Two Women, Four Oars, One Ocean

By Kymberly Taylor

Photography by Steve Simonsen
and World’s Toughest Row

Braving 30+ knot winds, brutal heat, and towering rogue waves, Team Ocean Grown, composed of Annapolitan Lauren “Nini” Champion and Canadian Lisa Roland, rowed over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in 45 days, breaking a world speed record for female rowing pairs.

Fueling their decision to take on the World’s Toughest Row was a deeply personal cause: to help change the lives of young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. “They are exceptionally vulnerable to high rates of homelessness, incarceration, teen pregnancy, and a lifelong dependence on the welfare system,” reflects Lisa, who entered the system at six months and left at age 15. Lisa and Nini have created the Bridges Over Water scholarship fund to help these young adults get a fresh start, pursuing careers in the maritime sector.

Lisa joins us for our Zoom interview from the Bahamas, where she is captaining a 60-foot sailing catamaran. Nini, who was raised in Annapolis, recently returned to her job as a rigging technician at The Rigging Company. She speaks with Annapolis Home in their offices in Eastport.

“one stroke at a time, one day at a time, one dollar at a time.” – Lauren “Nini” Champion

AHM: What motivated you to use your row to raise money to help kids who have aged out of foster care?

Lisa: I was actually raised in the system and placed in foster care at six months old. I was at the top of my class in high school but left at age 15. Unfortunately, I had to leave quite quickly. It was a very fast decision I had to make at that time. But I had started working quite young and had saved up a lot of my own money. I had my own place in about a week.

That time between 15 and 19 was a time when I looked forward in my life, and I didn’t think I was going to have a good life… I thought I would be desperate for the rest of my life. But I found the sailing industry, and now my life is very different. Being able to facilitate that same change for other young adults who came from where I came from is what this is about. We are looking for special people who have a lot of potential but have never had a chance to see what they can really do.

AHM: You and Nini met randomly in Antigua. What made you decide to row together?

Lisa: We met in Antigua, which is the finish line for the race. We were both working on sailboats. I was having a dinner party for a friend. Nini was there, and it was around the time when all the rowers were coming in from finishing the race. We were having a glass of wine, and I said, “I’ve been thinking about doing this row,” and Nini said, “I’ve been thinking of doing this row,” and that moment changed the next five years of our lives.

AHM: Neither one of you had rowed before. How did you prepare?

Nini: Along with daily rowing and weightlifting, we cross-trained, which included wakeboarding and kitesurfing. Also, we trained in the Caribbean, in the trade winds, seas, and elements.

The best training we had was in Invictus herself when we were able to fully purchase her a year and a half before the row. We completed over 140 hours of training in her in the USVI. Some daily rowing sessions, as well as some just over 3 days. The longer training sessions really allowed for us to get into the rhythm of watch rotation, food prep, water making etc. that would be essentially for our Atlantic race.

AHM: Tell us about daily life on your boat, the 24-foot Invictus.

Nini: We rowed 24 hours a day, holding a “2 on, 2 off” rowing rotation system to keep the boat moving constantly towards the finish line. One of us would row for 2 hours while the other one slept. The only time we rotated from that was when we were headed into the wind, rowing but just burning energy. That’s when we put the parachute anchor down.

The cabins are about four feet wide by six feet. I’m about 5’9″ and can fit fully suspended in the aft cabin with the autopilot and chart plotter. I liked it. Nini slept in the bow and she was like a queen out there.

AHM: What did you eat?

Lisa: We tried freeze-dried foods and didn’t find them appetizing. At first, I wanted to buy a freezer and cook, but we have jobs, so I found something in between: a company called Freeze Dry Wholesaler. They have things like herbed chicken breast and avocado and black beans—lots of simple flavors. It came in all these bags, so we mixed them and weighed them all out. It took a really long time.

AHM: You’ve both logged plenty of hours at sea. What truly challenged you?

Nini: In the beginning, we had a huge weather system gusting 30-knot winds and waves that were the size of a storied building. It was interesting. Lots of the teams got really seasick. Not only did we not get seasick—we had fun! There was this really big wave. Our boat usually goes about 3.5 knots, which is about five miles an hour. We hit a wave and were surfing down and hit 14.7 knots!

Lisa: Both of us were like, “Wheee!” We had so much fun at sea, and everyone else was like, “When is this going to be over?”

AHM: Were you worried about rolling?

Lisa: We did capsize four days before the end of the race. We had Easterly seas, but then there were these random north rogue swells. Two waves peaked, and we were directly at the bottom. I looked up and, in literally a flash of a second, thought, ‘We’re going over.’ We got thrown hard. I was underwater, 2/3 of the way. Nini came up on one side of the boat—she had been sleeping—and then we self-righted. I slowly started realizing all my personal items that got washed away: my left shoe, my headphones, and my Holly Hansen jacket. I had to make a shoe with two neoprene socks, stuffed with more neoprene and then tied together. I used it for the rest of the row.

AHM: Describe a tough moment for you.

Nini: It was when we were mid-row. We had light wind and brutal heat; it was mentally and physically challenging. Mentally, especially because the forecast kept predicting that the wind would arrive, and it never did fill in. During those moments, we were also at peak exhaustion—having to pull self out of bed and onto the oars was really just commitment and drive. You had to dig deep. We went through this transformation where you just had to accept it.

AHM: What kind of marine life did you see?

Nini: It was incredible. We saw stars that started at the horizon line and meteor showers. We also saw flying fish, dolphins, and whales. A shark lingered behind us. We tried to feed it tuna fish, but it said, “Yeahhh… I have better tuna out here.”

Lisa: My favorite whale was when I was on watch, and we were in a really good current. I was jamming with my headphones on. This whale surfaced right beside me and just looked at me like we were on the same highway.

AHM: You were basically rowing every 2 hours, 24 hours a day. Why put yourself through this?

Lisa: I was turning 30 soon and watching rowers coming in and having these life-changing experiences. I was ready to close out Chapter 1 of my life, that was pretty tumultuous. It was also, for me, a physical manifestation of trauma release, just really truly letting it go. It happened for me. There were times when I really sat there and sat in those memories that I had blocked off and then just let them go.

Nini: It was something I had to do… a next-level perseverance. A huge part of this journey has been just making it to the starting line. There was this element where I said, ‘I can take on this challenge,’ but I had to prove it to myself. Doing fundraising, developing the cause, hearing people tell you “No” but continuing to go on. There was all the commitment, energy, drive, and hard work. Making it to the starting line was almost as difficult as the row itself.

AHM: What is your advice to those facing their own “3,000-mile ocean”?

Lisa: Take one step at a time. You don’t climb a mountain by jumping to the top. It’s one stroke at a time. Even when it’s really hard, keep going. Just don’t give up.

Nini: Take it one step at a time, and it accumulates. That’s how we made it this far—one stroke at a time, one day at a time, one dollar at a time. If you are ever feeling down, look to your mentors. Lisa and I work in the sailing industry, so having mentors who supported us [at the finish line in Antigua] made a huge difference.