The newest Antiguan to join the ranks of those who have rowed the Atlantic, Pammie Tyson (54), said all the hard work, planning and sacrifice was worth the journey.
Tyson and her team Lightship partner Nia Bayliss (47) of Wales, rowed into the historic Nelson’s Dockyard at around 8 am on Sunday to the cheers and warm embrace of family and friends, roughly 10 days shy of two months after leaving San Sebastian de La Gomera, Spain in mid December last year.
Speaking with Observer media on arrival, Tyson said it was well worth the sacrifice.
“It has been in my set of goals to achieve over the last seven years and then four years of planning and then this last year of training to finally cross that line today [Feb 2] gave a sense of relief that we were safe but a sense of achievement, a sense of joy, a sense of excitement to see my family and my friends. It was such an incredible, all encompassing physical and emotional feeling that yes, it has all been worth it. I can now rest with sense of achievement and I’ve learnt a lot about myself and hope to move forward in life all I’ve learnt in a much better way,” she said.
The pair covered 3,000 miles in 53 days to complete the World’s Toughest Row (formerly the Talisker Whiskey Challenge) in an effort to raise funds for two charities in the Antigua/Barbuda Ocean Trust and Elkhorn Marine Conservancy.
They were greeted by loved ones, friends and supporters on their arrival into the Nelson’s Dockyard.
Tyson, stepmom of Olympian kiteboarder Tiger Tyson, explained what it was like first setting eyes on Antigua.
“Well, we first saw the lights of land before we actually saw the land itself and that was a remarkable feeling in that we knew that there was life out there other than just us so we were fixated on the lights and, as we rowed closer to Antigua, they got brighter and clearer and we got more excited,” the 54-year-old said.
The pair pointed to challenges associated with strong weather patters just after leaving Spain and being trailed by a ‘massive’ shark for hours as two of the most fearful experiences being at sea while highlighting the beauty of the ‘vast ocean’ as a major motivator.
