FOUR Cornish rowers who successfully completed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’ last month have been given a heroes welcome on their return to Looe.
A flotilla of watercraft, including three Looe Rowing Club gigs, joined Looe RNLI volunteer crews at the end of the morning’s training exercise to welcome back the Oars of Thunder crew Kim Tolfery, Sally Crabb, Harry Poulson and Nathaniel Rothwell.
Residents and visitors alike lined the riverbanks as the boats, including the charity’s Atlantic 85 and D Class inshore lifeboats, made their way from the Millpool slip, under the Looe bridge before disembarking at Looe Lifeboat Station.
Each one a member of Looe Rowing Club, Nat, Kim and Harry were the cox in each gig, with Sally rowing in the lead gig. Pausing by the lower ferry steps, crowds along the quaysides watched the rowers raise their oars to recognise the Oars of Thunder’s achievement.
They received a heroes welcome back on dry land at the lifeboat station as the community gathered to celebrate their epic achievement of endurance.
After three years of planning and training, the Oars of Thunder team left San Sebastian de La Gomera, the Canary Islands on December 11, 2024 in their Rannoch 45 named ‘Catch of the Day’ to row the 3,000 nautical miles to English Harbour, Antigua in the World’s Toughest Row.
The Oars of Thunder crew were celebrated by the RNLI and their local gig rowing club with a flotilla from Millpool to the RNLI lifeboat station in Looe.
They returned triumphant, finishing first in their Mixed Class and 6th boat in the fleet overall, after completing the challenge in 40 days 16 hours and 48 minutes.
Kim Tolfrey, whose initial idea it was to take part in the World’s Toughest Row, said: “It’s amazing to be at home and back in Looe on the water rowing. Today was a really special day and great opportunity to say thank you to the rowing club for inspiring us to come together.
“The hardest bit of the whole journey was getting to the start line. It’s a bit of cliche, but it’s a three-year campaign to raise £110,000 just to get to the start line, to get the boat, to get the training done.
“The amount of times we had to say ‘no’ to family because we had to go training or commitments had to shift… it’s a big campaign. To fit that in to your daily lifestyle, but also to get four people together at the same time, that was quite a mission.”
The group of four are still great friends, even after 40 days together at sea.
“We’re probably better friends now than before. That’s a real testament to the skipper to keep us all together,” she added.
Skipper during the challenge was Nathanial Rothwell, an RNLI volunteer crew in the town.
“The lifeboat are like a second family to me,” he said. “I’ve been down here about 12 years now, and one of our shore crew, Dave Robinson, was our weather router on the crossing. It was great that he could be part of it, and to now see the boys en masse giving us a little cheer, it was wonderful.
“We had a satellite phone on board and once a day the routers would send me a detailed forecast. Our internet quality was so poor out there, we can’t make informed decisions on the weather when you’re hungry and sleep deprived, so having that information digested and presented to you in a manageable format was a big help.”
Nat’s role was crucial for the safety of all on board as they battled waves, the varying weather condition, and even a chance encounter, which even had them saving a turtle en route.
“It was really just overseeing everything, the biggest part being safety and making sure people don’t get complacent and always do the safety routines, like always staying clipped on, and don’t go overboard… and just having that central point of contact and conversation for everyone.”
Getting back into the routine of life for Nat was a struggle, but didn’t stop him from proposing to his fiancée on his return
“It was straight back in the deep end and having to get back to work and family commitments. I proposed to my fiancée as well so it’s straight into wedding planning. I’ve not had a lot of time to stop and think about the rowing!”
The community response has surprised the RNLI crew member, adding: “I get stopped in the street a lot. A couple of times when I’m in a rush I wear a random hoodie, so no one recognises my crew kit, but it’s lovely really!”
The crew finished first in their mixed class after gaining an advantage over other craft by some clever planning. Harry explained: “We were at the start line two weeks before checking the weather forecast every day.
“Between us looking at that, the Atlantic campaign safety team, and our own weather routing team, we all came to the conclusion that heading south early on, fast and far, would get us below that low pressure system, that storm, and then hopefully pick up some trade winds and be able to scoot across westwards a bit easier.
“It was a bit of a gamble if those trade winds hadn’t have come in; we would have rowed south for no reason at all. But it did pay off in the end. The boats further north were going backwards or in circles for a few days, while we managed to scoot around the bottom of it. It was definitely worthwhile.”
Asked if there was a time during the challenge when he thought “why did I sign up for this?” Harry jokes: “Every morning when I woke up! For me it was the heat, especially after New Year’s, there was a real slow patch for us.
“We had no wind, no real currents, no swell and no cloud cover, so it was just 25, 26 degrees on deck and 40 degrees in the cabin. That was quite hard.
“You can’t escape heat, it was quite oppressive and then trying to make sure you’re drinking enough during the day, when you’re on a limited water supply, it’s in the back of your head all the time. That was probably the hardest bit for me personally.”
Since returning to Looe, crew member Sally has changed jobs, leaving her career of 20 years at Plymouth University to pursue a new role in Southampton. She said: “I probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to do that, had I not been taking part in the row, so, I think it’s the things you don’t necessarily think of, it does change your way of thinking.”
To anyone thinking of taking part in the future, she said: “Definitely do it. Anyone can do it. A bit of planning, a bit of training, it’s accessible to anyone. The crew dynamic and those people relationships really count for a lot in these types of adventures.”
The Oars of Thunder crew are still taking donations on their GoFundMe page for the RNLI. Kim Tolfrey added: “We haven’t reached our target, so we’re really keen to push it a bit more - that’s why the RNLI have come out to celebrate with us today. It’s great to be back, and back rowing again for sure.”
Donations can be made at: www.gofundme.com/f/oars-of-thunder-row-across-the-atlantic-for-rnli