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On 11th December 2024 Team 2 Stroke, comprising of Karl Austen and Ed Shaw, set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands with the aim of rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic in ‘The World’s Toughest Row’, finishing in Antigua. This annual race included 38 team in total, with 110 individuals amongst those crews. Crews ranged from solos up to 5-man teams and we were rowing as a pair.
The race start had been three and a half years in the planning, with training including navigation courses, VHF radio courses, survival at sea, first aid and over 200 hours of on water training on our boat Pegasus. Pegasus is a 7m long ocean rowing boat with a small cabin at either end. These cabins are for use by the rowers to rest and also house all navigation, battery and steering systems and equipment.
At the start of our planning we were advised by our coach to source suitable training and race wear. This required clothing that would stand up to the rigours of training off the South coast of the UK as well as the extreme weather conditions of the mid Atlantic. It was in September 2021 that we visited The Boat Show in Southampton and met with the wonderful staff on the Rooster Sailing stand. We had the opportunity to peruse their training and race wear and were immediately sold on them as a brand. They were also very excited to hear about our adventure and how they could support us.
Fast forward three years later, and with hundreds of hours of training behind us, we were ready preparing our kit for the race start. During our training in the UK we had been huge advocates of the Rooster Aquafleece tops, Technical shorts and Polypro leggings. Our time in the UK waters meant we faced extremes of weather from huge rain downpours, stormy winds and even the odd hot weather day. Our race wear was going to be hugely different. We knew we would be facing many a wet day on the Atlantic but that there would also be extremely high sun exposure with temperatures reaching 38 degrees on many days.
Rooster Sailing had been good enough to agree a kit supply sponsorship with 2 Stroke, supplying us all of our kit for the training and race. To counter the wet conditions and sun on the Atlantic we had chosen to use the hooded quick dry UVF50 tops as well as the t-shirts. Both offered us great protection from the extremely high UVF of the sun as well as drying quickly whilst on deck. This was very important to the comfort of the row as we were constantly trying to avoid transferring water into our cabins and at the same time trying to avoid any chance of sunburn.
We had to pack lightly for the crossing, keeping our kit to a minimum to help keep the boat weight down. We would need to hand-wash all kit on board but this was always likely to be sporadic as trying to dry clothing on deck was almost impossible when facing 20-30ft waves throughout the day.
Our crossing was certainly not without its issues. We had a boat capsize after only 8 days, with Ed going overboard and Karl being tumbled around in the cabin like a washing machine. The capsize was of such force that it also ripped one of our rowing seats from its lanyard, never to be seen again. That changed our row as we were then unable to both row at the same time for the remaining 2000+ miles of the race. Our ability to be competitive had disappeared but our resilience and focus allowed us to re-plan our priorities. It was now a matter of completing the race at all costs, regardless of what the Atlantic wanted to throw at us.
Aside from the lost seat we also faced issues with out auto tillers burning out. For those non-sailers, the auto tiller is a piece of equipment that keeps the rudder pointing in the right direction, based on our navigation equipment settings. The importance of these cannot be underplayed as the ability to hand or foot steer in such large seas is limited. Having taken 4 tillers with us for the crossing we were unfortunate to have 2 fail on us over the first 4 weeks. It was at that point that we also found that our fourth tiller was faulty, having not been used for even a minute of the crossing. We had to go into engineering mode! It took several hours, and 5 iterations, but Karl was eventually able to build a ‘Frankentiller’ from the component parts of the three broken tillers. It was with that tiller, and very careful nursing of it, that we managed to creep over the line in Antigua.
The extreme conditions on board during our crossing meant that we spent most daytime hours in our hooded tops and sunhats, avoiding the very high UVF. The Rooster PolyPro socks were also a fantastic addition to our kit, keeping feet dry even in wet shoes. The night time shifts were also spent in the same hooded tops or alternatively in our t-shirts with a waterproof jacket on top. Not being able to see the waves coming from any direction meant many an instant soaking throughout the night hours.
After 52 days, 2 Stroke reached the shores of Antigua, and we had kept our finish line change of clothes safely in a watertight dry bag for the occasion. A good full body bucket wash, clean t-shirts and shorts meant that we didn’t have to greet family on the dockside smelling like we had been marooned at sea for 8 weeks. We had certainly become ‘nose-blind’ to our personal hygiene within that time.
The arrival in Antigua was everything we could have wished for. Family had made the trip out to greet us and the array of super yachts in English harbour sounded their horns as we passed through with a fantastic guard of honour. The elation at reaching the finish line was indescribable, and many a tear was shed. Both rowers had lost over 2 stone in weight during the crossing so the welcome drink and food laid on by Atlantic Campaigns, the race organisers, was very welcome.
The post-race time in Antigua was a matter of rest and recovery. Wobbly sea legs continued for well over a week after our return and aching muscles were going to take a long time to return to pre-race strength. Since our return we have been able to share our story with family and friends, as well as sponsors and supporters. The enormity of the achievement I think has taken a while to sink it. Over time those moments at sea will become memories, and something we will treasure forever. Would we do it again? Not if our wives have any say in it but never say never! We look forward to planning our next great adventure, and hopefully working with the wonderful people at Rooster Sailing again!