It has been a busy month on the world’s oceans. Since our last roundup, the winner of the 2024-25 World’s Toughest Row has been crowned. Two soloists are approaching their finish lines, and a new duo has taken to the Atlantic.
Atlantic Ocean
World’s Toughest Row: Possibly the most popular ocean rowing race in the world, the World’s Toughest Row (previously the Talisker Whisky Challenge) started on December 11. This year, 38 crews totaling 109 rowers started in Tenerife. Today, the first crew crossed the finish line in Antigua.
Team Row4Cancer won the 2024 race after 37 days, 14 hours, and two minutes at sea. They landed just a few hours ago. The four-man crew of Leon Koning, Tom Rijnders, Maarten Diepeveen, and Mark Slats has led since the beginning. The four Netherlanders finished a full two days ahead of the next closest boat.
This is the third time Mark Slats has taken part in the Atlantic race. In 2017, he broke the solo speed record. In 2020, he did the same in a pair.
This year was the toughest yet. Previously, easterly winds pushed the crews toward Antigua. This year, they battled constant headwinds and crosswinds, which foiled their hope for a new speed record.
“It’s no secret that the team had a record in mind, but sometimes Mother Nature has other plans,” the organizers observed.
An unusual start
This year’s conditions were very unusual. The race started a day early to give crews a calmer start and allow them to adapt to sea life. Initially, crews moved swiftly, but progress on the back half was particularly slow, with none of the usually reliable winds. Crews are so spread out that 2,110km separates the first and last boats in the pack.
Race statistics so far:
Winners: Row4Cancer
Leading five: Power of 1
Leading four: Row4Cancer
Leading trio: Team V3nture
Leading pair: Scholarship
Leading soloist: Ocean Ways
Mission Atlantic: The smaller of the two Atlantic events, Mission Atlantic involves two teams crossing the ocean from Spain to Barbados. Unlike the World’s Toughest Row, where many crews set to break records in their categories, this is not a race. It is an event for active or retired military personnel.
This year’s teams feature Oceans Elite and the Rowing Stones. British pair Chris Thrall and Louie Greenhalgh make up Oceans Elite. Baudouin De La Rochefoucauld (Belgium), Juan Dumont De Chassart (Belgium), Jean-Pierre Boross De Levay (Costa Rica/Canada) and Joachim Megret De Serilly D’Etigny (Brazil/France) comprise the Rowing Stones.
Mission Atlantic positions. Image: Mission Atlantic
Neck and neck
The larger Rowing Stones crew are currently second in this non-race, though very little separates the boats. They are just 55km apart. Over the last few days, the Rowing Stones have had issues with their water maker and satellite phone. And in a reversal of the usual expedition problem, they brought too much food rather than too little. They fear the extra weight might be slowing them down a little. Meanwhile, Oceans Elite faces a catastrophe that only we Britons can understand: They have run out of tea bags.
Zara Lachlan (UK): Lachlan is the youngest rower to take to the seas this season. She is rowing alone from Portugal to French Guiana. If successful, she will become the youngest person and first woman to row solo and unassisted from mainland Europe to South America. So far, she has covered 4,170km, about 70% of the distance.
‘I’m not an ocean rower’
Lachlan modestly says that she does not consider herself an ocean rower, even if she makes it to South America. Instead, she says she is a regular rower who happens to be on the ocean and has had a lot of advice from seasoned ocean rowers.
The start of her row was difficult. It took a long time to pull away from the Canary Islands, south of Portugal, and difficult weather plagued her. She has injured her arm, broken a finger, and capsized.
Luckily, the row became more enjoyable as she pulled away from the coast and into the open ocean. Since December, she has doubled her daily mileage. Just a few days ago, she passed a significant milestone: just 1,000 nautical miles (1,852km) to go. She hopes to finish before the end of January.
Phoenix Expedition: Hungarians Adam Norbert Szabo and Gergo Havasi are rowing from the Canary Islands to Antigua. They started on January 6 and have covered 1,000km in 11 days.
Seasickness at night
So far, they have been relatively lucky with the weather. The first few days were calm, with manageable winds. On their fifth day, their first storm forced them to deploy their para-anchor. They waited out the storm in their cabin, which felt like a washing machine and worsened their early seasickness. After the storm petered out, strong winds and large waves lingered for three days.
Photo: Gergo Havasi
They are now settling into a routine but have found nighttime rowing particularly difficult. It coincides with when their seasickness is at its worst, and the interrupted sleep has caused fatigue.
Pacific Ocean
Louis Margot (CH): Margot’s Pacific row is just a stage of a much larger project. He is aiming to cycle and row around the world. This is his second rowing leg. On November 12, he pushed off from Peru bound for Hiva Oa in French Polynesia. Here, he will stop briefly before continuing to Indonesia.
A few days ago, Margot hit a major milestone –500 days since he began. He has found rowing much harder than cycling, mainly because of the mental aspect. Completely alone on the ocean, he struggles with the monotony.
Yet there have been some memorable moments, such as when a sea turtle swam past the boat.
“First time I’ve ever seen a sea turtle!” he commented on social media. “This has made my day.”
Aurimas Mockus (LT): Of all the rowers currently making their way across the world’s oceans, Mockus has been paddling the longest. The Latvian started on October 15 and has covered over 9,000km. He is rowing across the Pacific from San Diego to Brisbane, Australia, and does not have that much farther to go.
December was a big month for Mockus. He saw land again for the first time in months as he neared Kiribati. Rowing through the center of Kiribati’s atoll, he passed the halfway point of his journey. He said it was the best Christmas gift he could have asked for.
