Four friends secure 3rd place, raise R2.1m in 'World's Toughest Row'

A four-man South African crew secured a third-place finish and raised R2.1 million for conservation in the annual World’s Roughest Row.

Team Ocean Mavericks, consisting of Martin Hall, JP Briner, Angelo Wilkie-Page, and Matt Botha, took on the gruelling 4,800km trans-Atlantic rowing challenge.

After 34 days, two hours and 11 minutes at sea, they crossed the finish line in English Harbour, Antigua, securing a podium finish and raising R2.1 million for the Pondoland Conservation Trust.

It was a brutal journey, said Briner, who particularly struggled with sleep deprivation. 

Their 24-hour shift patterns consisted of two hours on, two hours off, with only three hours of sleep per day. 

“The brutality and monotony of it, you row for two or three days, and your body doesn’t know what is happening to it. It never ends."

To listen to Briner, use the audio player below: