Poole woman targets Atlantic rowing record for Forest Holme

Friday 6th Nov 2026

A 25-year-old woman from Poole is preparing to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in a bid to break a world record and raise £25,000 for Forest Holme Hospice Charity, in memory of two loved ones who received care at the hospice.

Jenna Vincent will join fellow adventurers Liv and Meg as part of the Just Row With It team competing in the 2026 World’s Toughest Row, setting off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 12th for a gruelling journey across the Atlantic to Antigua.

With an average age of just 24, the trio hope to become the youngest female team of three to row across the Atlantic, spending up to 60 days at sea battling towering waves, sleep deprivation and extreme physical and mental challenges.

Below, Jenna shares more about the incredible challenge ahead, what inspired her to take on such an ambitious adventure and why raising funds for Forest Holme Hospice is a cause so close to her heart.

Firstly, tell us a little about yourself. What do you do when you’re not preparing to row across the Atlantic?

My name’s Jenna Vincent, I’m 25, although I’ll be turning 26 halfway across the Atlantic! I was born and raised in Poole, so I’ve been lucky enough to grow up surrounded by the sea. I’ve spent my life sailing, swimming and teaching sailing, so the water has always been a huge part of who I am.

I’ve always loved a challenge and pushing myself physically. Before this, I cycled the length of the UK to raise money for Forest Holme Hospice, which is a charity very close to my heart. When I’m not training for the row, I work in yacht brokerage, so I suppose I’ve managed to turn my love of the sea into both my career and my biggest challenge yet!

How did the Just Row With It team come together? 

I’d never met the girls before signing up for the challenge! Liv and Meg had met at a university rowing social and got chatting about the Atlantic row and how crazy it would be to take it on themselves. That’s where the idea started.

At the time, I was travelling in Australia and scrolling through Explorers Connect, which I like to call Tinder for adventurers, when I came across an advert from two women looking for a third crew member. I’d known about ocean rowing for a while and had always wanted to do it, but something about the way they’d written the advert really caught my attention.

I emailed them explaining that, although I’d never rowed before, I’d grown up sailing and would commit 100%, even from the other side of the world. And that’s how Just Row With It was born!

Almost a year later, after countless calls and emails, I flew home and finally met the girls and our boat. Since then, the team and the whole campaign have grown into something much bigger than the three of us could have imagined.

What will the challenge involve, how have you been preparing, and what do you think will be the toughest part?

We’re preparing to spend up to 60 days at sea, rowing approximately 3,000 miles from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua. For context, the current record for a trio of women rowing across the Atlantic is 40 days, 10 hours and 51 minutes, so we could be out there for quite some time!

In all honesty, we don’t really know what to expect. We could have beautiful sunrises and sunsets, or spend hours under endless dark skies. We could experience relatively calm seas or waves reaching 40 feet. Then there are the less glamorous possibilities: seasickness, blisters, sores, aches and pains, and even marlin strikes, where a swordfish can puncture the hull of a boat.

We’ve prepared by spending as much time on the boat as possible, rowing for as long as we can. Our longest row so far has been 42 hours, so going from that to potentially 60 days at sea will be a huge step up! Alongside that, we’re in the gym six days a week, combining strength training with sessions on the rowing machine.

I think the toughest part will be the monotony. We’ll be rowing in shifts, getting limited and broken sleep, repeating the same routine day after day, all while living on an eight-metre boat with three people, damp kit and mostly dehydrated food. There’s no popping home for a shower or ordering a takeaway! It’ll be a real test of our physical endurance, mental resilience and ability to get along when we’re tired, uncomfortable and have nowhere else to go.

How much would achieving a world record mean to you, and what inspired you to take on something so ambitious?

Becoming the youngest female trio to row the Atlantic will be incredibly special, and I’m so proud to be attempting it alongside Liv and Meg. But for me, it’s about so much more than a record.

I want to show other young women that they can take on challenges that might initially seem completely out of reach. That doesn’t have to mean rowing an ocean or climbing a mountain. It could be pursuing a career, trying a new sport or doing something that feels important, exciting or meaningful to them.

Girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys by the age of 14, and there are lots of reasons behind that. I think the more we see women taking on ambitious challenges, supporting one another and pushing boundaries, the more other girls will believe those opportunities are open to them too. Ultimately, I’d love to see more girls staying in sport and greater investment in women’s sport.

I was inspired myself by Jasmin Harrison, who became the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic. She’s gone on to do so many incredible things, and seeing what she achieved helped make something like this feel possible for me. If we can have that same effect on even one other person, I think that would be an achievement in itself.

Why did you choose to support Forest Holme Hospice Charity? 

Forest Holme has been a huge part of my life for many years, and supporting them is incredibly personal to me.

When I was 12, my godmother Wendy spent quite a bit of time at Forest Holme while battling terminal lung cancer. My brother and I were treated like family there. They helped make an awful, confusing experience a little less frightening and traumatic for us as children.

Years later, Forest Holme also cared for my grandma during her final days with cancer, which was during Covid. At a time when so much of the world had stopped, they made it possible for my dad and grandpa to visit her and say goodbye. They also offered bereavement support after she passed away.

I’ve since spoken to so many people in Poole who have had similar experiences with Forest Holme. They’re there for families during some of the hardest moments of their lives, offering kindness, compassion and a smile when it’s needed most.

I’ll be forever grateful for the care they gave my family, so being able to give something back through this challenge means a huge amount to me. I hope the money we raise will help other local families receive that same support when they need it most.

How much are you hoping to raise for Forest Holme, and how can people support your challenge?

As a team, we’ve chosen three charities that are hugely important to each of our individual communities. We wanted this challenge to have an impact beyond the row itself, so we’ve each set ourselves a fundraising target of £25,000, giving us a combined target of £75,000.

For me, that means raising £25,000 for Forest Holme Hospice and helping them continue the incredible work they do for local families.

The easiest way to support us is to donate through our GiveStar page here. Every donation, no matter how big or small, will make a difference. People can also support us by following our journey on social media (@justrowwithit2026), sharing our posts and helping spread the word about the charities we’re raising money for.

Finally, what would you say to someone who thinks a challenge like this is beyond their reach? 

I’d tell them that just because something feels unachievable doesn’t mean it is.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried, wondered how on earth this was going to happen or considered giving up altogether. Taking on something this big is daunting, and there are plenty of moments when you question yourself. But you have to remember why you started in the first place, whether that’s raising money for an incredible cause, inspiring someone else or having experiences you might never get another chance to have.

You don’t have to feel fearless to do something extraordinary. Sometimes you just have to be willing to give it a go, even when you’re scared or unsure of yourself.

I genuinely hope this adventure inspires someone to finally take on that thing they’ve been putting off because they’re worried they’re not good enough, brave enough or ready enough. Find your own Atlantic Ocean in life and row across it!

Support Jenna’s Atlantic rowing challenge

Jenna is hoping to raise £25,000 for Forest Holme Hospice Charity, helping us continue providing specialist care and support to local patients and families when they need it most.

You can support Jenna by [making a donation to her fundraising page and follow the team’s incredible journey on social media at @justrowwithit2026.