Four British women make history by rowing across the pacific ocean

SYDNEY - Four British women have become the first people to row across the Pacific Ocean after ending their mammoth journey in the northern Australian city of Cairns on Monday.

The coxless crew were greeted by more than 100 people, including family and friends, when they arrived on Australian shores on Monday after spending nine months rowing the 15,700 kilometers across the pacific from San Francisco to Cairns.

The women rowed 24-hours a day in two hour shifts, stopping only in Honolulu, Hawaii and Apia, Samoa for up to a week at a time to re-stock their 29-foot pink boat named Doris.

The team, which set out with the aim of raising more than 500,000 Australian dollars (350,734 US dollars) for charity, were due to arrive at Cairns Marina in northern Queensland state on Sunday, however were delayed by weather.

"The wind went more northerly and that made getting into the marina much harder, it slowed things right down," Cairns Marina operations manager Tony Humphries said.

"A 35-mile day is a fairly average mileage -- but the last five to six days they've been down to about 20 miles a day which is very slow."

The four rowers hope to be recognised as the first all-female and four-strong crew to have rowed across the world's largest ocean.