A Galway man who has shattered the world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a man-powered boat has returned to a hero's welcome from his native city.

Ray Carroll being welcomed back to Galway on Monday. Photo: Reg Gordon.

Thirty-one-year old Ray Carroll completed the crossing from the Canaries to Barbados in 33 days, seven hours and 30 minutes, shaving two days and two hours off the previous record, which had withstood 25 previous attempts.

The 12 man team got off to a rough start, with a low-pressure storm affecting them early on. Deciding to outrace the storm, they completed 240 miles in three days but were caught nonetheless and were forced to down anchor and sit for three further days waiting for the storm to pass.

"We could feel the world record slipping through our fingers as we sat there… it was agonising," said Ray, who undertook the attempt in memory of his brother Aidan, who died in 1997.

Despite this they persevered, and were rewarded for their efforts by beating two other teams to the finish in Barbados over a month later. The team was at sea for Christmas, but with two hours rowing and two hours sleeping, celebrating was not an option.

During the journey, one member of the team suffered from sea sickness for a full ten days, and the debilitating effects of the harsh conditions have only now, over a week later, begun to fade, according to Ray.

Reaching Barbados, the team received a huge welcome from locals, the Barbadian Navy, and even billionaire Bill Gates, who was yachting in the area at the time.

"There were hundreds of people standing on the quayside waving when we came into Barbados, between all these huge yachts. We looked up and there was Bill Gates standing on the deck of one of them, waving!" he said.

Despite his massive achievement, Ray said his real aim in undertaking the challenge was to raise awareness of depression through fundraising for the charity Aware.

"I don't think I've achieved awareness yet. Depression can be cured, it's a disease, but that takes money and I haven't raised enough of that yet!"

However, he is now half way to his target of raising €150,000, and hopes to raise more money through corporate sponsorship over the coming weeks through publicising his record win. He is grateful to sponsors Ulster Bank, Sawgrass Properties, and NRG Clybaun, and is hoping to build on their contributions with further corporate sponsorship.

Aware operates a loCall helpline that is open 365 days a year (1890 303 302). The organisation also works to create greater awareness of depression through its secondary schools awareness programme, Beat the Blues, and a national awareness campaign, Depression Awareness Week Nationwide (DAWN), which takes place in January each year.

For further information or to donate, see www.aware.ie.

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