WORLD'S TOUGHEST ROW

As our fearless team of 4 row past the half way mark and finally have less miles left to row than they have covered, it’s time to take stock of what this challenge is all about.

Yes, for the rowers it’s the ultimate mental and physical challenge and test of their trouble shooting abilities to save their own lives practically daily. That is the focus of this event: from rogue waves, visits from marlin, the daily fight with adult nappy rash and the challenge to keep eating and keep your spirits up while surviving the ultimate fitness challenge, they are put to tests that most of us will never have to endure.

But let’s not forget that they are out there with a purpose. They are raising money for St John Hospice.  Agnes Meeker and the group of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to set up a professional facility for anyone in need of respite care need the funds raised to continue to offer this essential service to all of us.  Right now nearly US$4,000 has been raised, but that is just not enough. And here is why!

Aside from the good cause that desperately needs the funds, something many people don’t understand is that when this race is taking place, the whole world is looking at and hearing about Antigua daily. Every time a news report is aired on a TV news station such as BBC or CNN, a map of the Atlantic pops up, and a huge arrow flies across the ocean from La Gomera where they started to little Antigua and their viewer hear about the daily struggles of each team to reach our island paradise.

Once the teams start arriving news stations start arriving with their anchors who are rubbing their hands at having been rewarded with the best job of the year, waiting for their team to arrive in the gorgeous Caribbean, while their colleagues get to stay home. If the news anchors are lucky their team starts slowing down and they get to be here for longer while they wait for their arrival. While that is happening what do they do? Well, guess what, they start their voyage of discovery of Antigua. They take tours, they go shopping, they eat out, they rub shoulders and speak avidly and excitedly with everyone who crosses their path taking hours of digital footage of our wonderful island.

And it gets even better, because of today’s technology they start sending news updates pending arrival of their team. They are all over social networks. They will greet other teams into Nelson’s Dockyard as they start the build up to their own team arriving and then the day finally comes and they get their own homecoming news feature that gets aired worldwide.

Antigua are we ready? Are we going to do right by every team and be at their finish line and not just our own teams arrival? Of course that will be an amazing day, but we need to TURN UP and be present for all of the people who have just spent two years of training and anything up to 60 days on the ocean so that WE get to be the benefactors of the most amazing free marketing we get ever two years.

Are you in? With that goes donating to OUR charity. We can’t be in a situation where other teams are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and we only get to US$10,000.  This is too important, we need to donate and encourage others to do so.

So please share their stories daily, share this story and lets show the world that we care about this event and our own team and charity.

Link to Tracker (free if viewed on a desk top) https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/race-tracker/