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Cheers, applause and rarely-awarded medals were the features of a celebration to herald the achievements of the four islanders to have rowed across the Atlantic and broken a world record.
The four women making up the Intrepid 232 crew received Bailiff’s Medals at the conclusion of Saturday’s event in the Royal Square – the first recipients of the honour for almost five years.
Pictured: Each of the team was awarded a Bailiff's Medal.
Julie Brady, Helene Monpetit, Rosemary Satchwell and Alison Smithurst whose combined age was reflected in their team name, broke the record for the oldest female crew to cross any ocean after completing the 3,000-mile World’s Toughest Row race.
The crew finished the race on 9 February in Antigua, 58 days after setting off from the Canary Island of La Gomera.
The four women walked into the square at 3pm on Saturday to tumultuous applause and a guard of honour from veterans of previous Atlantic rowing campaigns.
Pictured: seven Islanders to have taken part in previous Atlantic rowing challenges were part of the reception committee (Dave Ferguson)
John Searson, Carl Clinton, Rob Cassin, Ian Blandin, Ian Anderson, Pete Wright and Rufus Scholefield were joined by Jersey Rowing Club chairman Gerald Howe in creating a tunnel of oars for the crew.
The Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq led the congratulations.
“This ladies’ team have made two significant achievements,” he said. “Not only have they completed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’ in incredibly challenging conditions, but they have also entered the history books for their Ocean Rowing Stats world record.
“They needed to go through an arduous training programme to conditions themselves to be able to safely navigate the challenging seas, yet for the last few days there was a real possibility they would have to rely on assistance to finish the race – they kept us all on tenterhooks.”
Pictured: Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq led the congratulations to the Intrepid 232 team (Dave Ferguson)
The Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd, and Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham were also present to congratulate the crew.
The most recent recipients of Bailiff’s Medals were four veterans of the 1944 Normandy Landings. Harry Fenn, Bill Reynolds, Richard Wraight and Ernest Thorne were recognised on the 75th anniversary of D-Day in June 2019.
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