Oardinary Crew

Meet The Oardinary Crew Four friends, zero rowing experience, one huge mission. In December 2026, we’ll take on the World’s Toughest Row – 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. No shortcuts, no prior experience, just relentless commitment. Our goal is simple: finish among the fastest, while raising vital funds for three incredible charities – @jamesplaceuk , @eastangliairamb and @chestnutcraftedhospitality This journey is about grit, growth, and going all in. Over the next 18 months we’ll be training, fundraising, and preparing for a challenge that will push us to the absolute limit. Meet the crew: 🚣 Jasper Upton, 30, Suffolk Driven by a passion for mental health advocacy and inspired by the life-saving work of the East Anglian Air Ambulance and The Giving Tree, Jasper is ready to swap land-based adventures for the open ocean. 🚣 Edward Mortimer, 29, Essex A lifelong sportsman, Ed has dreamt of rowing the Atlantic for years. His motivation comes from supporting charities that have deeply impacted his community and personal life. 🚣 Jamie Gregory, 29, Norfolk With close ties to James’ Place and the EAAA, Jamie is determined to give back to the region he calls home. Inspired as a child by a former Atlantic rower, he now gets the chance to test his own limits. 🚣 Matt Riall, 29, Dorset Leaving the Army but never his love for adventure, Matt is fired up to take on the ocean. His commitment to men’s mental health and lifesaving charities will keep him pushing through the toughest moments. Follow our journey as we prepare for the ultimate test of endurance, resilience and teamwork.💪 #worldstoughestrow

In December 2026, we’ll be setting off to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic as part of the World’s Toughest Row. None of us have ever rowed before, but we’re throwing ourselves into the deep end for something bigger than just a personal challenge. Between us, we’ve been shaped by mental health struggles, emergency rescues, and the power of community. That’s why we’re rowing for three charities that mean the world to us - James’ Place, East Anglian Air Ambulance, and The Giving Tree. We’re not athletes. We’re not rowers (yet). We’re four ordinary guys taking on something extraordinary, with a mission to raise as much as we can for the causes that matter most. #worldstoughestrow

GALA DINNER On Friday 24th April we hosted our fundraising charity dinner, with over 400 friends and family coming along in support. Thank you to the incredible team at @thepeninsulalondonhotel for such excellent service. Also, to @spencermatthews for joining us and giving a fascinating oversight of his Project 7, 30/30, plus highs and lows of endurance sport. We won’t forget your closing advice; ‘don’t give up’! Our auction was made of up of prizes generously donated by friends and businesses, with all proceeds going directly to support the three charities we are fundraising for, as part of our @worlds.toughest.row campaign. Our dream goal from a fundraising perspective was to raise £250,000, to be split equally between @jamesplaceuk , @eastangliairamb and @thegivingtree . It’s quite incredible that a figure which seemed such an impossible target, is now something that is very close to being achieved! Thank you to all those who have been immensely supportive in making the night happen. We’ve learnt first hand how this money goes to support local communities and there is no doubt that lives will be saved because of your generosity. This video was shown during the dinner, expertly put together by @dombanes

THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST ROW 😲 My brother has always been such a huge supporter of mine, and now it’s time for me to try and help support him in a small way by sharing this enormous and unbelievably inspiring challenge he is taking on 🫶🏻💪🏻 This December him and 3 others are rowing across the Atlantic for the incredible charities @jamesplaceuk & a charity that of course means a lot to me, @eastangliairamb , as without them my life would most probably look very different. So, please give their journey a follow @oardinarycrew , bid on one of their amazing auction prizes if you can, or if not, they have a funding page to raise money for these inedible charities. I will post a story with both these links attached. Couldn’t be prouder of you @jupton95 ❤️

