Rower Completes 51-Day Atlantic Crossing
Maltese rower Steve Chetcuti completed a grueling 51-day, 6,000-kilometer journey across the Atlantic with a five-person crew, landing in French Guiana. The nearly eight-week odyssey from Portugal was undertaken as tribute to his late brother, testing extreme physical and mental endurance against unpredictable weather.
The 2021 journey was part of a fundraising effort, with Chetcuti aiming to raise €30,000 for Hospice Malta and two other charities in Switzerland, where he resides. The crossing was a tribute to his brother, Mike, who passed away from a brain tumor in 2018 at the age of 51. This personal loss, along with his father's death from cancer, fueled his determination to honor his brother's difficult battle with the illness. The five-person international crew was skippered by the experienced ocean rower Ralph Tuijn. For Chetcuti, who had no prior rowing experience, the biggest fear was the mental challenge of being over 2,000 kilometers from shore with no option to quit. The crew faced the constant threat of massive waves, sharks, and the danger of colliding with floating containers lost from cargo ships. Ocean rowers endure a relentless schedule, typically rowing in two-hour shifts followed by two hours of rest, 24 hours a day. This grueling routine leads to sleep deprivation, hallucinations, salt sores, and extreme physical fatigue, with rowers facing waves that can reach heights of 20 feet or more. This was not Chetcuti's final Atlantic challenge. In early 2026, he completed a solo, unsupported crossing from La Gomera to Antigua as part of the "World's Toughest Row" event. This second journey took him 54 days, during which he lost 19kg and suffered a "full mental breakdown" on day 51 before pushing through to the finish.
