Atlantic without her, 89-year-old Helen Tew arrived in Bermuda, one of the final stops in her 8,000-mile voyage that began and will end on the South Coast of England.

Mrs. Tew adores the sea and has been sailing since 1923, when she took her first cruise with her father. And in 1934, she promised herself to make the voyage her father would not let her do.

"I was so angry with my father for not taking me,'' she said.

But despite marrying an equally keen sailor, her chance to cross did not come until last summer, when her 60-year-old son, Donald, retired. They floated the idea of an Atlantic crossing in July, and on August 1 they set sail from the port of Beaulieu in Hampshire, Mrs. Tew's home town.

The feat is nothing short of extraordinary for a woman of her age. According to The Daily Telegraph, which featured Mrs. Tew's story in January, the voyage may break records. The grandmother of 11 is perhaps the oldest woman in the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic.

The duo made the voyage aboard Mary Helen , 26-and-a-half-foot long vintage gaff cutter, launched in 1937. The boat was the product of a design Mrs. Tew came up with her late husband, yacht designer John, during their honeymoon.

The boat was originally built so they could emigrate to Canada, but the Second World War and children interfered with those plans.

Since then, the boat has been refitted at least twice and is now equipped with modern navigational aids, including three GPS receivers and radar. And even in the middle of the Atlantic, the pair was able to receive weather reports, but the old equipment remains, with a sextant and a lead line aboard the boat.

All of the Tews' five sons learned to sail on the boat and it was used for family holidays, usually across the Channel along the Brittany coast. But although the boat was built for a long-haul voyage, the family never got further than Norway or the Mediterranean.

This trip, mother and son first visited Portugal and Spain. After a brief trip back to the UK, Mary Helen voyaged to Porto Santo, off Madeira and the Canary Islands.

Grandmother, 89, fulfills her Atlantic ocean dream The duo experienced a relatively rough crossing and five days from the Canaries, the gooseneck -- the piece connecting the boat's boom with its mast -- snapped, leaving them without the use of their mainsail. But even with only two foresails pulling the boat, it made good time and arrived in Antigua 26 days, 23 hours and 50 minutes later.

With the Caribbean on the horizon last December, Mrs. Tew remembered her father when she wrote in the ship's log: "At last. All is forgiven.'' In St. Martin, Mrs. Tew celebrated her 89th birthday with friends, and also stopped in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.

The voyage from the Caribbean to Bermuda took seven days, eight hours. Even in port, except when repairs were being made, mother and son spent nights on the boat.

Even at her age, Mrs. Tew alternates watch duty with her son every four hours.

However, she said she isn't agile enough to run around the foredeck, and spends most of her time in the cockpit or inside the cabin.

But the time passes quickly, Mrs. Tew said.

"I thought the time would drag, but it didn't,'' she said.

"You get into a routine and the time slips away. There are always odd things to do. Or I can sleep. Some people can't do that at sea, but fortunately I can.'' Mrs. Tew, with wispy, snow-white hair but skin as tanned and leathered as any seasoned sailor's, explained why she undertook an adventure so extraordinary for someone of her age.

"People think it's something because I'm old,'' said Mrs. Tew, who would rather be at sea than in port.

"I just don't feel old though. Sailing is a way of life. I just love it.'' "The annoying thing is you've got to hang on more. But I can still do things.

As long as I can still sit on the boat, manage the sheets (ropes).'' But even Mr. Tew is dumbfounded by his mother's achievement."How she did it, I don't know,'' he said.

"There was never a moment of complaint. And when we finally reached Antigua, she was on cloud nine.'' Mrs. Tew's youngest son, James, has joined his mother and brother aboard Mary Helen for the final legs of the voyage. The boat will cruise in company with the yacht of another of Mrs. Tew's sons, Ian, who recently completed a three-year circumnavigation voyage, to the Azores and then to England. They hope to arrive in Hampshire by July 1.

When at home, Mrs. Tew is an active member of the Women's Institute, or W.I., and still participates in her local drama society. Last year, she played the role of Time in Shakespeare's Winter's Tale .

"You've got to keep yourself busy,'' she said.

"That's what keeps one going. I shall enjoy being at home, but I do so love being in the boat.''