Four intrepid Antiguans will put their oars in the water in La Gomera, the Canary Islands on December 12th for what is billed as “The World’s Toughest Row ” and paddle nearly 3,000 miles across the Atlantic to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
“Our plan is to complete the race in the top five teams and make the crossing in under 40 days,” says Eli Fuller, captain and owner/operator of watersports excursion company, Antigua Adventures, whose three teammates are John Watt, Scott Potter and Nico Psihoyos.
Fuller is following in the wake of his grandfather, Nick Fuller. In 2015, the senior Fuller was captain of Antigua’s Team Wadadli who completed the race and earned a Guinness World Record for being the oldest team of four to row across any ocean.
This year, Team Antigua will make a trek aboard a self-righting Rannoch 45 row boat, which measures 24′ long x 6′ wide, and has two cabins—front and stern. To track and root for Team Antigua, visit taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com or teamantiguabarbuda.com.
By Carol Bareuther Southern Boating, December 2017
Photos: Hank George and Claueren Morel