We rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic to raise £100,000 for charity
Meet the team
Richard Janes
Richard lives in Blakeney, Norfolk with his wife and three children. He started rowing at the age of 6 and continued each summer until he was 10. Rowing experience has been limited since then but he’s confident that it will all come flooding back.
John Solosy
John lives in Cardiff with his wife and three children. He’s looking forward to the challenge of a lifetime and the opportunity to immerse himself in nature. He’s not looking forward to sleep deprivation and the snoring of his crew mates.
James Bracey
James lives in Holkham, Norfolk with his wife and two children. He’s excited about raising awareness of our fragile oceans and hopefully seeing a whale or two. He’s considerably less excited about the “bucket” toilet arrangements on the boat.
John Ashton
John lives in Cardiff with his wife and two children. His rowing experience is limited to a rowing machine in the front room but this does at least overlook a lake. He’s looking forward to testing his personal limits while raising money for great causes.
What did we do?
We joined the World’s Toughest Row to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in December 2023.
We started from San Sebastián de La Gomera in the Canary Islands and we finished in Antigua.
We rowed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and completed the journey in 41 days, 6 hours, and 44 minutes.
We rowed over 1.5 million strokes, burned 5,000 calories a day, and faced waves up to 20 feet high.
We used a 28-foot rowing boat specially designed for ocean voyages: the Rannoch 45.
Why did we do this?
Rowing across the Atlantic together was the challenge of a lifetime for four friends with very limited rowing experience. And so we wanted to use the opportunity to raise funds for other challenges that are dear to our hearts: protecting the oceans, building a hospital, helping young people achieve their potential, and nurturing local communities.
Blue Marine Foundation
The ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink: by combatting overfishing, we can help life in the ocean perform its vital function of stabilising the Earth’s climate.
Cambridge Children’s Hospital
The first hospital in the world to fully integrate mental and physical health provision so that young people and their families experience complete and seamless care. “Help us build a new world-leading children’s hospital.”
Challenge Wales
Helping young people in Wales to achieve their potential through outdoor learning at sea. “We help young people grow in confidence, develop teamwork skills, and improve their communication skills.”
Norfolk Community Foundation
Dedicated to building stronger communities and improving the lives of people in Norfolk. “We support over 2,000 small charitable groups working on the ground and our work touches 1 in 4 people in Norfolk.“