As the lead boats make their final push west, Spectator Sports turns its attention to the wider Atlantic campaigns now unfolding, the annual rowing adventure from San Sebastián de La Gomera in Spain’s Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard.

At the sharp end of the race, Team 44 West has dictated terms from the opening miles. Leading from day one, the crew remains firmly in control with less than a week left on the water, delivering a statement campaign built on discipline, pace, and an unbroken Atlantic rhythm.

In pursuit is Kiwi Fondue, featuring one of the sport’s most recognisable figures, Mark Slats, now on his fourth Atlantic campaign. A favourite to watch, Slats brings deep, hard-earned experience to a crew that continues to apply pressure as the finish line draws closer.

The race did not begin as scheduled. Race organisers confirmed that local authorities issued a weather warning forecasting rapidly deteriorating conditions, with winds rising to Force 8, gusting to Force 9, and wave heights reaching six to eight metres.

While crews are trained for heavy seas, officials explained that the opening days of a multi-week crossing are no place for avoidable damage. Early capsizes, prolonged exposure, or equipment failure can quickly turn a race into a survival exercise. A delayed start ensured the opening miles would be about positioning and pace, not emergency response. Discipline and patience, the Atlantic’s first lessons, were required before a single stroke counted.

Once underway, the Atlantic offered no concessions. Crews row in relentless shifts, often two hours on and two hours off, navigating swells, currents, shipping lanes, and shifting weather systems while managing sleep deprivation, nutrition, and the steady attrition on bodies and boats.

By the later stages of the crossing, novelty disappears. Blisters harden, fatigue settles into muscle memory, and progress is measured less by speed than by consistency. This is endurance sport stripped to its core, where resilience outweighs reputation and every mile must be earned.

This is the World’s Toughest Row in full stride. The 2025–2026 edition underscores its expanding global reach, featuring 43 teams, 114 rowers, and representation from 20 nations. Competition is fierce, but purpose runs just as deep, with many crews rowing for causes spanning health, education, environmental protection, and social development.

Beyond the leaderboard, the Atlantic remains the true opponent. Crews are locked into long, repetitive cycles, managing energy by calculation and resolve by instinct. At this stage, speed still matters, but endurance and composure increasingly determine how the final miles unfold.

For Antigua and Barbuda, the race is more than an annual finish. It is a relationship built over years, and a reason the Atlantic campaign continues to return.

As Carsten Heron Olsen, owner and CEO of Atlantic Campaigns, explains when asked why Antigua remains central to the race’s identity:

“As always, it’s the stunning surroundings our teams experience when finishing in English Harbour and taking their first steps at Nelson’s Dockyard. The post-row experience on the island makes the hard work on the ocean worth it.”

It is a moment that crews speak about long after the rowing stops. Salt-worn and exhausted, they step ashore into history, hospitality, and celebration, completing a passage that feels earned rather than orchestrated.

For Antiguans and Barbudans, the World’s Toughest Row is woven into the country’s modern sporting identity. That connection was forged by pioneering Antiguan crews, from Team Wadadli Atlantic Rowers to Team Antigua Atlantic Rowers, strengthened by the landmark crossing of Team Antigua Island Girls, and expanded further by Team Antigua Pairs. Each campaign reinforces the message that there is no single way to conquer the Atlantic, only the resolve to try.

There are also tangible economic benefits, refined over time through the partnership between Atlantic Campaigns and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, reinforcing the race’s value beyond sport alone.

As this Atlantic campaign enters its closing chapter, Spectator Sports extends continued best wishes to every crew still at sea. Strength for the final miles, endurance to the very end, and safe passage home.

See you at Nelson’s Dockyard!!