Gala Dinner Week: this week we will be hosting our Gala Dinner, a central part of our fundraising campaign. We have been overwhelmed by the support, both of those attending, making it happen, donating auction prizes and teaching us what is actually involved in making charity dinners happen (take it from us, it’s a lot more than expected - humbled). The last couple of weeks have us back on Stephen, undertaking the second part of our in person training programme with our legendary coach @duncroy1 . Last year was working on becoming comfortable and safe rowing around the tidal, near to shore rowing, that forms our on water training. This year was about getting into the weeds of what to do in different situations during the Atlantic crossing. It can’t be overstated the importance of knowing the protocols we may have to enact in server weather conditions. It’s clear to us the speed and efficiency that we can perform these drills is not only important in being competitive, but also being safe. With some warmer weather, so of us have taken the chance to get the rowing machines into the garden and enjoy the feeling of training outside - a pleasant change to spening much of the winter in a gym basement plugging away. We encourage everyone to take a look at our charity auction, which is now live on @givergy - link in our page bio above. A great week of training for the team all round and a fun week ahead with friends and family in aid of @jamesplaceuk @eastangliairamb The Giving Tree We were even lucky to be joined by referee Riall providing great weekend entertainment @nigelrefowens

Celebrating 12 months of Stephen! It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since we picked up our trusty vessel, Stephen, in the Spring of 2025. For us in the team, the last year has felt like a surreal time in life, learning so much about what it takes to actually complete this challenge. Truly, being physically fit enough is only a fraction of what it takes to be a successful and competitive team. One of the principles we keep arcing back to as a team is the Dunning Kruger Effect, where a lack of knowledge and skill causes an overestimation of competence; a confidence:competence gap. It’s been a steep learning curve, and we are far more modest about our ocean rowing competence as we continue to build into our December departure date. From a training perspective, this week saw us begin more than 2 hour training rows for the first time, exactly what we will be doing as shifts on the boat. Now is a crucial time in terms of training, where we need to really balance training with overall fitness. Our next two weekends are critical in the formative stages of our summer on-water training programme, and remaining fit for these weekends is crucial. With any niggles the crew members feel, our agreed approach is to air greatly on the side of caution, resting instead of training. This explains some of the differences in training figures amongst the crew. A big highlight of our week was visiting the @eastangliairamb in Norwich, one of the wonderful charities we are fundraising for. We spent the afternoon with them meeting the team, learning about the critical care they provide, and filming an interview with Doctor @majones44 in front of their legendary helicopter. We even got @dombanes - our expert media man - into the helicopter. Hard to tell who enjoyed being there more from these photos! Swipe across to see some content of our 12 months of training with Stephen. 🚁 🚣 …And the countdown continues, 8 months until we arrive in La Gomera for departure!

In December 2026 a team of four friends, The @oardinarycrew , will take part in the World’s Toughest Row. With no prior rowing experience and after many months of punishing training, Jasper Upton, Edward Mortimer, Jamie Gregory and Matt Riall will be taking on this extraordinary challenge, tackling 3,000 gruelling miles across the Atlantic Ocean in a carbon fibre rowing boat, raising vital funds for three fantastic charities: 🚣‍♂️ East Anglian Air Ambulance, providing life-saving critical care 24/7, 365 days a year 🚣‍♂️ James’ Place, offering free, life-saving treatment to men in suicidal crisis 🚣‍♂️The Giving Tree, an East Anglian based charity providing funding and support to local charities and voluntary groups in the region. We’re proud to be supporting the Oardinary Crew in this incredible challenge and will be following their journey as they prepare for the biggest adventure of their lives. Find out more about the team here /

Spring is in the air and that means that we’re finally back in the water - having completed our first training camp of the year - and what a weekend to have been out on Stephen. The structure of the weekend was focused on refreshing our knowledge of coastal rowing, anchoring drills, route planning and winds/tides. It was great putting into practice the teachings from our session with @cygnet_rc and discussing our team objectives. We were also lucky to be joined by the one and only @dombanes from @novusnine to capture some content that always seems to make us look more professional than we really are - true talent. It’s a constant challenge to balance work and home lives around training and these weekends are a huge commitment, from finishing a busy week to then going straight into a weekend camp is a serious ask. That said, spending time out on the water trundling up and down the Jurassic Coastline of Southern England is a real pleasure. Tomorrow though it’s back to day one for us, continuing our training programme in the gym. We will be back into our 6 session routine, continuing to build towards our December departure date. It will be two weeks until we’re back out again, to complete our Phase 2 training with our legendary coach @duncroy1 .

