Mom becomes smallest person to row the Atlantic alone

By Elizabeth Hunter

A 5-foot mom has become the smallest person ever to complete the "World's Toughest Row," a solo trip across the Atlantic.

Milli Abrams, 50, spent 46 days, 11 hours, and 44 minutes at sea - beginning in the Canary Islands on 12 December, and arriving at the finish line in Antigua yesterday, 30 January.

At 5 feet tall, she has become the smallest person ever to complete the feat - raising money for charity along the way.

In a video posted to her social media, Milli, from Fife, described the final hours of the challenge.

She said:"Yesterday, I allowed myself three hours of sleep in the night, because I knew I needed to really push.

"I was working super hard - at one point, I was the fastest boat in the fleet.

"I felt like an athlete - I felt good.

"I was on track for a sunset finish until I got about 15 miles from the coast - and then the wind changed.

"I was thinking it was my final test from the sea.

"I was getting pushed off course from the wind and the current, which meant that eventually, I had to put my daggerboard in, which helped me to gain a few more angles down.

"It also makes the boat much heavier, and it was really hard to row in those conditions.

"I worked really hard with that for the next seven or eight hours.

"I screamed and cried and wailed.

"In hindsight, I wasn't present in the moment - I was focused on the finish line, which was torturous because I still had seven or eight hours ahead of me.

"In my head, I needed to be finished."

Milli pushed through the grueling final hours of her row before arriving at shore just after dark - where she was greeted by family and friends.

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"Yesterday was one of the toughest days," she said.

"I resigned myself to the fact I was finishing in the dark.

"The last hour and a half, I spoke to my brother on the phone, and that calmed me down.

"Then the finish - which was amazing.

"I didn't cry very much, which is phenomenal! I was just so pumped and happy to be there.

"It was so nice to see the safety boat and humans, and to know I was less than an hour away from seeing family.

"They tell you it'll be overwhelming - but I didn't mind the overwhelm.

"I loved it. I was just very happy."

Milli, a former accountant turned small business owner, says she was never a particularly sporty person, and had also experienced struggles with long COVID.

But after a friend completed his own row last year, Milli began to believe she was capable of doing the same - and started an intensive training programme.

Throughout her journey, she has raised almost £16,000 for The 2 Minute Foundation, an environmental charity dedicated to combatting plastic pollution, and Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) who provide care for children with terminal illnesses.

In an interview before setting off, Milli described her plans for after the row.

She said: "Part of the reason I wanted to do it was to see what it was like to be that alone for such a long period of time.

"I’m hoping to have a bit of time to reflect and slow down a bit. I don’t really slow down – running a small business, is full-on, all the time.

"The aftermath of all of this is a massive unknown for me. I hope I feel happy and ready to jump back into normal life.

"I’m hoping to get a bit more of an understanding of who I am, and how I cope by myself in tough situations.

"And I’d love to help make this feel more doable to people who are like me – because it didn’t feel attainable to me until I met someone who’d done it."