μετὰ πολλοῦ πόνου

From LSJ

ὁ ναύτης ὁ ἐν τῇ νηῒ μένων βούλεται τοὺς τέτταρας φίλους ἰδεῖν → the sailor staying on the ship wants to see his four friends

Source

Greek > English (Woodhouse)

at a stretch, by an effort, with great effort