Matt puts Row into Romance

Now that's romance - when Row4Charity hero Matt Hellier set foot on dry land in Mauritius his first thought was to propose to girlfriend Emma Hollamby.

He had with him the engagement ring he bought in Australia in the days before the epic challenge started.

Exhausted but elated, Matt was barely able to walk but still managed to sink onto one knee to ask for Emma's hand.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now 20 year old Matt has come home to Bexhill with the achievement of winning the Indian Ocean Rowing Race 2009, being the youngest competitor ever, and his future wife at his side.

The couple are enjoying life together after more than two months apart as Matt competed in the race from Australia to Mauritius, a distance of 3,500 miles, with brothers Phil and Nick McCorry, and Ian Allen.

They have been together for eight months, having first met when Matt went into The Retreat, where Emma works as a hairdresser, to find sponsors for his Row4Charity fundraising.

He found Emma instead and she helped him organise a 24 hour aerobic session which was when they realised how well they got on.

"We were stuck together for 24 hours," said Matt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We realised we got on very well and enjoyed each other's company. I realised she was just as competitive as me and would never give up - I have never found anyone else as competitive as me.

"It got serious quite quickly - I suppose because we knew I was going away, and we only had a couple of months, so we just fitted in as much as we possibly could before then. I suppose that is why it went along quite quickly."

"It's a whole big Row4Charity love story," commented Emma this week.

"My first impression was that I thought he was very nice. When we sat down and I listened to what he said I decided I wanted to help him - that is when we did the aerobics thing. I realised he was not just a pretty face.

"I think was he has done is amazing. I am really proud."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was the thought of Emma and his family that helped Matt keep going through the more difficult and frustrating moments of the race.

The Bexhill Trust Challenger was beset by technical problems and equipment kept breaking as well as the crew having to deal with storm and 50ft waves. Matt was able to talk to Emma on the phone about what was happening on the boat, such as when it flipped on its side and nearly capsized, and go over those problems he wouldn't burden his family with in case it caused them to worry.

Matt said: "It was a lot harder than I expected it to be. The rowing wasn't, and I had been worried about sleep deprivation and that sort of thing, but that didn't pose a problem...We got into the routine and that was it.

"But it was being stuck in this nine metres by two metres space and that's it - that what you are stuck on. You have to live with the other three guys 24 hours a day. I'm a bit of a hygienic person - I want things to be tidy and clean and on a boat like that they can't be, so I struggled with that a little bit.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Me and Phil were in one cabin, and Nick and Ian the other, and there was nowhere to stand up. You had to lay down. For twelve hours a day whatever you were doing had to be done lying down - cooking, eating, reading, sleeping, and for two and a half months it becomes really draining to be in that coffin twelve hours a day, and the rest of the time to be on that seat rowing."

Matt's ability to deal with setbacks to the boat proved invaluable during the race as more and more of the equipment packed up and needed to be repaired, but even he towards the end found it hard to come up with an answer when the rudder kept breaking just over 100 miles from the finish.

"I was in the cabin when they realised the rudder was broken. I was called outside and remember looking at the rudder in half and thinking what do we do now? I knew we didn't have tools or spare parts and this was the end of our journey, we were just two days away."

For Matt it was the thought of Emma and his family waiting that made the difference between giving up or making one last effort - as soon as he knew Emma was in Mauritius he was even more determined to get there.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It was definitely an incentive...the will to get there was much stronger."

Repairs were made to the rudder which was slung together with ties and bungee chords then the Bexhill Trust Challenger made it over the finish line and into ocean racing history.

The boat had a final three hours to go before reaching Mauritius where all the crew had emotional reunions with their loved one.

Matt had already stepped onshore when he realised he had to turn back to find the ring he had kept in his cabin ready for to propose to Emma.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Father Danny thought his son must be disoriented after so much time at sea and put out a hand to hold him up but Matt still managed to slide onto one knee while he asked Emma to marry him.

Emma said: "I think I sort of collapsed on top of him. We had family around as well - it was perfect to have everyone there."

She thinks Matt hasn't changed at all but he says the experience he's been through made him realise how important his loved ones were.

"I am a lot more family oriented now. Beforehand rowing was everything to me. But now I have decided to take a backseat on rowing this year and spend more time with my family. I didn't realise how much I would miss them and how hard it would be to be away from them for that long. I've realised how important they are."

Row4Charity continues to fundraise for The Stroke Association and is working towards a 15,000 target - to donate visit www.row4charity.co.uk, or make a donation in person at The Waterfront.

Related topics: