🌊 Hometown Row – Thank You & Your Questions Answered

Hello everyone!

First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who has signed up to follow our journey. Paul and I are blown away by the support and interest in Hometown Row — our mission to row home, the long way round! 🚣‍♀️🌍

For anyone new here, this newsletter will share updates, stories, behind-the-scenes prep, and soon — daily blogs straight from the ocean once we set off!

Before we go, here are some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve been getting lately 👇

❓When do you set off?

We’ll be heading out to La Gomera on the 30th November to make final preparations before the start of the race.

🚀 When does the race begin?

Leg 1 officially starts on 12th December 2025 as part of the World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic.

This leg takes us from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua — over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

🌴 What happens after that?

Once we reach Antigua, we’ll take a few days to regroup and re-pack the boat before setting off again on Leg 2 — from the race finish line all the way to Paul’s hometown of Fernandina Beach, Florida 🇺🇸

⏱️ When do you expect to arrive in Florida?

We expect Leg 1 to take around 50 days, meaning we’ll likely arrive in late January or early February 2026.

After a short turnaround in Antigua, Leg 2 should take about three weeks, so we hope to reach Florida by the end of February or early March.

✈️ Will you come home before rowing back?

Yes! I’ll be flying home to the UK for a couple of months to recover and plan the final stage.

Meanwhile, Paul will arrange for the boat to be towed up to St. John’s, Canada in June 2026.

We’ll then begin Leg 3 — the final crossing — from St. John’s to Burnham-on-Crouch 🇬🇧, setting off on 30th June 2026 and hoping to arrive home around 50 days later.

📡 How can we track you?

The live tracker will go online on our website closer to the start date — we’ll share the direct link here and across our social media channels.

Once we launch on 12th December, this newsletter will shift into daily ship’s log updates so you can follow along in real time — mile by mile, wave by wave 🌊

If you have any questions you’d like us to answer, simply reply or comment below — we’ll include as many as possible in the next newsletter!

Thank you again for joining us on this incredible adventure. Your support genuinely keeps us going — both in spirit and in those long night shifts at sea!

Until next time,

Dawn 🌅

“I am Dawn Smith, and I am rowing home — the long way round!”