BURNHAM-on-Crouch's Ocean Sheroes have achieved their dream of becoming the new Guiness World record holders after rowing from San Francisco to Hawaii in 35 days, 14 hours and 32 minutes.

The triumph was announced a few hours ago - in the early hours of Tuesday, 6 July.

The four rowers - three of whom come from Burnham-on-Crouch - have become the fastest all female four to complete the 2,400 nautical miles of the challenging route across the mid-Pacific.

Bella Collins, Lily Lower and Mary Sutherland all come from Burnham and joined up with Purusha, who lives in London, after she met Charlie Pitcher, founder of Burnham-based Rannoch Adventure, following an ocean rowing race at Hawaii.

Charlie connected Purusha with the others and they eventually decided to take on the ocean rowing race challenge together.

It took them two years to prepare for the race and it was in February that they packed off their boat, Fenris, to be shipped to San Francisco in readiness for the race. Fenris, designed and built by Charlie Pitcher and Rannoch Adventure, was not a new boat, but re-conditioned and re-used in line with the team's environmentally-friendly approach.

The race has only ever been completed by two all-women teams before and to beat the world record the Ocean Sheroes needed to reach the finish line in less than 50 days, eight hours and 15 minutes.

Setting off across the Pacific from San Franciso's Golden Gate Bridge in May in their four-woman boat, raising funds and awareness of a project to help save the seas from plastic and hoping to break a world record at the same time might have seemed like enough of a challenge for anyone.

However, back in March Bella told Nub News that the challenge was about more than just the enormous task they'd set themselves.

Bella Collins, 28, who grew up in Burnham-on-Crouch and took her first sailing steps from the town's waterfront, told us then: "We want to show all women – and men – that you can overcome issues of self-esteem and doubt to achieve any challenge you set yourself.

"We all have full-time jobs and we want to inspire other women and men to set out to achieve their goals, to find themselves and be what they want to be."

In a statement posted on their Facebook page this morning in the jubilation of having achieved their goals, the Ocean Sheroes said: "The messages of support and the stories of how we have inspired others have reduced us to tears today.

"It has been the greatest of privileges to make this crossing, to challenge ourselves like never before, to live life truly in the here and now and to come away braver, stronger and believing that anything really is possible if you work hard and commit to seeing it through.

"This record is for all women and girls out there to encourage you to be brave, say 'YES' and take on whatever challenge you set yourself, however big or small."

-The four women also rowed to raise funds for the Seabin Project.

The Seabin Project is renowned for its Seabins which collect waste from marina ports. The project also takes part in preventative activities including community activation, education programmes, data collection and scientific research.

Ultimately, the Seabin Project aims to promote a world where there isn't a need for Seabins at all.

To find out more about the team's challenge or to donate to their Seabin Project cause you can visit the Ocean Sheroes website here.