Former North Yorkshire schoolgirl Bobbie Mellor and and two friends have become world record breakers, rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in the toughest race on earth.

Bobbie, 34, a former pupil at Ripon Grammar School, with her team, the Wavebreakers, rowed the Atlantic in 40 days, ten hours and 51 minutes, the fastest female trio ever to do it and in the process raised £80,000 for climate change charities.

Novice Bobbie was skipper alongside Hatty Carder and Katherine Antrobus. The team came in tenth overall, up against many professional rowers.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Bobbie, centre with the record breaking crew of the Wavebrearkers

Bobbie, who says she was never sporty at school, said: "It’s been wild. We had a shaky start but then some magic happened."

Her mother Bridget, at home in Burton Leonard, near Ripon said: "The girls did us proud, showing great resilience, courage and teamwork. I found their arrival very emotional and was so relieved they made it. I always knew Bobbie would be a great skipper, she's so positive, cheerful and calm."

Looking forward to welcoming Bobbie home for a celebration party in February, she added: "It's an inspiration to other girls to know anything is possible."

Darlington and Stockton Times: The wavebreakers reach Antigua after 40 days

Director of sport at Ripon Grammar, Adam Milner said Bobbie's story is inspiring students. He added:  "I know Bobbie, who took up rowing for the first time during lockdown, has joked her old PE teachers would be shocked but whether you're naturally sporty or not, it's all about giving your best, which is what we encourage all our students to do, and Bobbie is clearly a shining example of that.

"We're all incredibly proud of her achievement, she has given it her all.

"Bobbie reminds us all that it's never too late to try something new, it doesn't have to be as big as a world record, or even winning medals, just being part of a team or achieving your own personal best is something to celebrate."

The Wavebreakers set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, Spain, on December 13 and finished in the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Celebrations as the Wavebreakers create the record

Despite capsizing early on, and enduring tumultuous weather with waves up to ten feet high, they beat the world record for fastest female trio set in 2021 by almost two days.

Bobbie, who is head of global sustainability for Vodafone, said: "In the first week we dropped right to the back of the fleet .

"Once we got through that it was good that all the bad things happened at the beginning as we built lots of resilience, it was almost training for the rest of the journey.

"We worked our way up through the fleet and somehow achieved a world record. It’s quite a simple formula. keep rowing whatever happens. It’s just like life.”

Bobbie says they are all suffering from a few aches and pains, adding: "It’s the physicality of it, it's just relentless. There’s no escape from the elements. It was really, really hot. If you are in discomfort, there’s very few things you can do to relieve it. There’s no shade and you’re rowing in almost 40 degrees, no way to cool down."

The team have raised £84,000 for The World Wildlife Fund and the UN High Commissioner for refugees climate crisis charities, with Vodafone doubling donations, to a total of £140,000.