Devon pride in the final standings of the world’s toughest rowing event

The World’s Toughest Row, organised by Atlantic Campaigns, has finished with the arrival of the last rower, 67 year-old Alan Fortuin from the UK in a time of 59 days, 5 hours and 14 minutes.

Conditions throughout the race have been helpful with a following wind and waves pushing crews to some excellent finishing times and achieving five new world records.

Forty-three ocean rowing boats with 114 ocean rowers representing 20 nations left San Sebastian de La Gomera on December 14 in the 2025 race, a 3,000 mile unsupported rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean west from San Sebastian in La Gomera in the Canary Islands (280N 180W) to Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, Antigua & Barbuda (170N 610W).

The 43 competing crews are made up of 10 solos, 11 pairs, 6 trios and 16 fours. Amongst the crews there are two Devon rowers, Clare O’Reilly from Wembury who was at Dartmouth Regatta this year with her trio crew ‘Row with the Flow’ and Jess Smiles from Saunton who is rowing in a pair named ‘Atlantic Highway’ named after the highway through North Devon.

The Swiss crew ’44 West’ were the first to cross the finish line on January 14, having taken 31 days, 8 hours and 8 minutes to cross the Atlantic. The first British crew to finish were ‘Southsea Scullers’ on January 18 in 5th place in 35 days, 11 hours, 30 minutes.

Beth and Jess of ‘Atlantic Highway’, winners of the women’s class, set a new world record as the fastest women’s pair, completing the crossing in 38 days, 12 hours and 18 minutes on January 22 in 11th place overall. ‘Row with the Flow’ finished in 21st place on January 25 in 42 days, 9 hours and 31 minutes.

World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic 2025/26 – Final results

1st 44 West (CH) Mathias Fernandez (CH), Julian Muller (CH), Luca Faydherbe de Maudave (CH) Lorenzo Henseler (CH) Overall Winners 31 days, 8 hours and 8 minutes

2nd Kiwi Fondue (CH/UK/NL) Alex Brooker (UK), Lorenz Gammeter (CH), Alex Gammeter (CH), Mark Slats (NL) 32 days, 10 hours and 21 minutes

3rd Ocean Mavericks (ZA) JP Briner (ZA), Martin Hall (ZA), Angelo Wilkie-Page (ZA) Matt Botha (ZA) 34 days, 2 hours and 11 minutes

4th Team Seneca Navy (US/CA/DE) David Ranney (US), Moritz Marchart (DE), Anthony Carella (CA), Ryan Mulflur (US) 35 days, 2 hours and 45 minutes

5th Southsea Scullers (UK) Sam Gibbons (UK), Adam Cresswell (UK), Henry Cheeseman (UK) 35 days, 11 hours and 30 minutes Winners of the Trio class

6th Gone Fishin’; (UK/DE) Fraser Morrison (UK), Kirill Stockmeier (DE) Winners of the Pairs class 36 days, 11 hours and 58 minutes

7th HMS Oardacious (UK) Rich Purdy (UK), Addi Taylor (UK), Liam Hoddy (UK), Guy Wilton (UK) 36 days, 23 hours and 3 minutes

8th Stelantic (CH) Steven Gfeller (CH), Anton Flohr (CH) 37 days, 1 hours and 13 minutes

9th Seas Life (UK) Julian Evans (UK), Stuart Kershaw (UK), Oliver Phillips (UK), Tom Clowes (UK) 38 days and 4 hours

10th Give Us A Wave (UK) Grant McGregor (UK), Tom Curtis (UK), Tim Stone (UK), Rhys Owen (UK) 38 days, 9 hours and 16 minutes

11th Atlantic Highway (UK) Beth Murphy (UK), Jess Smiles (UK) 38 days, 12 hours and 18 minutes. New World Record for being the fastest Women’s pairs crew across the Atlantic. Winners of the Women’s class. Fastest Women’s pairs crew.

12th Bestgole (NL) Enrique Gomez(NL), Frans van Leeuwen (NL) Jeroen van den Berg (NL) 38 days, 23 hours and 40 minutes

13th The Wave Wranglers (UK) Oliver Rathbone (UK), George Attfield (UK) 39 days, 10 hours and 50 minutes

14th The Jasper (IE) Daragh MacLoughlin 39 days, 20 hours and 16 minutes. Winner of the Solo Class

15th Rowtalia (EE) Andres Kaosaar (EE), Arnold Rein Tatunts (EE), Karl Jurgenstein (EE), Kait KAAREL Puss (EE) 39 days, 23 hours and 47 minutes

16th Madlantic (BE) Thomas Van Woensel (BE) 41 days and 15 minutes

17th Call To Earth (UK) Stacey Rivers (UK), John Hammond (UK), Emma Wolstenholme (UK) 41 days, 1 hour and 57 minutes. New World Record - Oldest Mixed Trio to row any ocean. Winners of the Mixed Class.

