Liz Wardley, a Queensland sailor, completes the World's Toughest Row, a grueling 4,800-kilometer race across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to Antigua. Wardley, who opted for a solo journey in a small rowboat named Tic Tac, faced treacherous conditions including five-meter waves and strong winds. She finished the race in third place overall and set a new record for the fastest female solo rower.
When adventurer Liz Wardley decided she needed a new challenge, she didn't imagine it would turn into a nearly nine-month-long journey across 13,000 kilometres of ocean. The passionate Queensland sailor traded the wheel of her beloved ocean racer for a seven-metre rowboat, fondly named Tic Tac because it looked like a half-eaten sweet, and set off to tackle one of the world's hardest rowing events, aptly named the World's Toughest Row .
The 4,800-kilometre race from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua sparked the 45-year-old's thirst for adventure in a small rowboat. Liz Wardley was looking for a challenge and new adventure when she signed up for the World's Toughest Row.Ms Wardley, from Elliott Heads about 370km north of Brisbane, always loved sailing but the chance of a new adventure attracted her to solo rowing. 'There's a fair few transferable skills, but definitely bobbing around in a small rowboat is very new to me,' Ms Wardley said. 'I wanted a little project that I could do everything myself, all the planning and management, and not have to answer to anybody. 'The challenge of being just one little person on a little rowboat in a big ocean was very inspiring.''We had five-metre waves and 25 to 30 knots of wind,' she said.A low-pressure system hit on Christmas day, less than a fortnight after she had left Spain.'Because we had upwind conditions, meaning the wind was coming from the completely wrong direction and it was against us.''Hour by hour, day by day I got more confidence and started going faster and faster,' she said.'Big starry nights, and big seas that you can see, and you're just a tiny boat.' Ms Wardley finished the race on Australia Day this year, placing third overall, and was the first solo woman, breaking the female solo race record by more than 15 days.Despite being barely able to walk off her boat after 44 days at sea, Ms Wardley decided she wasn't done ye
Adventure Rowing World's Toughest Row Atlantic Ocean Record Breaker
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