FOUR friends have returned home triumphant after completing an epic 3,000-mile rowing adventure across the Atlantic Ocean, raising money for Truro-born mental health charity Invictus Trust.

Despite seeing their 8.5m boat holed twice by the sword-like beaks of marlin fish — one measuring at least three metres long — the Invictus Atlantic team successfully finished The World’s Toughest Row in 45 days, nine hours and 14 minutes.

The crew set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 11 and battled 40ft swells, scorching sun and sleep deprivation as they rowed two hours on, two hours off. Over the course of their journey, they rowed almost non-stop for a total of 1,089 hours, averaging just under 3mph.

Their determination and teamwork saw them reach Antigua on January 25, raising thousands of pounds for charity. The Invictus Trust was set up in 2011 in memory of 18-year-old Ben Cowburn, from Truro, who took his own life after a period of mental illness. Its pilot counselling service for 11- to 21-year-olds in Cornwall was launched last year and has already made a significant impact.

The Invictus Atlantic team was made up of skipper James Brittain-Long, 60, a Constantine-based businessman and gig rower; Paul Hayes, 61, a former Royal Marine Commando turned teacher from Falmouth; former RNAS Culdrose helicopter pilot Luke Morgan, 61; and former Royal Engineer Officer and global project director David Radford-Wilson, 58, from Dorset.

"It was an amazing experience for all of us,” said James. "It's astonishing what you can do when you have to. You just get on with it because you've got no choice, and that's what we did, focusing on the job in hand."

Highlights included night rowing under a starry sky and brilliant moon, and fulfilling an ambition to swim on his 60th birthday in the middle of the Atlantic with three miles of water beneath him.

During their voyage the crew saw porpoises playing amid the oar strokes and had visits from inquisitive dolphins which James described as "big units, not like the little things around Cornwall". The marlin pierced the hull right next to him: “I stuck my fist in the hole and we patched it up with wooden bungs and putty.”

The Invictus Atlantic crew finished 17th and were met on the quayside in Antigua by family and friends. They then spent a week together on holiday during which James "didn’t stop eating" to make up for losing 14kgs in weight.

"I've now got 'rower's claw' which means I can't make a fist with my right hand, so I'll need some physio for that," he added.

The crew secured sponsorship from 34 mainly Cornish businesses to help meet the costs of their epic voyage, including lead sponsor Aspects Holidays, part of Sapphire Holidays, the Hayle-based group of self-catering holiday letting agencies.

The crew will be selling their trusty boat — once the marlin holes have been professionally repaired — to raise further funds for the charity. See invictusatlantic.com