Three friends. One boat no bigger than a garden shed. Forty days at sea. And not a bit of rowing experience between any of them.
But the goal posts have now been set and BlueStar Rowing have a mission to complete. Mark Watson, Oli Smith, and Archie Henderson will be setting sail across the Atlantic in a rowboat, with the aim of raising £250,000 for Gym Possible. This Newcastle based charity provides a safe space for physically disabled people to exercise. The money will go towards a new state-of-the-art accessible gym with services including physiotherapy and counselling.
The start of an adventure
Like all the best stories, this one started in the pub. Someone suggested the World’s Toughest Row as a challenge and the seed was set, even though none of them had any rowing experience.
The trio have been friends since 2014, meeting at school and bonding over their love of rugby. Life has taken them in different directions, but they still regularly meet up for a pint. And it was on one such social occasion that the first tentative plans were laid.
Mark, Oli and Archie will head off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands around the 13th of December 2026 and plan to land in Antigua a few weeks later. This is the safest time of year to travel as it falls outside of hurricane season, and the Atlantic should be at its calmest.
Along the way they’ll potentially navigate 50ft waves, unpredictable weather, and battle sleep deprivation and mental exhaustion. The only tools they’ll have to maintain motivation are an endless supply of snacks, a carefully curated set of playlists, and the belief that their efforts could really make a difference.
The training so far
Because the three friends live in different parts of the country, they’ve only managed a few weekends of practice on the water. Their first row was in March 2025, and the boat has now been put in storage for the winter.
But the training continues in the gym. As Oli says, “The focus is simple: build bodies that will not break and minds strong enough to keep going.
“We are working on strength, endurance, mobility, and injury prevention, because any weakness on land will be magnified a hundred times at sea. Just as important is the mental preparation – getting comfortable with discomfort, learning to push through fatigue, and preparing ourselves to row through the nights, the storms, and the inevitable lows.
“By next summer we will be back on the water aiming for more than 200 hours of training in the North Sea. That experience will prepare us for the cold, rough, and unpredictable conditions we will face, and give us the confidence to trust both the boat and each other before we take on the Atlantic.”
About the boat
An ordinary rowboat just would not work for this intense adventure. Blue Star is a 10m-long, purpose-built ocean rowing boat with a cabin at each end. It will carry only essential supplies including a desalinator to allow them to drink sea water, and solar panels so they can use their GPS navigation equipment and communication system.
Perhaps most important is the boat repair kit – there’s no place to stop if something breaks along the way.
The cabins are for storage but also allow the team mates to take their sleep shifts. For the duration of the row, they’ll be working on three-hour cycles – two hours of rowing for every one hour of sleep.
Why are they going to all this effort for Gym Possible?
Oli explains: “We met Drew, the founder of Gym Possible, and were instantly inspired. The members of the gym are phenomenal, but they also opened our eyes to a bigger issue: the lack of support and facilities for injured and disabled people in the UK.
“We have all seen how quickly life can change, whether it is a cycling accident on a Sunday morning or a slip on holiday, and we realised it could just as easily be us, our families, or our friends. One moment of bad luck can turn life upside down, and when it does, the right facilities, support, and community can be the difference between rebuilding independence and being left isolated.
“Right now, too many people in the UK face barriers that should not exist. Access to fitness, rehabilitation, and even a welcoming social space is often limited or completely unavailable for disabled people. That lack of opportunity impacts not just physical recovery, but confidence, mental wellbeing, and the ability to connect with others.
“Gym Possible showed us what is possible when those barriers are removed. The resilience, determination, and positivity of its members proved that with the right environment, people can thrive no matter their circumstances. It is more than a gym – it is a lifeline; a place where people rebuild themselves and find a community that truly understands.”
While they train for their expedition, the rowers are holding more fundraising activities, including a 24-hour row-a-thon, quiz nights, and sponsored challenges. They are also asking businesses to sponsor their rowboat.
How to get involved
The rowers have already raised quite a lot of sponsorship for their adventure, but they are still a way off their target, and they’d love for others to get involved and help them raise the money they need.
Read more about the challenge, upcoming events or find out how you can donate to the cause online:
Instagram: @bluestar_rowing
Go Fund Me: www.gofundme.com/f/blue-star-atlantic-row-2026