A TEAM of four Royal Navy submariners who completed a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean last week have spoken of their pride at raising more than £100,000 for charity thanks to the challenge.

HMS Oardacious are the first ever serving Royal Navy team to have taken on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and have so far raised over £105,000 for mental health and wellbeing with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC).

The team, made up of Lieutenant Hugo Mitchell-Heggs from Somerset, Lieutenant Callum Fraser from Basingstoke, Petty Officer Dylan Woods from Northern Ireland and leading engineer technician Matt Harvey from Kirkaldy, were crowned the fastest ever serving military team to cross the Atlantic after reaching Nelson's Harbour in Antigua just 37 days, six hours, 40 minutes after setting off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands.

READ MORE: Navy submariners complete epic Atlantic rowing challenge

Fighting through heavy storms, shark infested waters and busy shipping lanes, the group's 28ft rowing boat became home for over a month for the men who are used to being 800ft beneath the sea.

Following their return to land, the quartet - who will soon be based at HMNB Clyde - told how their time serving as submariners prepared them for their epic row.

“That resilience that is instilled by the Royal Navy to do your best in every situation, not just as individuals but as a team to push through and look out for each other, is very much borne into you from day one,” said Callum.

READ MORE: Special report from behind the scenes at Helensburgh Navy centre's royal opening

“Dealing with the same people day in and day out in very close confinement is what you do on submarines so we found ourselves slipping into old patterns of stupid stories and keeping each other entertained with Dylan’s sea shanties, Hugo’s rugby stories and Matty’s 'would you rathers'.”

Callum added: “The second and probably most important bit is the time that we spend away from home.

"Normally we go away for over three months with no contact from family except vetted telegrams already read by five different people where we will have no chance to respond.

"The challenge was a bit of a luxury by comparison being able to pick up the sat phone whenever we wanted and have a five-minute call to home which you can’t do on a submarine.”

READ MORE: Armed forces' charity gun crew are the class of the field

Lieutenant Heggs, who proposed to his girlfriend after reaching Antigua, joked: “I think a submarine probably has a higher comfort rating on TripAdvisor than a rowing boat.”

When asked what their next challenge would be, the team said: “At the moment it is all about sharing the story to inspire others to do things like this and realise that you can go from an idea on a piece of paper to getting four people across the Atlantic.”

They continued: “We haven’t just raised a phenomenal amount of money for charity but we have also been showcasing ourselves to the sea cadets, working with schools and building relationships with some of our sponsors who have supported us.”

READ MORE: Check out all the latest news from across Helensburgh and Lomond here