Rowing through grief and giant Atlantic waves

2 days ago

Jonathan MorrisSouth West

News image — Clare O'Reilly: Sometimes it feels like the sea echoes how you feel when you're grieving

BBC The picture shows a person sitting on a small ocean rowing boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The individual is wearing a white sleeveless top and sunglasses positioned on top of their head. Behind them, the deep blue sea stretches out under a bright sky with scattered clouds. — Clare O'Reilly: Sometimes it feels like the sea echoes how you feel when you're grieving

Clare O'Reilly is battling huge waves and personal grief as she rows across the Atlantic Ocean in the World's Toughest Row.

O'Reilly, from Wembury, Devon, and teammates Rosie Tong and Mel Jarman, set off on 14 December and have already covered more than 1,800 miles (2,900km) of the 3,600-mile 2,900km (5,800km) race.

The hardest part came before the start, said O'Reilly, whose father died hours before she left La Gomera in Spain for Antigua.

"Sometimes it feels like the sea echoes how you feel when you're grieving," she said. "You can't move through the sea quickly. You move at the pace she decides, and that feels very much like grief."

Row with the Flow/World's Toughest Row The picture shows three smiling people on a small ocean rowing boat in the middle of a vast stretch of deep blue water. One person is leaning out to the side of the boat with an arm raised, while another is seated and holding an oar. All are wearing sun hats. The sky is bright with scattered clouds, and the sea looks calm but expansive, giving a sense of isolation and adventure far from land. — Clare O'Reilly, Mel Jarman and Rosie Tong are among the leaders

She said it had been "incredibly difficult not having him here and not being able to send him all the pictures of the sunrise and the sunsets and everything else, but it feels very much like he's with me".

Despite the emotional weight, the Row with the Flow team is flying.

"We're 17th out of 44 boats and second in the women's class," O'Reilly said.

"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 admits to fearing deep water and big waves.

"The first couple of days we were looking at 5m, 6m [16.6ft, 20ft] waves," she said. "They were huge, absolutely ginormous."

She said life on board was relentless but fun.

"Everything is a flipping chore," O'Reilly laughed. "Going to the toilet, boiling noodles, moving up and down the boat - it's all a chore.

"But we're enjoying it. We're incredibly fortunate to be out here."

North Devon woman Jess Smiles and her race partner Beth Murphy are also taking part in the race.