Record-breaker rewarded with whisky from the King

A former Royal Marine said he has been blown away by everyone's reaction after completing a record-breaking challenge rowing solo across the Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Dave "Dinger" Bell set off from the west coast of Peru on 9 November last year and only stepped foot on land again this month.

The veteran said he spent the last 11 months cruising with "man-eating" sharks and dolphins, waiting out storms and dodging cyclones.

Bell said: "When I got back I had a parcel containing a letter and a bottle of whisky from the King which just blew me away."

An overwhelming sense of curiosity led him to complete the world record, he said.

He also wanted to support Exeter-based charity Rock 2 Recovery, which helps veterans and blue-light workers suffering from PTSD and has raised more than £143,000 so far.

Speaking to BBC Radio Devon, Bell added: "On the boat you're just so into the routine and the grind of life, you don't really get a sense of what's happening.

"I had no sense of the following I was getting."

Bell boarded his carbon-fibre boat with 350-days-worth of food and equipment - but admitted to struggling with a sense of "pointlessness" in the first few weeks of his challenge.

"I felt really selfish and the whole thing kind of felt pointless," he said.

"But gradually as I relaxed into it I started to see the positives and realised it was something that was going to give me huge satisfaction."

That satisfaction came in the form of a possible humpback whale on day one, dolphins off the coast of South America and an albatross "wider than the boat".

"You go through pockets where the ocean seems to come alive," Bell said.

"I saw an albatross which was absolutely amazing, it was wider than the boat. There were dolphins, there were rays and I saw quite a few marlin."

He added: "I was followed for weeks by oceanic white tip sharks which I got friendly with to be honest.

"I'd row for hours with these sharks cruising along side of me and I just remember those days really fondly."

But it was not just the marine life Bell had to navigate. His trip had to be meticulously timed with the weather.

"Because I was trying to do two oceans, I had to avoid two cyclone seasons," he explained.

"We underestimated my average mileage so on the first half of the Pacific, I had great weather, good trade winds and I was flying.

"We started to realise at about the halfway point that I was going to run into the cyclone season in the Coral Sea.

"For about six weeks I started to reduce my rowing and then I had to stop - and if you stop rowing on an ocean rowing boat that's the only reason you're on that thing, that's your only purpose and so to lose that purpose was really quite tough.

"You wake up in the morning and there is literally nothing to do," he added.

Fortunately, Bell coped by sending voice notes, downloading podcasts and listening to music.

Bell spent the first 36 hours back on land regaining his balance and said he is still physically fatigued from the trip.

The seasoned adventurer now plans to spend the next few weeks catching up on normal life, and won't be thinking about another expedition until 2028.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.