Wrap up story      24 August 2000

By MARK VAUGHAN-JACKSON

The infamous Atlantic weather may have beaten their attempt to row to Ireland, but it hasn't dampened the spirits of transatlantic challengers Roy Finlay and Colleen Cronin.
The two returned to Quidi Vidi Village Tuesday night, 26 days after they left to row across the Atlantic in an attempt to beat the 55-day record for the crossing to Ireland. They called off the attempt and headed back to Newfoundland last week after contravening winds continued to make progress impossible. After enjoying favourable westerly winds on the day of departure, almost every day thereafter saw them face strong winds from the east, winds that forced them northwards and ruined any hope of making the 70-mile-a-day progress they needed to break the record. When continued easterlies saw them actually losing ground and being pushed back towards Newfoundland, Finlay, a 38-year-old Scot, called it quits and turned around. On their return, the two and their seven-metre boat, the Celtic Crossing, were met by a Canadian Coast Guard vessel and towed closer to land. They then rowed into Quidi Vidi, their point of departure on July 28.
Another try After a day of sleep - and a very long, very hot shower - Cronin said she and Finlay are already talking about trying the crossing again. "It's still to be decided. When we first turned around, the two of us said, 'all right, definitely next year,' and we were thinking of leaving possibly in June," the 30-year-old New Yorker said.
Any further attempt will depend, however, on further discussions with Great Spirits, the voyage's main corporate sponsor, she said. While obviously disappointed this attempt failed, Cronin said whenever the next attempt is made, she'll be ready. "I loved every minute of it. I really, honest to God, loved every minute of it - whether it was calm, whether it was stormy, whether it was fog or rain or sunshine - I really loved every minute of it out there." Never nervous For all of the bad weather, high winds, high seas and cold weather, Cronin said she was never nervous about their safety. Whales, on the other hand, made her nervous. On one day in particular a curious humpback whale came for a closer look at the boat. It was perhaps the most scary moment in Cronin's voyage. "Believe it or not, that was actually more frightening than the water. Just the idea that this whale was going underneath the boat," Cronin said. "I really, seriously, thought this thing was going to pick us up."
Now back on dry land, Cronin said she has many memories that will stay with her for the rest of her life. But for all the bad weather, stormy seas and high winds, the whales, sharks and dolphins, Cronin said perhaps the most enduring image she'll take from the voyage was a faithful companion - a seagull. "I used to hate seagulls. When I thought of seagulls I'd think of the beach and them swarming about my blanket every time you take out something to eat. But there was always this one seagull at the boat, watching over us. "I felt like it was a dove sent from heaven, as silly as it sounds. Even in the rough weather, when there were no other seagulls around, there was this one seagull."