18th Force Horizon (UK) Chris Ambler (UK), Kip Wells (UK) 42 days, 2 hours and 39 minutes

19th Row Aurora - Homeward Row (UK/US) Dawn Smith (UK), Paul Lore (US) 42 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes. New World Record - Fastest Mixed Pair Atlantic crossing.

20th Three Flying Fish (UK) Anna Dunk (UK), Rowan Dally (UK), Harry Allen (UK) 42 days, 8 hours and 10 minutes. New World Record - Youngest team of three to row any ocean.

21st Row with the Flow (UK/AU) Clare O’Reilly (UK), Rosie Tong (UK), Melissa Jarman (AU) 42 days, 9 hours and 31 minutes

22nd Lightship Atlantic (UK) Ian Baylis (UK) 42 days, 12 hours and 32 minutes

23rd Aire Wave (UK) Jake Still 42 days, 23 hours and 7 minutes

24th Row for change (DK) Simon Svendsen (DK), Zaxsina Thiyakarjah (DK) 43 days, 1 hour and 35 minutes. (Kenni Hansen (DK) taken off the boat after 7 days for medical assessment and treatment)

25th The Entrepreneur Ship (UK) Julian Gallivan (UK), Phil Johns (UK) 43 days, 3 hours and 36 minutes

26th Offshoare (DE/AT) Clara Duntsch (DE), Jana Golz (DE), Jana Stahl (DE), Christiane Kienl (AT) 43 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes

27th Secondoary Fun (UK) Adam Rowlatt (UK), Jamie Kidd (UK) 43 days, 23 hours and 54 minutes

28th Per Ardua 21 (UK) Matthew Stowers (UK), Andrew Calame (UK), Mark Jenkins (UK), Mike Dewar (UK) 44 days, 6 hours and 46 minutes

29th Oceanida (MX) Eugenia Mendez (MX), Ana Lucia Valencia (MX), Andrea Gutirrez (MX), Lucila Muriel (MX) 45 days, 1 hour and 35 minutes

30th Get Busy Rowing (UK) Elliot Collins (UK), Greg Collins (UK), Will Towning (UK), Christopher Betts (UK) 45 days, 9 hours and 23 minutes

31st Force Atlantic 25 (UK) Katie Devine (UK), Oliver Cutting (UK), Victoria Wratten-Wood (UK), Emma Mackenzie (UK) 45 days, 11 hours and 48 minutes

32nd Greens2Blue (UK) David Knaggs (UK), Richard Larking (UK) 46 days, 1 hour and 19 minutes

33rd Allons-Y (US) Taryn Smith (US) 46 days, 3 hours and 37 minutes

34th Just One More Row (UK) Milli Abrams (UK) 46 days, 11 hours and 44 minutes

35th Ocean Oarsmen (UK) Ben Cornwell 9UK), Henry Eastick (UK) 47 days, 1 hour and 28 minutes

36th Scotland the Wave (UK) Fiona Deakin (UK), Heather McCallum (UK), Nicola Matthews (UK) 47 days, 3 hours and 38 minutes (Andrena McShane-Kerr (UK) was taken off the boat after 4 days for medical treatment)

37th Merched y Môr (UK) Denise Leonard (UK), Liz Collyer (UK), Helen Heaton (UK), Heledd Williams (UK) 50 days, 14 hours and 43 minutes

38th Barnaby Cecil (UK) Tom Skinner (UK), 52 days, 23 hours and 8 minutes

39th Cross Rower’s 2025 Atlantic Adventure (MT/CH) Steve Chetcuti (MT/CH) 54 days, 7 hours and 56 minutes

40th The Only Way Is Rowing (UK) Samantha Wood (UK), Sheila McGhee (UK), Jo Murray (UK), Lorena Nichols (UK) 57 days, 4 hours and 1 minute

4st Hänsel and Gretel (DE) Ingrid Glasser (DE), Walter Glasser (DE) 59 days and 27 minutes. New World Record (Oldest mixed pair ever to cross an ocean)

42nd Old See Dogs (UK) Alan Fortuin(UK) 59 days, 5 hours and 14 minutes.

Retired after 38 days. Viva For Life (BE) Benoit Bourguet (BE)