Ocean Rowing Team Waves to Awareness
Back in 2024, we (The CMSA) were proud to announce a partnership with Ocean Rowing Team Waves to Awareness. A pairs ocean rowing team, manned by Ruby Coates and Steffan Evans, the founders of the CMSA!
Together, Ruby and Steff rowed 3,200 miles across the Atlantic in the Atlantic Dash, setting off from Lanzarote and landing in Jolly Harbour, Antigua. Rowing unsupported for 52 days, they turned an extreme endurance challenge into a platform for the Caribbean Maritime Safety Association (CMSA)—amplifying our mission to improve maritime and water-safety across the region.
Their crossing captured attention at home and abroad—featured by regional media and the event organizers—and they were the first crew to arrive in Antigua for Atlantic Dash 2025, completing the row in 52 days 10 hours 21 minutes. That visibility helped introduce thousands more people to CMSA’s work and our Making Waves water-safety initiatives.
"We want to channel that momentum—showing what strength, determination, and teamwork can achieve—into the next phase for CMSA: expanding water-safety outreach, growing partnerships, and launching new community projects that keep people safer on and around the sea."
How far?
The pair rowed from Rubicon Marina, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, across 3,200 miles of open ocean, before arriving at the finish line in Jolly Harbour Marina, Antigua.
On finishing, they rowed over 1,000,000 strokes and consumed over 600,000 calories between them, rowing for over 600 hours each!
The Ocean Rowing Boat...
Measuring 28ft long and a little under 6ft wide, this is the crew’s life support system, from start to finish. The boat will carry everything they need for the duration of their journey. The team will be rowing in pairs and will be running on a shift pattern of two hours rowing followed by two hours resting for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means for anything between 35 and 70 days, nobody will be getting more than 90 minutes of sleep at a time.
From the second the crew push off, until they next set foot on land, the boat will be everything to them.
They will either be on deck rowing or they will be in the tiny cabin which is about two thirds the size of a double bed. Inside this, they will rest, cook, eat, sleep, film vlogs, navigate, communicate with the outside world and each other, patch up any injuries, write blogs, carry out equipment repairs, clean themselves… in fact, the only thing they won't be doing in the cabin is going to the toilet.
To most people's amusement, using the toilet facilities is an alfresco affair that bears a striking resemblance to a bucket on deck. This is largely due to the fact it is a bucket on deck. Lovely when it is sunny and calm but try to imagine yourself balanced atop of said bucket whilst there are howling winds and towering waves crashing onto you, whilst being watched by your rowing partner!
Thank you for visiting!
Did you know that the Caribbean Maritime Safety Association (or CMSA for short) is a registered non-profit organisation that relies solely on donations from its members and supporting organisations?
Donations go towards educational programmes such as our Making Waves Project, Search and Rescue Training and much more!