What an epic few days!

Where did I leave you? Oh yes — with just over 16 nautical miles to go.

As the sun rose and we crept closer, the land slowly shifted from a hazy outline into something with shape, colour, and depth. Force Horizon were just ahead of us — visible on AIS but not yet to the naked eye — a reminder that landfall was really happening.

What hit us first wasn’t sight at all — it was smell.

For more than a month, the only scent we’d known was the ocean itself: salt, wind, rain, and sometimes nothing at all. Occasionally, you’d get a small treat — the smell of washing powder when opening a bag of clean clothes — a strangely comforting reminder of home. Otherwise, it was just sea.

Then, gradually, the smell of land drifted out to meet us. Vegetation. Damp earth. Green life. After weeks of blue and grey, that first hint of greenery was almost overwhelming. You don’t realise how muted your senses become out there until they suddenly wake up again. Colours felt richer, the air heavier, emotions much closer to the surface. It felt like stepping back into the world after being wrapped in the ocean for weeks.

The seas were following, which meant we could take our time and bring the boat in without stress. We paused to get our kit prepared, double-check everything, and simply take in the last few hours at sea. Those moments are precious — the final breaths of an environment that has been your entire world.

As we came alongside land, the sound of the ocean crashing against the rocks was loud and foreboding. I couldn’t help but think back to previous arrivals at night, when you hear that sound without being able to see it — when it feels far more threatening. Today, at least, we could see what we were dealing with.

Then the media boat arrived — and with it, the first familiar faces we’d seen in 42 days.

Charlotte from the media team, whose voice you’ll recognise from commentary and interviews.

Christian, capturing and editing the incredible footage.

Penny, taking the beautiful photographs.

And Maurice, skippering the boat.

It was a genuinely emotional moment — seeing people again after so long with nothing but sea and sky.

As we rounded the final point, supporters were visible high up on the fort, and the finish line was marked by a flare. At that moment, we stopped rowing and shared a long, emotional hug. Then came our own flares — marking and celebrating the successful completion of Leg 1.

And then… land.

A perfect landing, met with cheers from the dock. We honestly couldn’t believe the number of people who came out to welcome us in.

Some amazing friends travelled out to be there:

Mick and Julie, Ray and Amber, Gary and Lynne all flew out.

My friends Louise and Sue came down.

And several crews who had already finished came to welcome us home.

What an incredible welcome.

You can watch our arrival on social media @RowAurora — it’s well worth it.

After interviews, we finally tucked into real food — food that didn’t need rehydrating. Absolute heaven. Celebrations followed, and yes… a few drinks were sunk.

We were also lucky to welcome in more teams later that afternoon and evening, including Three Flying Fish — fellow Essex rowers — and Row With The Flow, who I’d grown close to after training them at my sea school. Seeing them arrive was just as emotional as arriving ourselves.

Monday was an early start — 6am at the dock to welcome Jake in and begin the mammoth task of cleaning and sorting the boat. By 6pm, we had unpacked, cleaned, and partially restocked.

Tuesday brought another early start — moving the boat docksides and repacking for the next leg (more on that soon).

Wednesday was laundry and serious passage planning.

If you’ve been following social media, you’ll already know that our next-leg plan has changed. The short version is that, due to incoming weather, we will now be rowing from Miami to Fernandina, rather than directly from Antigua. I’ll go into much more detail in the next blog.

For now, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who followed the tracker, read the blogs, sent messages, donated, shared posts, and believed in this journey. Your support carried us across the Atlantic more than you’ll ever know.

Next blog tomorrow — with the next leg update.

Dawn

“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”

Hometown Row

Leg 1 – La Gomera to Antigua

Leg 2 – Antigua to Florida

Leg 3 – Canada to the UK

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