Lincoln Alumna Becomes One of the Youngest Women to Row the Atlantic

Christmas looked a little bit different this year for Lincoln alumna Georgie Leech who was racing 3,000 miles across the world to become one of the youngest women to row the Atlantic.

Georgie and her two teammates completed the annual Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which sees teams from around the world put their physical and mental endurance to the test as they race from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. The team received a hero’s welcome in Antigua on Tuesday 2 February 2021 after completing the challenge in 52 days, 4 hours and 57 minutes, to become the three youngest women to row the Atlantic and raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity in the process. The epic adventure was driven by a passion for rowing that Georgie developed as a student at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Georgie said: “I’d never rowed before, but I signed up to the Rowing Club during Freshers’ Week and loved it!”I had so much fun learning to row and made life-long friends. Some of my best memories are of early-morning training sessions in Lincoln watching the sunrise with my housemates.”

Setting sail on 12 December 2020, Georgie and her teammates faced sleep deprivation, isolation, a broken oar, huge waves and flying fish! Despite some tough days, the team reflected on how brilliant their time at sea has been, with lots of laughs and bonding as friends.

Georgie said: “This experience has been better than I could ever have imagined. I knew it was something I really wanted to do but I didn’t ever think I’d love it as much as I did.

“We’re so proud to have smashed our fundraising target of £10k for two charities close to our hearts – Women in Sport and Rowing Together for Healthy Minds (in partnership with the mental health charity Mind).

“Rowing can be hugely beneficial for both physical and mental health. It gets the endorphins pumping, which is particularly important currently with the national lockdown.”

You can catch up on the team’s epic adventure on Facebook and Instagram @atlanticantics2020 and on Twitter @atlanticantics.

Ends