The end is in sight for four fearless females as they enter the final leg of their record breaking mission to row across the pacific.

The four strong Coxless Crew – featuring Marlow rower Emma Mitchell – set off from Samoa on Tuesday, November 10 to embark on the last stretch of their epic 8446 mile trek in a bid to become the first all-female crew to row the pacific.

The crew are preparing to spend Christmas on specially made 29ft rowing boat, Doris, as major setbacks – including the failure of Doris’s electrics mean they won’t set foot in Cairns until January – two months later than expected.

Lizanne Van Vuuren, who joined the crew in Hawaii for the second stretch swapped her place in the boat with Meg Dyos, for the final leg.

Ms Dyos admitted she had only rowed once before Doris took off from Samoa, had never been in the deep ocean and was terrified of sharks- yet she was praised by her colleagues for taking to the waves ‘like a fish to water’.

The team have been regularly updating their blog to keep everyone on dry land up to date with their trials and tribulations of their time at sea.

Ms Mitchell wrote: “With boisterous trade winds up to 24kts the waves are the size of four story houses and we have to take care not to end up beam in to them.

“The big bright moon has been lighting our way at night and Megs and I have been sharing our life stories so the time passes quickly.

“It has been a breath of fresh air to experience life on Doris through a new pair of eyes and to remember back to our first week rowing out of San Francisco when we didn’t have all our routines set and weren’t used to how Doris rolls with the waves.

“It is good to remember how far we have come already but also to remind ourselves to stay vigilant and safe on this final leg of the journey.”

The four women set off from San Francisco in April and arrived in Honolulu, in Hawaii after nearly 100 days at sea, only to set off just a few days later of the penultimate leg of their challenge towards Samoa.

Famous names in support of the voyage include explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Kylie Minogue.

Their adventure, which has featured on TV numerous times since their plight began, is raising cash for Breast Cancer Care and injured serviceman charity Walking With the Wounded.

To follow the Coxless Crew’s tour visit to http://coxlesscrew.com/