TWO Wye rowers have been all at sea in the world’s oceans, with another set to join them soon.

Monmouth Rowing Club’s Elaine Theaker is currently in the middle of rowing nearly 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in a three-woman boat, while clubmate and town GP James Allison has been crewing a yacht in the Clipper round the world sailing race in the testing Southern Ocean.

Fellow rower Eric Froggatt is also set to make a splash when he joins one of the Clipper fleet to sail across the Pacific from China to America.

Lawyer Elaine, 54, and her crewmates Di Carrington and Sharon Magrath have endured “waves like tower blocks” as their 27ft-long self-righting boat Poppy gets battered by violent seas, with long hours spent hunkering down in their tiny cabins to sit out the storms.

The trio started their epic row from the Canary Islands on December 14, and passed the half way mark last Wednesday (January 17) All in their 50s and 60s, they are aiming to be the first ever three-woman crew to row all the way to Antigua.

But while some days can be filled with sunshine on calm seas, others are impossible for rowing. Speaking from her boat by satellite phone while sitting out a storm, she said: “It’s the mad ship Poppy at the moment, we’ve had a crazy day with waves the size of tower blocks coming at us in all directions, crashing down on us with the force of a train. It’s not been pleasant at all.

“It’s safer to go in the cabins, because some of the waves just throw you off your seat and threaten to capsize the boat. We’re rowing when we think it’s safe, as some of the waves are terrifying in the pitch black at night, as you can’t see where you’re going and when you’re going to hit them.”

And while husband Steve and son Che were toasting New Year at home, the Wye rower admitted rough seas had forced them to postpone their celebrations, saying: “We were planning to celebrate with a glass of Prosecco, but it’s impossible, it’d get thrown everywhere.”

But some days are completely different, she says – “Yesterday was great, Di washed her hair for the first time and Sharon even painted her nails and after a lot of rowing, we finished off watching the sunset with a gin and tonic.”

She also said they’d had a fleeting visit from the race support yacht – “it was nice to see other human beings” – but they’d said ‘see you in Antigua’ and they were now on their own again.

Meanwhile, James, 54, helped his Garmin yacht race more than 2,500 nautical miles from Perth to Sydney in the challenging Southern Ocean south of Tasmania before joining the legendary Sydney to Hobart race, which began on Boxing Day.

Despite leading in the early stages of the Fremantle to Sydney leg, James’ boat got caught in a windhole east of Tasmania and was becalmed as other boats raced ahead, finally finishing seventh out of 11 as they entered Sydney Harbour after some 14 days sailing, where wife Louise and daughters Emily and Isobel had flown in from Monmouth to meet him.

After a week’s break, it was time for the Sydney to Hobart race, where his boat took three days three hours 31 minutes and 47seconds to finish third fastest of the 11 Clipper boats, just two minutes behind the second boat, as they placed 41st overall out of 104.

Racing through 30-foot high waves, James, said: “Garmin can be hard to helm in heavy weather on starboard tack. At times we have needed three helms on our two steering wheels to keep her from losing control, which has proved exhausting.

“And what I hadn’t prepared for was the heat below deck. Boy it was hot.”

He said being stuck in a windhole “helplessly” watching other boats overtaking them in some of the world’s roughest seas had been “very frustrating” and “depressing”, but the wildlife alone had been worth the trip.

“There has been a killer whale and lots of dolphins. Albatrosses come and go, gliding on the uplift from the waves, and petrels and shearwaters abound.

“Bioluminescence, moon dance, the Milky Way, the Southern Cross and other constellations are our nocturnal companions - a fantastic sight with zero artificial light and no atmospheric pollution.”

For more information, go to www.atlanticladies.co/team and fourladiesrowatlantic on Facebook and www.clipperroundtheworld.com