Clare O’Reilly is navigating the vast Atlantic Ocean while coping with profound personal loss. The rower from Wembury, Devon, is currently participating in the World’s Toughest Row, an arduous journey that spans 3,600 miles. After departing from La Gomera, Spain, on December 14, O’Reilly and her teammates, Rosie Tong and Mel Jarman, have already covered more than 1,800 miles.
The emotional journey has been particularly challenging for O’Reilly, as she faced the death of her father just hours before setting off for Antigua. “Sometimes it feels like the sea echoes how you feel when you’re grieving,” O’Reilly remarked in an interview with BBC News. “You can’t move through the sea quickly. You move at the pace she decides, and that feels very much like grief.”
Despite the weight of her loss, O’Reilly finds solace in the memories of her father. “It’s incredibly difficult not having him here and not being able to send him all the pictures of the sunrise and the sunsets,” she explained. “But it feels very much like he’s with me.”
Team Performance and Challenges
The Row with the Flow team is performing impressively, currently ranked 17th out of 44 boats and second in the women’s class. “Every oar stroke brings us closer to dry land, but right now we’re closer to the humans on the International Space Station than anyone on land,” O’Reilly said, highlighting the vastness of the ocean surrounding them.
O’Reilly has also confronted her fears of deep water and towering waves. “The first couple of days we were looking at five, six-metre waves,” she noted. “They were huge, absolutely ginormous.” Life aboard the rowboat has been described as relentless yet enjoyable. “Everything is a flipping chore,” she laughed, referring to daily activities like using the toilet or boiling noodles. “But we’re incredibly fortunate to be out here.”
Alongside O’Reilly, fellow rower Jess Smiles and her partner Beth Murphy are also competing in the race, adding to the spirit of camaraderie and adventure that characterizes this extraordinary event.
The World’s Toughest Row poses significant physical and emotional demands on participants, with many crews facing formidable challenges. O’Reilly’s journey underscores both the resilience of the human spirit and the profound connections we hold dear, even amidst hardship. As she continues her voyage, O’Reilly remains an inspiration to those following her story.
