A group of adventurers who are rowing almost 8,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean have set foot on land for the first time in more than two months after reaching Hawaii.

The women, dubbed the Coxless Crew, arrived at Honolulu early last week, 68 days after they set out from the west coast of America on their six-month expedition.

The quartet stepped ashore at the Hawaii Yacht Club – and promptly staggered along the marina’s walkways as they struggled to find their land legs.

Laura Penhaul, Natalia Cohen, Emma Mitchell and Isabel Burnham were cheered into the harbour by scores of small boats and fellow sailors, and were draped with garlands of flowers as they were given a traditional Hawaiian lei welcome.

They were also met by Lizanne van Vuuren, who will take over from Burnham on the second leg of the trip.

Cohen, 40, an adventure tour leader from London, said it was a “bizarre” experience being back on land.

She said: “Everything is quite overwhelming. We stepped off the boat and all felt a bit wobbly, and then there was a barrage of people giving us lei after lei after lei, and then glasses of Champagne.

“It was really bizarre. After so long at sea our legs felt really odd, and we felt we needed a great big hug to get a bit of stability. We will probably get motion sickness on land now as we are so used to moving.”

We will probably get motion sickness on land now

The four women set off from San Francisco on April 20 aboard a 29ft pink boat named Doris, with the aim of rowing 8,446 miles across the Pacific and becoming the first and fastest crew of four women to complete that journey.

But just 10 days in they were forced back to California after water damaged their boat’s battery charging system, the mishap adding 16 days to their time at sea.

Back out on the ocean they had to contend with wind and rain from the tail of tropical storm Ela, bombardments from schools of flying fish and the heart-stopping approach of a humpback whale.

Cohen said: “We had humpback whales breaching metres from the boat. That was definitely one of the highlights – I wish I could bottle the sensation that I felt, it was so incredible. But there was also the fear that they would breach on the boat or close enough to flip us. I have never felt so much alive in my life.”

The four women have rowed in pairs in two-hour shifts, covering 2,800 nautical miles – around 3,222 land miles – and celebrated Mitchell’s 30th birthday on the way.

They have also had to contend with waves the size of four-storey buildings, a storm that saw them retreat to their cabins and ride out 28-knot winds, and cope with callused hands and sores caused by sea water and sweat.

Their boat attracted companions, from a pod of six whales swimming metres away to schools of mahi-mahi dolphinfish – which occasionally succumbed to shark attacks ­– and an albatross overhead.

But one set of visitors soon became rather unwelcome: the flying fish.

Cohen said: “We were very excited to see them initially, but then they started to leap on the boat every night.

“We would wake up and there would be carnage, with so many dead fish everywhere and everything smelling – it got to be a bit tiring, really.”

Now finally on land, the Coxless Crew will stay for around a week on Hawaii as they carry out repairs, replenish supplies and get their newest member of crew up to speed for their 2,600-mile journey to Samoa.

They will also say goodbye to Burnham, who became an aunt while she was at sea when her nephew was born.

Cohen said: “It will be mixed emotions for Izzy. We have loved having her on the boat and she has been a pillar of strength for all of us.

“But it will be good for us to have some fresh blood on the boat, and now we can repeat all our stories to her.”

The Coxless Crew hope to raise €327,300 for Walking With The Wounded and Breast Cancer Care.

Who are they?

The Coxless Crew is made up of six women who are single and taking time out from their jobs to row the Pacific from San Francisco to Australia.

• Laura Penhaul, 31, originally from Cornwall but now living and working in London, is the founder and lead of the Coxless Crew.

The lead physiotherapist for British Paralympics Athletics, she is a keen marathon runner, cyclist and triathlete.

• Natalia Cohen, 40, is based in London. An adventure tour leader and manager, she has lived and worked in more than 50 countries in the last 15 years and has completed the Inca Trail in Peru 10 times.

She has already crossed a section of the Pacific as part of a crew in a small yacht, monitoring plastic pollution.

• Emma Mitchell, 30, is from Marlow in Buckinghamshire.

An expedition manager, she has rowed for England and is an ex-Cambridge Blue who rowed in the Boat Race.

She has a PhD, has undertaken expedition-leading courses in the jungles of Belize and has taken part in the Mont Blanc and Berlin marathons.

• Isabel Burnham, 30, is a solicitor from Saffron Walden near Cambridge who joined the Coxless Crew for the first leg, from San Francisco to Hawaii.

A keen mountaineer, trekker and ultramarathon runner, she took part in a relay marathon from London to Rome and has also rowed for Cambridge University.

• Lizanne van Vuuren, 26, a South African osteopath who grew up in Newbury, is part of the crew for the second leg, from Hawaii to Samoa.

She is a keen swimmer and runner who has completed a half Ironman triathlon and also plays guitar.

• Meg Dyos, 24, an English graduate who is working as an estate agent in London, is joining the Coxless Crew for the third leg, from Samoa to Cairns in Australia.

She has run the London Marathon, the Great North Run and led an expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.