Dorset based business, Taylor Made Designs, is backing a brave team of four, committed to enduring on of the world’s most gruelling ocean challenges, aptly named: The World’s Toughest Row.

On 12th December 2024, the Ebb and Flow team will join 40 other crews in San Sebastian, La Gomera, Canary Islands where they will begin their 3,000 mile (4,800km) row across the Atlantic Ocean to reach the shores of Antigua in the Caribbean. The journey is expected to take the team around 3 months with the crew expected to make in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes.

“Taking on the might of the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat that measures just 28.5ft is an incredibly ambitious undertaking and one which we are extremely proud to support”, says TMD Managing Director, James Taylor. I am privileged to call one of the crew members a personal friend and have been party to the huge amount of training, planning and preparation being committed to making this epic challenge a safe and successful journey. This is going to be an extreme test of both physical and mental resilience for each and every crew member and we, at TMD, are delighted to be able to support such an epic journey.”

The four Ebb and Flow crew members are Julie Eddicott, Ed Dewar, Mary Sutherland and Sally Percival. All are keen outdoor enthusiasts with a variety of other epic physical and mental water-based challenges under their belts. Julie Eddicott says: “The World’s Toughest Row has been on my radar for many years and its only now I have found the courage, the time and the perfect crew members to make it happen. The support of commercial partners such as Taylor Made Designs makes this challenge commercially viable and all crew members are truly grateful for the opportunity to live-out this life-long ambition.

“We are also using this opportunity to raise funds for four charities, Teenage Cancer Trust, Blesma, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Oarsome Chance. All donations are very much appreciated.”

Over the next few months, the team will be busy mentally and physically preparing for their epic journey and kitting out the boat with all the safety equipment and provisions they need to be sae and totally self-sufficient for several months at sea.

To read more about Ebb and Flow, their preparations, the challenge itself, the crew and the charities the crew ae supporting, visit: ebbflowatlantic.com.

If you would like to donate to the charities, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ebb-flow-atlantic-row-2024

To find out more about Taylor Made Designs, visit: https://linktr.ee/taylormadedesigns1993

Key statistics and information about the World’s Toughest Row:

• Each Team will row more than 1.5 million oar strokes during the race

• Waves that the crew will experience can measure up to 20ft high

• Rowers will burn in excess of 5,000 calories per day

• There is no toilet on board – just a bucket!

• Rowers can expect to lose up to 8kg in bodyweight during the journey

• Air temperatures will range form below 10 degrees during the night to well over 30 degrees with added humidity as crews approach the end