Published on: 27/05/2026
A member of the St John’s Mexborough congregation is heading on a 3,000-mile Atlantic crossing with his sister to help raise money for charities.
Louis Webb, along with his sister Giorgia, will take part in what is called the ‘World’s Toughest Row’ in November. They will row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, in a race from La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua in the Caribbean. It is an annual event organised by ‘Atlantic Campaigns.’ The boat was recently blessed in a special service by St John’s Vicar Father Edward Morrison, praying for their safety and God’s presence throughout the journey.
Louis and Giorgia have spent the last three years training rigorously for the challenge and have had to complete mandatory courses and a minimum of 170 hours of open ocean rowing in their boat. The training includes making fresh water, ‘man overboard’ drills, navigation, cooking and general living on board. They will carry 65 days’ worth of food, but expect to do the crossing in 40-50 days, which is the average for the pairs category.
The boat is an ocean rowing boat called a ‘Rannoch R25’, specially designed for the ocean. The boat is practically unsinkable with each onboard compartment being separate and airtight. There are two tiny cabins at either end of the boat for extra storage and a flat surface which can be used as a bed. A Jetboil will be used for cooking dehydrated food, and a water maker will convert seawater into fresh drinking water. The toilet is simply a bucket.
Since the start of the Atlantic Race in 1997, over €19,000,000 has been raised for charities across the UK and the world. Louis and Giorgia will be fundraising for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Monviso Nepal Foundation, and the Retraining of Racehorses organisation.
Louis said:
‘This is a formidable task, and we will face many challenges on the way, so it’s important for us to have the boat blessed. As a member of St John’s Church in Mexborough, I asked Father Edward if he would conduct a blessing which, I’m pleased to say, he was very happy to do. Knowing that we have God’s blessing and the prayers of all the congregation is a great strength to us.’
Father Edward Morrison, Vicar of St John’s Mexborough, said:
‘It was a privilege to bless Louis’ boat, and he and Giorgia go very much with our prayers. I was really encouraged when asked to do it, and to see how much it meant to them to go with God’s blessing, and see that strong sense of dependence on Him for the success of this incredible journey.’
