Last Oarders 2025

World's Toughest Row 2025.

We are Amy and Stuart who together make up the team Last Oarders, taking on the World's Toughest Row in December 2025.

This is a 3,000 mile, international rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean from La Gomera to Antigua in which teams will struggle with sleep deprivation, salt sores, hallucinations and other physical extremes instigated by the crossing. Each rower is left to their own thoughts, the vastness of the ocean and the job of getting their boat and themselves safely from one side to the other. Leaving the Canary Islands in December, we hope to make it to English Harbour in Antigua by late January/early February.

The journey to the start line isn’t an easy one. Over the next couple of years we will be facing intense training, meticulous planning and raising awareness and funds for our chosen charity.

That’s where you come in!

In order to get there we need your help to raise £100,000. This will go towards our boat, safety equipment, food, race entry and training. As a sponsor you will be coming on this adventure with us and be part of the Last Oarders crew. No amount is too small and any donation is a step closer to our goal of reaching Antigua.

We have teamed up with the fantastic Jon Egging Trust (JET) and hope to use our platform to raise awareness and money for this fantastic cause!

JET supports vulnerable young people to get back on track and realise their potential. They are an early intervention charity, stepping in to support young people with low self-esteem whose futures are jeopardised by life challenges, putting them at significant risk of dropping out of full-time education.

Their unique, long-term Blue Skies programmes empower students to develop vital workplace competencies including teamwork, leadership, communication and resilience. JET believes that every young person, no matter their background, should leave school armed with the confidence, self-belief and motivation to transition into meaningful employment.

The Blue Skies programme aim is to equip every child with these foundational attitudes for success:

- Self-belief

- Tenacity

- Trust

Building on these attitudes, the Blue Skies programme follows a 3 year syllabus with the aim that each child takes away three major desired outcomes:

- Confidence

- Communication

- Teamwork

We believe very strongly that the "overcoming adversity" ethos and attitude of JET mirrors that of our own. To achieve our goal of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, we will need to employ all three foundational attitudes:

To row 3000 miles across an ocean is potentially the hardest single thing that both of us will do in our lives and will take all the SELF-BELIEF that we possess.

Rowing a 2km race in still conditions is difficult but multiply that 2500 times and that is what rowing the Atlantic will be like. The TENACITY required to motivate ourselves to get out of bed after a 2 hour break to continue rowing when you are sore will be unrivalled to anything we have done before (including jumping on the erg for a dreaded 5km test).

Possibly the most important element of the race will be the TRUST that we put in each other. We will be alone in a vast expanse of water with nothing but our thoughts and each other. Knowing that the other person is there for you in the low points will ultimately mean that we achieve our goal of reaching Antigua in January 2024.

We hope that through our actions, we can show the children that JET work with our

CONFIDENCE to take on such a challenge and our COMMUNICATION and TEAMWORK, without which, we will not be able to overcome the tough days on the ocean and complete our goal.

By using these core beliefs, the ultimate aim of JET is to make sure “no child is left behind”. The culmination of the 3 year Blue Skies programme is securing each child a work experience placement tailored to the child's skills and interests to help to further their development and growth.

The charity's namesake Jon Egging, possibly said it best in June 2011; "With support where and when necessary, we are all equally capable of being the best versions of ourselves".

We hope that through witnessing us push ourselves to our limits and striving for the best with the help of those around us, we will inspire these children to do the same and realise their potential.

We are truly grateful for any and all contributions that you are able to make.

Many thanks,

Amy and Stuart

N.B. Please note this GoFundMe page is for all equipment and race requirements. Once we have completed the row all money that is made from selling the boat and equipment will be donated to charity. All other fundraising done alongside the row will go directly to JET.