Couple rowing across the Atlantic launch fundraiser so they can afford to get home

Ellen Manning
Updated ·3 min read
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Simon and Nina Crouchman rowing in their Kraken ocean rowing boat as they cross the Atlantic ocean. A couple who has spent two months rowing the Atlantic for charity is now appealing for help - because they can't afford to fly their boat home. See SWNS story SWLNrowing. Nina, 50, and Simon Crouchman, 53, have battled 14ft waves and a broken rudder to raise awareness and funds for the Samaritans. The couple has pushed their marriage to the limits during the row, which has covered the entire length of the world's second-largest ocean - around 3,000 miles. But the pair, from Colchester, Essex, now don't have enough to get themselves home from the finish line in Antigua - let alone their £65,000 boat. They have so far raised £8,835 of their £50,000 target for Samaritans and are 60 days into their 65-day physical feat, dubbed the 'world's toughest row'.
Simon and Nina Crouchman have rowed across the Atlantic but may not be able to get home from Antigua as they can't afford it. (SWNS)
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A couple who have just spent two months rowing across the Atlantic for charity fear they may find themselves stuck in Antigua because they can't afford to get home.

Nina and Simon Crouchman, 50 and 53, have battled 14ft waves, blisters, seasickness and a broken rudder in what is dubbed by many as the 'world's toughest row'.

The couple, from Colchester, Essex, are days away from completing the challenge to raise funds for the Samaritans but now can't afford to get themselves home – or their £65,000 boat.

They are pleading for help to raise funds to get themselves back to the UK, as well as still trying to raise funds for charity.

The couple have rowed thousand of miles across the Atlantic, battling 14ft waves and a broken rudder to raise awareness and funds for the Samaritans. (SWNS)
The couple have rowed thousand of miles across the Atlantic, battling 14ft waves and a broken rudder to raise awareness and funds for the Samaritans. (SWNS)

The Crouchmans, who have three adult children, joined the starting line of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge with 42 other teams on La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December and hit the halfway mark on 16 January.

They have so far raised £8,835 of their £50,000 target for Samaritans and have now launched the"Help Mr & Mrseas get home" fund, but have so far only raised £500 of the £7,000 needed.

On their GoFundMe page the couple wrote: "This has been a two-year plan to reach the start line, as ordinary down-to-earth people in their 50s, we never thought we would make it this far.

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They added: "Financially it has been a struggle, with all funding coming from one household and sponsorship extremely hard to find – it’s a difficult time and we are so close.

"We found ourselves at the start line, able to row the race and to support our charity but we do not have funds to get home ourselves once we reach Antigua.

"We do not have funds to ship our boat back to the UK from Antigua."

The couple have launched a fundraiser so they can get themselves and their boat home. (SWNS)
The couple have launched a fundraiser so they can get themselves and their boat home. (SWNS)

The couple, who have been together for 27 years, are undertaking the challenge in a 7.3m ocean pairs rowing boat named the Kraken and needed specialist training as well as safety equipment and supplies.

They picked the Samaritans in honour of a close friend who lost their life to suicide.

Since leaving the Canary Islands, they have endured weeks of headwinds and seasickness as well as blisters.

They also suffered a delay when their rudder broke. Simon tried to fashion a temporary rudder out of a breadboard, but that broke free and they needed to wait for a yacht to bring a spare rudder from the Canary Islands, leaving them stationary for 11 days.

Simon and Nina Crouchman rowing in their Kraken ocean rowing boat as they cross the Atlantic ocean. A couple who has spent two months rowing the Atlantic for charity is now appealing for help - because they can't afford to fly their boat home. See SWNS story SWLNrowing. Nina, 50, and Simon Crouchman, 53, have battled 14ft waves and a broken rudder to raise awareness and funds for the Samaritans. The couple has pushed their marriage to the limits during the row, which has covered the entire length of the world's second-largest ocean - around 3,000 miles. But the pair, from Colchester, Essex, now don't have enough to get themselves home from the finish line in Antigua - let alone their £65,000 boat. They have so far raised £8,835 of their £50,000 target for Samaritans and are 60 days into their 65-day physical feat, dubbed the 'world's toughest row'.
The Crouchmans have so far raised £8,835 of their £50,000 target for Samaritans and are 60 days into their 65-day physical feat, dubbed the 'world's toughest row'. (SWNS)

Nina Crouchman said: "We physically couldn't row anymore, couldn't steer and couldn't manually steer."

The pair expect to cross the finish line on Thursday, 16 February – making the trip a total of 65 days.

She added: "It is the ultimate rowing race. I wouldn't want to be doing the challenge with anybody else."

The couple's team MrandMrseas can be followed on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge website or their social media pages on JustGiving and GoFundMe.