*This is part of a short story athlete feature series written for Instagram*
Imagine enduring over 40 days at sea without access to a toilet, a shower, or a bed. UVic men's rower
Anthony Carella doesn't have to imagine—he will live it.
In just over 700 days, Carella and his teammates David Ranney, Moritz Marchart and Ryan Mulflur will take on one of the planet's most gruelling challenges as they battle the harsh conditions of the Atlantic Ocean competing in the
World's Toughest Row.
The World's Toughest Row is an endurance race where teams and individuals from across the globe test themselves in an attempt to row 3000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua in a 25-foot
Rannoch Adventure boat unaccompanied and unsupported. To put it in perspective, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have rowed across an ocean.
The annual race starts in December, with between 20 and 40 teams coming from all over the world. It is a race against the elements, where teams are exposed to brutal conditions (including 20 ft. waves) and must stand strong against the ocean. Working in two-hour shifts throughout the race, the men will trade off as they navigate a challenging and technical route, offering a full range of tests for the human mind and body.
Brought together by a mutual love of suffering, Carella and his teammates make up team Seneca Navy, named in honour of Geneva, New York's Seneca Lake, where all four men spent years in a boat as members of Hobart Colleges men's rowing program.
"We talked about doing this for about six months and thought it sounded crazy but also pretty cool. As teammates, we built a strong relationship doing hard things together, so when Ranney [who works as a Great Lakes vessel operations specialist in Detroit] brought the idea to us, it was hard to say no," said Carella.
"The fact that the race is for charity really drew us in, and we wanted to give back to our communities, so we're raising money for the Boys and Girls Club and hometown charities. We want to inspire youths to seek out transformational experiences," he continued.
An example of the Rannoch Adventure boat
Originally from Vaughan, Ontario, Carella grew up playing hockey, lacrosse and running cross country before walking onto Hobart College's men's rowing team, having never even touched an oar. During that time, Carella and his teammates discovered a shared love of ultra-endurance sports, competing in marathons, Ironman races, and anything else they could do to test themselves.
After graduating from Hobart, Carella wanted to push himself in rowing and moved to Victoria to join UVic's men's rowing team, one of the top programs in the country. Now in his final season with the Vikes, Carella will graduate in the spring with a postgraduate diploma in ecological restoration and is ready for his next challenge.
For the next two years, team Seneca Navy will prepare tirelessly for the race. Alongside their individual and group training, the teammates will recruit corporate sponsors and raise funds to purchase a boat, supplies and safety equipment before they begin the race in December 2025.
After months of groundwork, Carella, Marchart, Mulflur and Ranney launched their fundraising efforts in September on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club chapters of Geneva as well as hometown charities in Cleveland, Boston and Toronto. With a goal of raising $550,000, the team is rowing to give back to the communities that helped foster their leadership, personal growth and character development.
"We basically have to start our own company, so it's teaching us about business, marketing and fundraising. Right now, the race still feels far away, so the hardest part has been getting up and running and figuring out the business side of things," said Carella.
Aside from reaching their fundraising target, one of their greatest challenges will be geography. Carella is the lone Canadian on the team, Ranney is in Detroit, Marchart is in Germany training for the national rowing team, and Mulflur is finishing his degree in Geneva, New York. In 2025, the teammates will look to centralize and start preparing for the physical challenge of the race as a group.
"Beyond endurance and navigation training and the requisite hours in the boat, one key will be mental toughness and team dynamics. Just like you have to understand the boat, you have to understand your teammates when you're out there, and that comes from preparing together," said Carella.
If you're reading this and you're worried, you should be. However, Atlantic Campaigns run a tight ship to ensure that teams are prepared for the challenge physically and mentally. They make sure teams are equipped to deal with almost every scenario. They carry a life raft for the most extreme of situations, have short-range radios, and the navigation system shows other vessels that may collide with their position.
For Carella, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"I am looking forward to testing my limits alongside three great friends and hearing stories and ideas that only a 3,000-mile ocean row could get out of someone. Also, I would love to see some whales up close and personal," said Carella on team Seneca Navy's website.
To support Team Seneca on their journey,
donate here.
