HELEN Leigh, her broken hands racked with pain, stared in disbelief as the coastline of the Caribbean emerged from the heaving Atlantic swell and the dawn mist.

Behind her, 2,588 miles of mighty ocean, stretching from the tiny island of La Gomera, a short ferry hop from the holiday island of Tenerife, where her tortuous but extraordinary journey had begun in earnest 45 days earlier.

“We didn’t see the land until we were about 25 miles away, and suddenly the east coast of Barbados rose out of nowhere and it was one of the most moving sights of my life,” said the Blackburn girl, who will relive her life-changing voyage at Clitheroe’s Grand Theatre this Sunday.

“I can’t even remember what it was like to get to the finish line, I was so full of adrenaline and raw, pumping, emotion.

“I’m not an emotional person, but I shed tears of joy.”

Helen was one of five ordinary women, Row for Freedom, who crossed the Atlantic in 2012, setting two world records: the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an all-female team and the first five-woman squad to row any ocean.

For six, energy-sapping weeks they were at the mercy of the elements, battling waves the size of a double-decker bus, and raging thirst and hunger pangs that they thought would never end.

“I was the only one with any rowing experience, so the others looked to me for leadership because some of the girls were terrified,” she added.

“It was a pressure cooker atmosphere. Little things are massive when you are out in the middle of the Atlantic and I was sick for most of the race.

“I lost a stone and a half. I was an absolute mess.”

Rowing the Atlantic is one of the most challenging expeditions in the world and they endured their worst weather at the beginning of the voyage.

“At night, you couldn’t see anything because there was no moon and you’d just be sat there in the pitch black getting smashed by these giant waves swamping the boat.

“Looking back, the most simple things seemed like such a treat.

“When you saw the sunrise in the morning it warmed your heart – it felt as if you were being reborn every day.”

  • Helen Leigh, A Row For Freedom, Clitheroe Grand Theatre, November 23. £10 and £5 conc. 01200 421599.