These inspirational women shared their experiences with Oratory Students, of what it was like to win the women's class of The World's Toughest Row Atlantic 2024, a challenge that covers more than 3,000 miles, in an amazing 44 days, 14 hours and 52 minutes! 

Team Ocean Empower beat the army and navy teams (with women half their age!), to come 16th overall out of 38 boats in the race. 

During the talk, the ladies described the preparation needed to take on a race such as this, which requires immense strength both physically and mentally. They also described the challenges of the task, from being your own doctor, mechanic and navigator to nutritional expert, consuming 4.5k calories per day. They recalled the difficulties faced from huge seas in their first week, battling the Sahara winds that turned them orange, avoiding the risk of being struck by Marlin, the loneliness of being cut off from family and friends, and the insane 3 hours on/3 hours off shift patterns that ultimately helped them gain their head start to win the race, beating the next team by 150 miles!

Amongst the many challenges, happy moments were to be found in the beauty of nature's sunsets, sunrises and the starry night skies; the dolphin pods and whale spotting; the surfing on waves; and the laughter and support which got them through it all, and which has made them lifelong friends. 

They spoke about the key things they learnt and gained from the challenge:

• There are some things you can't control, but planning means you will know how to deal with it.
• Set goals that are realistic and believe in yourself.
• Make sure you have a strong support network. 
• If you work hard, you can achieve anything.
• Keep a positive mindset and see the good things in the bad.
• "Be empowered" - know what you're capable of!

The ladies finished their talk by empowering and inspiring Oratory students, "We are all capable of doing extraordinary things. Try your best, and you'll succeed. We never thought we would win the race, but we fought the whole way and we did!"

Steve Tomlinson, Director of Sport, says "This talk was simply brilliant. The pupils were engaged and spent time asking lots of questions at the end. The energy that came with this talk was so powerful - and my last thought... if you had a 4-person boat in the next race, who would you take?"

In the process of achieving this amazing feat, team Ocean Empower has raised over £55k for the mental health charities Charlie Waller UK, Phoenix Heroes and The Project PT. There is still time to donate, find out more and support their fantastic cause if you would like to: 
Ocean Empower's Atlantic Row 2024 - GiveWheel

A huge thank you to Kerry, Fiona and Dawn for joining us from everyone here at The Oratory School.

*Fourth crew member, Deborah Cope, was sadly unable to attend on this occasion.
.