How Bexhill rower Lia and team clinched a rowing world record

Tell us about yourself first…

My name is Lia Evans, I’m 25 and I live in Bexhill-on-Sea, where I grew up. I am a senior physiotherapist working in East Sussex Health Care Trust.

How did you get into rowing?

It was all down to Mark Mitchel, a good friend that suggested I should try rowing when I had to give up my horse in 2020. Bexhill Rowing Club took me in and trained up my stamina and technique from scratch.

I was able to fully commit to my new found hobby and excelled in the remote winter league. I was kindly loaned a rowing machine through Covid-19, so taking rowing from my garage to the sea was a big step up, but one I never looked back from! I love the ocean and love being part of a crew.

You were part of a local team who did the World's Toughest Row in 2022… although you could not complete it, tell us how that went...

I was part of ‘All Systems Row’, an all-women crew from the Bexhill club that attempted the World's Toughest Rowing Race in 2022. We completed 500 nautical miles at sea before we had to be brought back to safety by RNLI Pembrokeshire.

We were heading up the Celtic Sea when a storm rolled in early and caused a sea state too dangerous for any boats to continue. This was the lowest part of what had been a fantastic, sunny two weeks of rowing along the south coast.

I was initially drawn to the environmental aspect of this row so although we were unable to finish our data collection for marine micro-plastics and DNA samples, I’m glad we were able to raise £16k for environmental charities.

I was gutted our 18 months of hard work had ended so abruptly. However, I learned a tremendous amount, I had been gracefully humbled by the ocean and was beginning to figure out what made up a successful team.

Now, as part of a mixed crew of six, you have got a world record... tell us what it involved and what reaction have you had since returning home?

I completed the challenge as part of the first ever mixed crew of six to do so. I am proud to say that we completed 2,000 miles unsupported in 49 days and set a new Guinness World Record.

Our boat was Coastal Odyssey and with me were Patrick Deacon (skipper), Daisy Lucker, Hannah Davies, Joe Benson and Adam Ravenscroft (first mate).

It was a completely different experience. In contrast to the 2022 heatwave, the weather was dire and we never saw prevailing winds. We dreaded getting out of our warm winter sleeping bags to go out in the rain, and we ran out of battery due to insufficient sun on our solar panels.

Failure is part of success and I was glad to bring forward my learnings from being on ‘Intrepid’ two years earlier; like how best to use space and how to steer the boat in difficult conditions.

I knew how hard two-hour shifts were but it was the time on anchor that proved the hardest part of this row. With three people in less space than a single bed, resting in the cabins was difficult.

This was often up to four days with no phone battery to listen to pre-downloaded books and albums – pretty frustrating.

However, we always appreciated the skipper’s decision to keep us safe from what was going on at sea, and it served as time to hang out as people, not just cogs in a neatly oiled machine.

We’d learn about the area and the next plan, while admiring the wildlife and catching up on sleep! I’m excited to see how the scientific data collected compares to what we saw, was there a lot of underwater sound pollution, for example?

Since returning home, my sponsors, work and schools have reached out to share my experiences. Coastal Odyssey was an extremely efficient team and I enjoy sharing how we maintained such a tight dynamic while battling hardships.

I’m passionate about team dynamics, leadership styles and collaborating sport with environmental initiatives – so I am extremely grateful for these opportunities.

What's next (apart from a rest!)? More rowing activities to come? Any other big, international challenges planned - or have you had enough of them for now?!

Everyone always ask ‘what’s next?’! Besides nearly signing up for a triathlon but then releasing I can’t walk uphill let alone run, I have no big sport events lined up.

I recognise that behind any athlete and/or crew is a big support network and for me, it is my partner who has sacrificed much to support me over the past four years.

I want the next adventure to be one we take on together and it seems logical to follow his dream of travelling in a van – after all, I’m now so used to camp beds! We fly to New Zealand at the end of the year, with views of progressing our careers in Australia after that.

People say it takes months to get over ultra endurance events. With access to knowledgeable people in the physiotherapy and sport worlds, I learned how to fuel and get the most out of my body. I became versatile in preparation and I wasn’t injured on the row, but my body’s lost a lot of function. My change in direction is slower in hockey training, my fingers hurt when I ride a horse and my running is affected by my tight hip flexors – so I’ll be working on the basics!