"If the favourable weather continues and we keep fighting through and the plan goes ahead we are hoping for 40 days.
"Anything below that would be awesome, but we are taking each day as it comes, dealing with what we have out here, it's a real adventure."
The military teams TEAM V3NTURE, Force Atlantic, HMS Oardacious Valkyries and the Oarsome Army Educators were among the 38 teams comprised of 110 rowers from 19 nations taking on the journey that is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete.
Currently attempting the 3,000-nautical mile row across the Atlantic while also raising funds for their chosen causes, here is how the other military teams are getting on.
TEAM V3NTURE
The trio of British Army soldiers, who met at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2019 and became firm friends, set their goals sky high to become the first military trio to successfully row across any ocean.
In their latest update, the team, who are aiming to raise £140,000 for the nurses at Macmillan Cancer Support, said they have been "blessed today with calmer seas and a really nice sun".
The team had the chance to phone home and even made time for plenty of sing-alongs on the boat. They have just over 1,690 nautical miles still to row.
Force Atlantic
Force Atlantic, who has already made history by becoming the British Army's first all-female crew to embark on the 3,000-mile journey were able to send an update on Christmas Day showing they were also enjoying some calmer waters.
The team have battled through some really challenging conditions, with their Instagram page saying: "They’ve been giving it their all, rowing day and night, and staying locked in on their goal."
Force Atlantic have rowed 971 Nm and have 1,756 nautical miles to go.
Oarsome Army Educators
The four officers from the Educational and Training Services (ETS) branch of the British Army came together to embrace the "unique opportunity" of the World's Toughest Row across the Atlantic, battling some tough winds and managing to fix a broken solar panel, which was "great news" for the team.
They have now been at sea for two weeks and have rowed 1,053 nautical miles with 1,694 to go.
Just like the majority of the other teams, Oarsome Army Educators were happy to see some calmer waters.
They said on Instagram: "[We] have had Christmas hats, stollen and Christmas cake alongside [our] normal rations! Sun is out and so are the smiles. "Not a Christmas [we] will ever forget!"
You can track all the teams' progress here on the official World's Toughest Row tracker.
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