Daniel rows the boat ashore... from Sicily

Shattered, but not broken, Daniel Abela yesterday spent his last drops of energy to row the remaining metres of a gruelling 100-kilometre journey, arriving at the Valletta Waterfront from Sicily to the cheers of family and friends.

The 38-year-old marketing consultant rowed for 26 hours over almost three days from Pozzallo to Malta in aid of terminally-ill children.

Visibly overwhelmed by the physical and mental challenge he had just successfully completed, his first thoughts, after embracing his wife and daughter, went towards his philanthropic aim.

"I have my ray of sunshine already; let's give these (terminally-ill) kids a ray of hope," he struggled to say in a tired and emotional voice.

Mr Abela embarked on the Rowing Mad mission in an attempt to raise funds to send these children on a dream holiday with their parents.

The children were the driving force that saw him propel a 450-kilogramme boat single-handed, accompanied by a sailing boat for support. Sitting on the steps of the waterfront quay for a hard-earned breather, Mr Abela described the crossing as very tough. "It was as hard as I imagined; maybe a little harder at times".

Friday evening, in particular, was bad: Mr Abela was planning to row for one hour and rest for half, as was the plan throughout his journey, but he was compelled to go on for five at a stretch due to the weather conditions. Fighting 12 knots of wind, blowing in a south-westerly direction, he would have otherwise been sent back to where he started.

But Mr Abela, whose admiring wife Ruth described him as the most determined person she has ever met, had no intention of going back to square one.

"In five hours, I only covered five nautical miles, but at least we did not lose any ground," he said.

The nights at sea were not a walk in the park either, but the support team by his side made him feel safe. It was estimated that Mr Abela would be rowing for between 25 and 30 hours, so the timing was "pretty much spot on" he said, pointing out that he was originally scheduled to arrive yesterday evening, but made it by noon instead.

"Because we did so well on Thursday, some of the crew thought we would make it by Friday evening, but the weather changed that."

His arrival coincided with his adopted daughter Samara's third birthday and she was the first person to get a hug.

Mr Abela felt he was more set to undertake the challenge mentally, rather than physically. Everyone had said he was crazy to do it at such short notice, and he acknowledged that just two months of exhausting training was inadequate.

After popping a bottle of champagne on the quay to applause, Mr Abela's next stop was... "to berth the boat... and sleep for two days... and row some more if I have the time!"

The challenge was organised by the Puttinu Cares Children's Cancer Support Group and the Beyond the Moon programme, the beneficiaries, and supported by the Vodafone Malta Foundation and an endless list of friends whom Mr Abela thanked.

It was too early to say how much money had been raised, and although he hoped for lots, he was aware that donations had only trickled in very slowly - and disappointingly, considering the magnitude of the effort. But they can still be made to either beneficiary, to Mr Abela at 217/1, 21st September Avenue, Naxxar NXR 1013, or to HSBC account number 085114437050.