Monday 23rd January 2023, at 17:09 local Antigua time (2109 UTC), Premier Marinas employees Hollie Luff, Rachel Lasham, Elliot Holman & Michael Hatch rowed across the finish line in The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - The World’s Toughest Row – in a time of 42 days, 9 hours and 19 minutes.
Their team, called In Our Element have pushed themselves to their limits to raise money and awareness of the University of Portsmouth's Centre of Enzyme Innovation and a real-life solution to ocean plastic pollution. The centre has engineered an enzyme which digests plastic and turns it into its original building blocks – a solution which could not only see an end to plastic pollution, but also potentially to the drilling for, and use of, raw fossil fuels to make new plastic products.
Nothing could get in the way of this unstoppable team. In the face of the brutal might of the Atlantic Ocean, their close-knit bond kept them ever pushing forward. They arrived into Antigua in elation, in full understanding of the awe-inspiring feat they had just achieved. Speaking on the hurdles they faced, Hollie said “You never know what you’re going to get but we battled through. We’re definitely stronger for it.”
These great friends met though working for Premier Marinas. They all have a strong love of the ocean and a familiarity of the difficulties she brings but this was a challenge like no other they’ve taken on before. Hollie brought the team together through a simple text - ‘Fancy rowing the Atlantic?’. Now, just three years later, they’ve done it! They battled through seasickness, huge waves, extreme sleep deprivation and conditions that felt like rowing through treacle.