Clare O’Reilly is currently navigating the emotional and physical challenges of the Atlantic Ocean as she participates in the World’s Toughest Row. Alongside teammates Rosie Tong and Mel Jarman, O’Reilly set off from La Gomera, Spain, on December 14, aiming to reach Antigua after covering a staggering 3,600 miles. The journey has become particularly poignant for O’Reilly, who experienced the loss of her father just hours before departing.
The emotional weight of her father’s passing has been a significant part of O’Reilly’s experience at sea. “Sometimes it feels like the sea echoes how you feel when you’re grieving,” she shared in an interview with BBC News. O’Reilly explained that just as one cannot rush through grief, the ocean’s pace is dictated by its own whims. “You can’t move through the sea quickly. You move at the pace she decides, and that feels very much like grief,” she reflected.
Despite this personal tragedy, the Row with the Flow team is performing impressively. O’Reilly noted, “We’re 17th out of 44 boats and second in the women’s class.” Each stroke of the oar brings them closer to their destination, although she humorously remarked that right now they are “closer to the humans on the International Space Station than anyone on land.”
The physical challenges of the Atlantic are formidable. O’Reilly admitted to her fears regarding deep water and large waves. “The first couple of days we were looking at five, six-metre waves,” she described. “They were huge, absolutely ginormous.” Life on board, while relentless, has its moments of levity. “Everything is a flipping chore,” she laughed, highlighting the mundane tasks of rowing life, such as boiling noodles and moving about the boat. “But we’re enjoying it. We’re incredibly fortunate to be out here.”
O’Reilly is not alone in this adventure; North Devon’s Jess Smiles and her race partner Beth Murphy are also competing in the challenge. The camaraderie among participants is palpable, as they all face the vast and unpredictable Atlantic together.
This remarkable journey showcases not only the physical endurance required to row across the ocean but also the deep emotional resilience that O’Reilly embodies as she carries her father’s memory with her. As they continue their journey, the Row with the Flow team remains focused and determined to reach their destination, proving that even in the face of personal tragedy, the human spirit can endure.
