Now that we've finished rowing naked...

Now that we've finished rowing naked... 

A friend of Lin's recently sent us a funny quote: 'Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction' - Kenichi Ohmae 

It reminded me of the nights we were so exhausted that we fell asleep at the oars, but kept rowing, inevitably in the wrong direction! Only to wake up in complete confusion a few minutes later, feeling terribly guilty! For Lin, it reminded her of the seemingly endless days when we got blown too far South and had to battle our way North again with every joint and muscle screaming for mercy.  

It's now nearly 6 months since we stepped off Barbara Ivy (fully clothed), in the paradise of Antigua and started a period of adjustment back to a life where toilets flush, food and water are fresh, I can wash my hair every day, and I have to wear clothes in public!  Coming home was a fantastic and emotional experience with surprises at the airport and at home, a podcast on the Breast Cancer Care website and numerous celebrations with family and friends. Oh, and I had to go back to work!

As well as showing off my sun-bleached hair and impressive tan, it was great to catch up with everyone, but it does seem like the Atlantic and my love/hate relationship with the wind and waves is now a very distant memory. Often I stop and think 'was it really us?', and 'did we actually do it?' Thankfully though, the pain and discomfort is also fading from memory, allowing the positive's to take precedence. So much so that I nearly (but only nearly!) accepted a place in the Indian Ocean Race next year. 

Adjusting back to my old life is proving a little tricky. To begin with I had to get used to the cold in the UK after 4 months in warmer climates, and crowds of people plus lots of noise proved quite overwhelming for a while. I found myself driving a lot slower for a while – our average speed for 11 weeks was just 1.7 knots, so 70mph seemed really fast at first. It's probably a blessing in disguise though, as fuel is nearly 30p ($0.60) a litre more expensive now than when I left the UK last November! That was a shock to the system! 

There's no question that I struggled to concentrate at work and felt quite unsettled – but that's probably only to be expected after such an experience. I left my job last November with a major restructure going on, and combined with the credit crunch (I'm a marketing manager for a bank) this has now developed into a 'potential redundancy' situation, prompting some hard thinking and big decisions.  

Plenty of people expressed surprise that I had gone straight back to work, and I frequently hear the question 'how has the experience changed you?' But the harsh reality is that there are bills to pay just like everyone else and I'm only just starting to understand how the challenge has changed me.  Still, as I sit here thinking about the future, it's nice to reflect on the crossing.

Lin and I completed the race in 76 day, 11 hours and 12 minutes, winning the women's pairs class. We were the 43^rd and 44^th women to ever row any ocean and we stepped off the boat together, holding hands, as best friends – just as we'd planned to.  I've been enjoying my time since getting back too. We have both attended more fundraising events, but I've also been doing more and more speaking engagements. It's not something that I planned to do, and I've found that although it's a bit scary and exhausting, I really enjoy it and get a lot back from the audiences. The story clearly has the power to inspire and motivate people. 

I've also continued writing newsletters for our supporters and updated our website – changing the copy to show that we've actually done it now!  We were interviewed and photographed for a feature in the Daily Express (UK National daily newspaper) in April, are currently gracing the newsstands in the Woman magazine summer special and should be in Women's Fitness in September. There are a couple of other articles and features pencilled in too.  

I often get asked about whether I plan to publish a book about our challenge – or told that I should - and the answer is that I'd love to, but need to find a publisher first. Unless of course we use one of the many 'self-publishing' services available on the internet. I have started looking into this and drafting an outline, so if anyone knows of a sympathetic publisher, please point them in my direction! With the job situation likely to change, I'm going to need all the help I can get! 

As for the amazing Barbara Ivy – we've found a buyer (subject to survey) and she's being aimed at the 2009 race, with a crew of two men. She came back to the UK in April and although it will be incredibly hard to part with her after she looked after us so well, she has more crossings left in her for some lucky Ocean rowers and it would be wrong to keep her away from the ocean that she loves. Boats are meant to be on the water and I hope to make it to the start of the next Atlantic race to wave her off.  

More soon, Rachel x