"I'm so happy just to be here and out of that boat," said 31-year-old Danelle Folta, Miss April 1995.

But despite their upbeat attitudes, the grueling nature of their 116-kilometer ocean journey quickly became apparent. Legs were sunburnt, cut and bruised; corn-rowed hair was tangled; hands blistered and red. "My back is really sore and my feet got pretty torn up," said Kalin Olson, Miss August 1997.

"I hurt and I'm all dirty," added Jennifer Lavoie, Miss August 1993.

A shrewd onlooker mentioned that there were showers at the PC. "Fresh water showers? Are you kidding me?" said Lavoie. "Oh my God, let's go!"

The cameramen in the crowd glanced at one another expectantly.

A rock ripped a hole the boat. The pair was forced to swim it ashore, construct and attach a wooden patch, and continue on.

The Playboy boat was also battered during the two-day journey. While West and Lavoie trekked across Gaya Island between PC2 and PC7, Olson and Folta drifted offcourse and nearly sunk when a rock ripped a hole the boat. The pair was forced to swim it ashore, construct and attach a wooden patch, and continue on. "That says something about them," said Owen West, who admitted he was surprised by their gumption.

Thirty-year-old West, the only male on the team, is clearly the leader -- and cheerleader. "Good job guys," he said as they unloaded their gear. West, a Harvard graduate and former marine, is also a four-time Eco-Challenger -- the team's only non-rookie.

After surviving the punctured boat, lack of drinking water put the closely watched team's race in jeopardy. "It was as close as I've come to dropping out," said West.

But the team paddled on through the darkness, surviving on one liter of water for 24 hours. "I knew they were tough, from our training, but last night they really showed something more," said West.

"I bawled like a little baby on that first hike," admitted Lavoie. "But I never thought about quitting."