Members of a five-woman relay team attempting a record-breaking swim across Lake Ontario are happy to be on solid ground Saturday after gruelling conditions sent one swimmer to hospital and forced an abrupt end to their unprecedented journey.

The women ended their swim in Whitby, Ont., on Saturday – about 60 kilometres short of their destination in Burlington – after Mona Sharari, 18, was pulled out of the lake on Friday showing symptoms of hypothermia.

If the women had finished their intended 305-kilometre route, they would have been the first relay team in history to swim the length of Lake Ontario.

Unfortunately, unusually harsh conditions took a toll on the experienced long-distance swimmers, said one member of the team.

"We got some really horrendous weather,” 23-year-old Samantha Whiteside told CTV Toronto. “Nothing ever really seemed to work for us. It was either really warm water and ridiculous waves, or it was really calm and absolutely freezing."

Still, the swimmers were proud of their accomplishment.

"It's amazing. I mean, what we did, us five girls, nobody's ever done before," 48-year-old Nicole Mallette told CTV Toronto.

After leaving Kingston on Tuesday, the swimmers were hit by a storm that served up frigid waters, chilling winds and two-metre high waves. The storm delayed their swim by a full day and left swimmers feeling seasick.

Conditions improved on Thursday when the sun returned and the lake calmed down but then water temperatures dropped as they approached Toronto.

In the end, it was all too much for the swimmers, ranging in age from 18 to 61.

“We have worked tirelessly and faced many challenges,” the swimmers said on Twitter. “Lake Ontario gave us everything from high waves and storms to calm but freezing water.”

Given the intensity of the swim, the teammates have already agreed not to attempt it again.

"If I was out there by myself, I wouldn't have gotten through the first few hours," 18-year-old Rebekah Boscariol told CTV Toronto.

The team is still hoping to raise $300,000 for the ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign, a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of people out of poverty.

You can contribute to their goal by visiting their fundraising page.