11-07-2025
First All-Wales Female Rowing Team to Cross Atlantic in Aid of Local Charities
A four-woman team from Wales – Denise Leonard, Helen Heaton, Heledd Williams, and Liz Collyer – will become the first all-female Welsh crew to compete in the World's Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000-mile unaided race across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Merched y Môr team, whose name fittingly means 'Women of the Sea' in Welsh, will row from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, enduring up to 60 days of continuous rowing in shifts, navigating unpredictable weather, 20-foot waves, and total physical and mental exhaustion.
Their goal is to raise £125,000 to support the costs of the challenge and to fund four vital charities: Popham Kidney Support, which provides essential help for kidney patients and their families in Wales; Sea Trust Wales, which focuses on marine conservation and protecting Welsh coastal biodiversity; Action for Children, which supports vulnerable children, young people and families across the UK; and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), whose crews deliver life-saving rescue services around the Welsh and British coastline.
As part of their campaign, the team will visit the Senedd to raise awareness of the challenge and highlight the work of their chosen charities.
The Atlantic Challenge is one of the most demanding endurance races in the world. Fewer people have rowed across the Atlantic than have climbed Mount Everest or travelled to space.
