The two Irish rowers rescued after their boat capsized in the Atlantic have flown into Dublin after arriving in Spain this morning on the ship that rescued them.
Gearoid Towey (28), from Cork and Ciaran Lewis (34), from Dalkey in Dublin, arrived in the southern Spanish port of Cartagena this morning aboard the Hispania Spirit, the tanker that rescued them from the ocean on Sunday night after their boat capsized 1,400 miles from Bermuda.
Members of their families had flown to Spain to meet them this morning. They were met by
more family and friends at Dublin Airport this afternoon.
Visibly surprised by today's reception, Mr Towey and Mr Lewis were hugged by family members in an emotional reunion.
"We're very relieved to be home," Mr Towey said. "We wouldn't rule out doing the race again. We'll have to have a think about it."
Mr Lewis added: "Technically, it was a one-in-a-million freak weather conditions that got in the way so we were unfortunate in that respect but very lucky to get out of it."
They were found by the 98,000-tonne cargo vessel after sending an emergency distress signal from their 23ft Digicel Atlantic Challenge boat which had been smashed to pieces by a huge wave.
They had been taking part in the Atlantic rowing race across the ocean. They had problems earlier with their rudder and were then capsized by a freak wave.
"For a few moments when the boat capsized it felt like life or death," said Mr Towey. "But as soon as we got ourselves together, we just clicked into survival mode and we did what was necessary to pull ourselves through."
Mr Towey said he and his partner would reflect on the experience and make a decision on another attempt at the 40-day race.
"Getting across the ocean was something that we wanted to do. We'll give it a bit of time to do a bit of thinking and see how we feel after that," he said. "Life is there to be lived and these are very exciting things to do."
The pair had been raising money for Concern and the Merchant's Quay Project.