On the 11th of December a group of intrepid people, of all nationalities and ages, will set off in teams or solo on a 3000-mile journey to row across the Atlantic Ocean from San Sebastian de la Gomera, in the Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard on the Caribbean Island of Antigua.
This race now called ‘The World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic’, and formerly known as the ‘Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge’ until 2022, has a history dating back to 1997 when Sir Chay Blyth, inspired by his own achievement of rowing across the Atlantic in 1966 with John Ridgeway, established the first modern day Atlantic rowing race. To call it a ‘race’ is somewhat of a misnomer because any person taking part in this challenge is a winner since to complete it demonstrates a remarkable feat of strength, endurance and skill.
“On the 11th of December a group of intrepid people, of all nationalities and ages, will set off in teams or solo on a 3000-mile journey to row across the Atlantic Ocean”
This year one solo rower taking part is a woman from Sheffield, Ananya Prasad. Ananya, aged only 34, has been following the race for many years and at last has fulfilled her ambition to take part. She said: “There are several reasons why I want to do this. By taking part, I firstly hope to make a positive impact on diversity in adventure sport and rowing. I’ve always loved the outdoors and participated in various activities, however, the lack of diversity in outdoor activities has always been very apparent. So far fewer than 30 women have rowed solo across an ocean and when I complete this, I would become the first woman of colour to row across any ocean solo.” And she added, “By participating, I hope that one day that women and people of colour in adventure sport isn’t something distinctive, but a norm.”
© Ananya Prasad
Ananya is hoping to raise lots of money through fundraising to support her chosen charities which she is supporting, The Mental Health Foundation (https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk) and Deenabandhu Trust (https://www.deenabandhutrust.org) both of which are of personal importance to her.
Her reasons for supporting the Mental Health Foundation charity are very personal. She explained: “Mental health is something that's ubiquitous in everyone’s lives. Whether it’s my own mental wellbeing or that of friends and family, mental health has just as much of an impact on life as physical health. Despite this, mental health is still unnecessarily stigmatised and the language we use around mental health is very different to physical health. This is very pronounced in sports, where we accept that athletes take time off for physical injury, but taking time off for mental health means they’re ‘just not cut out’ for the task. Just as we’re all susceptible to physical illness regardless of background or circumstance, poor mental health can affect anyone. For me personally, the appeal of the outdoors is the realisation that we’re capable of more than we believe and its profound effect on my own mental wellbeing.”
“By taking part, I hope to make a positive impact on diversity in adventure sport and rowing.”
Ananya has been preparing for over a year to achieve this challenge. She has been rowing and training regularly. In order to learn essential skills for the row, a year ago she attended Aurora Sea School, completing the compulsory RYA courses for an ocean crossing, such as Navigation and Seamanship, Short Range Radio, Sea Survival and First Aid and talking about all things ocean rowing.
Her means of conveyance is her boat Odyssey. This is the boat that will take her 3000 miles across the Atlantic. It is a specially built Rannoch R25 ocean-rowing boat made by Rannoch Adventure and is designed to withstand the toughest marine environment to keep her safe. Odyssey is propelled only by rowing, but solar panels will power electronic equipment onboard such as the navigation systems, communication equipment, batteries and a water desalination unit which converts sea water into drinking water.
© Ananya Prasad
While all the boats participating will be monitored on their journey by the event organisers and safety team, rowers are fully self-sufficient and unassisted, taking everything they need with them. During the row, Ananya will be facing 10 metre (30ft) high waves, sleep deprivation and isolation, making this just as much of a mental challenge as a physical one.
She said: “I have always loved the outdoors, new adventures and trying different challenges, whether it’s mountaineering, rock climbing, kayaking or hiking. Ocean rowing, however, is somewhat new to me, and I’ll figuratively and literally be throwing myself in the deep end for this challenge.”
To date, only 22 women have successfully rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. We anticipate Ananya to be number 23 in this roll call of remarkable women adventurers. The meaning of Ananya in Sanskrit is ‘Unique’ which she surely is!
We wish Ananya every success!
Further information can be found on the race website: https://www.worldstoughestrow.com/the-atlantic/2024
and on Ananya’s social media accounts:
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