….And we’re back, it’s been a busy few weeks for the crew with lots of training, courses, admin and holidays. The team have been very busy in the gym, preparing for the first session out on the water next weekend. Qualification to undertake the World’s Toughest Row involves completing 4 mandatory courses, certified by the Royal Yachting Association. Over the last few weeks we have completed courses on ocean radio, first aid, navigation and finally sea survival. From ‘Mayday Mayday’ calls, CPR challenges on a small boat, and learning how to inflate and live in a life raft for an extended period of time, these courses have really sharpened the mind as to the reality of what we could face if things go wrong. The key takeaway is that good preparation and well executed drills are the best way to mitigate against negative eventualities, so really nothing to worry about 🤯! Stephen has come out of hibernation in Suffolk and is sporting a trendy new outfit, with several extremely generous new sponsors on display. Now safely back portside on the South Coast awaiting our first camp, Stephen has several public facing appearances coming up. Firstly, in London for the Oardinary Crew Gala Dinner at the end of April and laterly in June at the Royal Norfolk Show. These are great opportunities to introduce Stephen to friends, family and the wider public as we get closer to the big departure. One final big highlight of the last few weeks was a day with the Civil Service Rowing Club; @cygnet_rc . The team spent a whole day teaching us the techniques and drills they work on for river rowing. On Stephen, it can sometimes be difficult to see the impact of synchronised rowing strokes, on the river boats you can feel a huge difference in every stroke. This is something we will be focusing on going forward, to try and maximise the efficiency of each motion and therefore keep Stephen moving as fast as possible towards Antigua. With on water training now less than a week away, our big winter efforts in the gym will be put to the test as we get closer and closer to December. As ever, thank you to everyone reading this for your continued support.

A short training update from 3 weeks into our latest programme. We’re still working through the system of around 3 rows and 2 strength sessions per week, gradually increasing loads across each. Our priority is getting ourselves into the right fitness level for returning to on water rowing in March/April time. Alongside training we’re also taking the opportunity to complete mandatory courses including a radio course, first aid and sea survival - all of which are essential parts of keeping safe on the crossing. #worldstoughestrow #atlantic2026 #oceanrowing

WEEK 1 We started off the new programme this week, which will take us into our first significant on-water rowing camp in April. While we’re following the same exercises and structure, our programmes are individually tailored for specific weights and output on the rowing machine, based on our testing results. Some of the exercises that are incorporated into this updated programme are new to us, as we build out different exercises and move into some distance based rows, away from timed rows that have been the focus until now. We will spend the next several weeks also working up to a marathon row, likely taking 3 hours of continuous rowing to complete when we get to it. While our shift pattern on the boat will be a continuous 2 hours of rowing, 2 hours of resting, it is important to prep for situations where it may be necessary to adapt and transition into longer shifts. 10 months to go until we’re at the start line in La Gomera, preparing to depart on the 12th of December. #worldstoughestrow #Atlantic2026 #worldstoughestrowatlantic

TESTING WEEK This week involved various different threshold tests spread out over different days, including both rowing and strength exercises. Without a doubt one of the hardest tests is the 20 minute all out row, where the aim is to cover as much distance as possible while maintaining a constant stroke rate. Maximum heart rates vary from person to person, but a couple of the team exceeded 200bpm on this sprint test. The second rowing test is an endurance row, where the aim is to keep a steady zone 2 heart rate for a long period of time, replicating the exertion required during the Atlantic crossing. These tests provide the data required to then tailor the training load in our weekly programme. Whilst we all follow the same routine, each of us will have different weight loads for strength and also different wattage outputs to achieve on the rowing machines. With testing week over, we return to the normal programme from tomorrow, following a 12 week block that will see us arrive for our on water training in a good level of fitness. A lot of the training we are doing is with the purpose of making our bodies resilient to the consistent strain of rowing for 5-6 weeks. Fitness for the challenge is not just about how strong you are, or how high your cardiovascular endurance is, but also about how resilient you muscles, ligaments, joints and tendons are for repeating a single motion for 12 hours a day. A special highlight to @jupton95 for adding extra sessions in this week and taking the top spot.