Two friends have raised nearly £14,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after rowing across the Atlantic Ocean for 70 days, 20 hours and 18 minutes as part of a race.

David Ferrier from Westnewton, Cumbria, and Garry Hoyle, from North Shields, set off from San Sebastian, in La Gomera, Canary Islands on December 12 2023 and rowed approximately 3,000 miles to Antigua in a specially designed 7m rowing boat called Molly Moo.

The pair celebrated Christmas and their birthdays together, with Mr Hoyle turning 60 and Mr Ferrier turning 62, just three days after they had set off.

The duo took on the world's toughest rowThe duo took on the world's toughest row (Image: World's Toughest Row)

During the journey the teammates faced some challenging weather conditions, including battling 30ft waves and Mr Ferrier was even washed overboard.

Despite some low points, they both had several highlights from the trip, including the wildlife and a welcome party at English Harbour when they reached the finish line.

The journey took 70 days to completeThe journey took 70 days to complete (Image: World's Toughest Row)

Mr Ferrier said: "The whole thing, 70 days, 20 hours and 18 minutes, seemed to go like a flash. There were so many different things there, the wildlife was astonishing. Whales, dolphins, porpoise, sharks, mahi mahi and marlin. The night sky is absolutely phenomenal. Rowing in the moonlight, the stars were just incredible you couldn't experience anything like it."

The duo, whose team name was ‘Seas The Moments’, decided to use the race as an opportunity to fundraise for charity, and chose GNAAS after witnessing one of their helicopters while on a training walk in the Lake District.

The two men after finishing the raceThe two men after finishing the race (Image: Supplied)

Prior to the race Mr Hoyle and Mr Ferrier visited GNAAS’ base in Langwathby, Penrith, with Molly Moo and met some of the charity’s critical care team, including one of their pilots, doctors and paramedics.

They’ve since returned to the base to share their story and present a cheque for £13,733.

Mr Ferrier said: "For us it was all about trying to raise some funds for GNAAS and we are super grateful to everybody that donated. We really are blown away by the donations and potentially everybody who has donated has helped to save somebody’s life and that means so much to us."