A team of four women have embarked on their history-making row across the Atlantic in the Atlantic Rowing Race.
At 10:45 am (GMT) today, Team Antigua Island Girls began their 3,000 mile race which will take them from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour in Antigua.
Team Antigua Island Girls is comprised of Elvira Bell, Christal Clashing, Samara Emmanuel and Kevinia Francis.
Francis says her team is prepped and ready to compete with 27 other teams from around the world.
“It’s a competition, so we think everybody is competing although some teams say they’re just doing it for the adventure and the challenge. We are not underestimating anybody.”
When Team Antigua Atlantic Rowers arrived home in second place on January 13, 2018, the challenge was issued for an all-female team from Antigua and Barbuda to be next.
Several women answered the call, and the field was narrowed down to the four.
Francis goes on to explain that the team hopes to break the female record for the event of 34 days 13 hours and 13 minutes set by the China-based team of Kung Fu Cha Cha last year.
“Weather permitting, our goal is to break the existing female record. So, we’re looking at between 30 and 33 days once the weather is in our favour… and be back in the middle of January.”
The team has been in the United Kingdom for the past three weeks equipping and prepping their boat, attending course sessions and training for the upcoming row.
“There, we got training on with the foot-steering mechanism that is being used for the first time ever this year,” said Francis of the team’s lead up to raceday today.
“It’s been very cold where we are so I guess that’s been great for getting us acclimated for the upcoming race, because we hear that it will be freezing over the Atlantic.”
The women have selected Cottage of Hope as their charity. Cottage of Hope is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 that houses and/or serves girls who have been abused, neglected or orphaned.
The Atlantic Rowing Race is an ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm (2,930 statute miles or 4,700 km). The race was founded in 1997 by Sir Chay Blyth.