Oardacious Valkyries to make history as first serving all-women military team to row Atlantic

A serving crew of women Royal Navy sailors – known as HMS Oardacious Valkyries – are to take on the World's Toughest Row, making history as the first serving military female team to attempt to row the Atlantic.

The epic 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic will see the Valkyries row for more than a month from San Sebastien de la Gomera in the Canary Islands to Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua.

While racing an Army team for the title of fastest women's military team to row across any ocean, the Oardacious women will have to fight off salt sores, blisters and sleep deprivation rowing in shifts of two hours on and two hours off.

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Led by skipper Izzy Rawlinson, a marine engineering submariner, under the guidance of team manager Alex Kelley, a Merlin helicopter observer, the crew comprises a diverse ensemble of military professionals, including mine clearance diver Ali Aindow, pilot Lily-Mae Fisher, and warfare specialist Nic Hall, as well as survival equipment technician Aaby Aldridge, of Meribel snowboarding fame.

Izzy, who has been involved in the HMS Oardacious Campaign since 2022, was thrilled when asked to be the skipper for this historic first all-women crew.

"This opportunity allows the chance to promote women in STEM and advocate for mental health, wellness and resilience," Izzy said.

"We hope to portray ordinary women doing something extraordinary and to showcase that as hard as something could be, tomorrow is a different day.

"If I could make someone's life slightly better by them looking at me and thinking 'if she can do it then I can get definitely out of this, I can definitely make it through to the other side', then that's good enough for me."

Spread across different naval base locations in the UK, over the next nine months, the team will primarily engage in independent training efforts and get in as many group practices as they can.

Set to sail on 12 December, the crew will undertake an unsupported crossing aboard the self-sufficient boat named Captain Jim – the same boat that helped a five-strong all-male Royal Navy team to victory in the 2023-24 race.

Stocked with food to last up to 55 days, the boat will be equipped with solar panels powering essential equipment, including a crucial water maker that converts seawater into freshwater through mini reverse osmosis technology.