After surviving 30ft waves and ‘biblical’ rain in the mid-Atlantic a Norwich woman is feeling happy to be back on dry land.

Abbey Platten and her three teammates reached Antigua on Sunday, 39 days after leaving the Canary Islands, to complete 3,000 miles in The World’s Toughest Row.

After her team, There She Rows, achieved second place in the women’s class, the former pupil of Open Academy in Heartsease described some of the "insane" conditions they experienced. 

Just days from the finish line, they battled powerful weather systems brought on by an anticyclone, including 30ft waves and gusts of 30 knots. 

“It was biblical, it was so much rain! We couldn’t see," said the 26-year-old.

Norwich Evening News: Abbey Platten and the There She Rows team during their Atlantic crossingAbbey Platten and the There She Rows team during their Atlantic crossing (Image: World's Toughest Row)

“I was looking at my feet and just pulling away on the oars, hoping we were going in the right direction and that a wave wasn’t going to take us.

"All you could do was just keep rowing.”

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In another terrifying scenario, a huge wave crashed against their side in the middle of the night, flipping the boat at a 90-degree angle and throwing Abbey and her rowing partner against the sea as water filled in through the side.

Thankfully, the boat’s safety rails saved them and they managed to get the vessel back on track. 

Norwich Evening News: It proved an emotional arrival in Antigua for Abbey PlattenIt proved an emotional arrival in Antigua for Abbey Platten (Image: World's Toughest Row)

As the crew rowed to inspire women through sport and in aid of their chosen charities - raising £8,000 so far - they also saw whales and dolphins, and enjoyed “dramatic skies, moonrises, sunsets and stars”.

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Rowing continuously for 24 hours meant the team rowed in shifts of two hours on and two hours off. 

Abbey, a personal trainer, added: “Physically your body adapts so quickly. Even with blisters, your hands are pretty sore but within five minutes of being on the oars your brain forgets that they hurt anymore.

“The sleep deprivation was the worst part.”