The Great Pacific Crossing saw the team (Darren, Arron, Simon and Josh) embark on a 3,000 nautical mile journey from California to Hawaii. There was two men rowing at all times on a relentless one hour on, one hour off rotation, day and night, for 43 days. The Pacific tested them at every turn, with towering swells, violent storms, and powerful currents making progress uncertain. At one point, the crew rowed only to remain in place, spun in circles by the ocean, thousands of miles from any land or help.

When one team member was injured, Darren, the captain, took on both his own and the injured rower’s shifts, sacrificing rest and pushing himself to the edge of exhaustion. The final stretch of the adventure brought them to the Molokai Channel, one of the world’s most dangerous stretches of water, where treacherous currents and unpredictable winds meant that even a moment’s lapse could have sent the boat off course and back into the open Pacific. Every mile was endured in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, with the team’s determination securing them a Guinness world record.