Support & charity

The Atlantic Avengers Trust

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To support good causes, one nautical mile at a time.

The Reina Group MD, Ricky Reina completed an extraordinary challenge & rowed the Atlantic following in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus.‍

In 1493 Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second voyage to Antigua, with 17 ships & 1200 men. The Atlantic Avengers followed this route, departing on 17th November 2018.‍

One rowing boat, 3800 nautical miles & just 2 extraordinary men

On Saturday 23rd February 2019 at 9:20am (AST), two superheroes touched dry land for the first time after 88 days; 12 weeks; 2,116 hours; 127,005 minutes.

Delirious, relieved, weathered, bearded but, ultimately, victorious. They stood up face-to-face, looked into each other’s eyes, soaked it in, smiled & longingly embraced – struggling to comprehend what they had just achieved.

The epic journey of the Atlantic Avengers

That time lapse just gives us mere mortals a tiny glimpse of the epic journey the Atlantic Avengers, Ricky Reina and John Wilson, had been on.

Now imagine that length of time but battling against one of the planet’s most fearsome oceans; completely subservient to mother nature’s supernatural force & beauty; in a two-person glorified tin can, with oars as your motor & an indescribable sense of determination & will pushing your body to its limit to row 4,445 miles from mainland Spain to Antigua.

Take a minute. Let that sink in. It really is unbelievable.

Unbelievable to the normal person, yes, but let’s not forget Ricky and John aren’t normal &, on that fateful February day, two “ordinary” blokes achieved the extraordinary.

Turn back the clock three years & the pair were attempting their first world record for the longest indoor continual row as part of their training – in a sports hall, on dry land & using a rowing machine.

Smashed the record

Predictably, they smashed the record but, at the time, the thought of rowing the Atlantic was all a distant dream.

On Tuesday 27th November 2018, as the boat headed due west from Cádiz into the expansive dark blue ocean & the first oar stroke of thousands glided through the water, the dream became a reality. What faced them was a challenge that had never been achieved by two men.

Having achieved their dream, Ricky & John can sit you down on their knee, take a satisfactory swig of ice cold Wadadli beer & tell you all about that time they made rowing the Atlantic seem like a romantic punting trip down the River Cherwell.

Atlantic Ocean? Consider yourself Atlantic Avenged!

First all-male pair to row from continental Europe across the Atlantic, east-west, non-stop
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Oldest team to row across the Atlantic from continental Europe
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John became the oldest person to row across the Atlantic from continental Europe
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Fastest pair to row from continental Europe across the Atlantic, east-west
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First British pair to row from continental Europe across the Atlantic, east-west

Incredible but still modest, but is there another challenge around the corner?

No matter what the odds, through highs & lows, tears & sweat, thick & thin, they completed it & as the dust settled on what they had achieved, they should be immensely proud of how many hearts they touched & people they inspired.

Not only have they raised an incredible amount for charity but also collected data from the surface & benath the Atlantic Ocean, working with the International Doctoral School in Sea Studies, to support studies on the impact of plastics that kill marine life in the ocean.

Just want to leave you with the final image of the boy’s arrival at Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. On very few occasions do you get to see raw human emotion & in those precious minutes as they embraced loved ones it truly was a beautiful moment