Team completes 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic

An adventurer has completed a 3,000-mile, 39-day row across the Atlantic, spending Christmas and New Year's Day at sea.

Tom Clowes, from Chichester in West Sussex, was part of a team of four who traveled from the Canary Islands to Antigua between 14 December and 21 January.

The team have raised more than £350,000 for their charities, which include Cure Parkinson's, My Name'5 Doddie, the Matt Hampson Foundation and The Clocktower Foundation.

After arriving in the Caribbean, Clowes said: "I can't describe the feeling, it was wonderful actually. It was very emotional after all that time, because we weren't sure if we were going to finish."

The journey was part of a race, in which the team finished 9th out of 42 boats.

Each member of the team, which included Ollie Phillips, Stuart Kershaw, and Julian Evans, chose a charity to support. Clowes rowed for Cure Parkinson's.

"Whenever I did find it tough I thought of those with Parkinson's and these diseases and I thought: 'No, it's worth it. This is nothing compared to what some people are going through'," he said.

While on the water the team's morale was boosted by calls from celebrities including Bear Grylls, James Blunt and Hugh Bonneville.

The team rowed in constant two-hour shifts with two rowing at a time while the others tried to sleep or eat one of their vacuum-sealed food rations.

Clowes said he lost 7kg (15.4lbs) during the challenge, while Phillips lost about 17kg (37.5lbs).

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