Row the Amazon Cambridge Judge Business School logo Leonard Cheshire Disability logo

2077 miles. Two men. One boat.
Mark de Rond and Anton Wright rowed the entire length of the Amazon River in September and October 2013.

From Cambridge to Brazil

Dr Mark de Rond and Anton Wright have successfully reached their end of their expedition: to row the entire navigable length of the Amazon unsupported.

Oh-oh dedication's what you need; if you wanna be a record breaker!

They began rowing in Peru on Friday 13th September and arrived at the Brazilian coast one month later, on Tuesday 15th October. They are the first in history to achieve this feat, and received their Guinness World Record certificate from the British embassy in Brazil.

Mark has spent several years observing and researching teams of people in difficult circumstances, and decided it was time to experience first-hand what an endeavour like this would yield by joining Anton on the adventure. Murilo Reis, a passionate conservationist, joined the team in Peru and rowed with them till they reached Manaus in Brazil.

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

The rowers

Anton Wright

Anton Wright is Head Coach/Boatman for Clare College, Cambridge and Coach for the University Lightweights at the University of Cambridge.

An active rower and adventurer, Anton has undertaken several previous endeavours, such as the Great River Amazon Raft Race, rowing across the Irish Sea, and an Atlantic sailing crossing.

quote from Todd Skinner
Dr Mark de Rond

Dr Mark de Rond is a Reader in Strategy & Organisation at Cambridge Judge Business School and a Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge.

Mark's research interests include studying people by living with them under similar conditions, to try and understand how and why their world makes sense (to them). Mark's fieldwork has included combat surgeons in Afghanistan, elite rowers, and comedians.

Subject-wise, his research focuses specifically on: the experience of being human in collaborative high-performance environments; the human imagination of human importance in strategy; the possibility and scope of strategic choice and causal explanations of why things are as they are and not otherwise in a world of (mostly) unique events.

Find out more about Mark on Cambridge Judge Business School's website »

Murilo Reis

Murilo Reis, who rowed with Mark and Anton from Iquitos to Manaus but has now left the row, is a passionate conservationist and owns of one of Peru's most untouched reserves (in total 6,000 hectares of primary forest), deep in the jungle. He also caters for Unique Jungle experiences and has worked closely with a number of production companies across the globe, including Galileo (ProSieben Channel on German TV), thanks to the array of local wildlife that are undisturbed in Tapiche Reserve.

An experienced adventurer, Murilo has climbed K2, travelled the globe and is a regular contender on the Great River Amazon Raft Race, which he has also won a number of times.

Visit the Tapiche Reserve website »

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

Blog

Now it's all over, how do you feel?

  • 15 OCT 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

It is 02:40. Anton and I have staked out a small corner of a mostly empty departures hall in Brasilia. We have just flown in from Macapá - where we said goodbye to our sorry yellow boat - and will shortly be on our way to Sao Paulo. Thinking it useful to commit our very first reflections on the past 60 days to paper, Anton and I ordered a couple of drinks (a Stella Artois for him and, thanks to the antibiotics, coffee for me) and buckled down.

Well hopefully this will be the last time I get to start a blog with this line

  • 15 OCT 2013
  • By Anton Wright

It's been a very eventful 24 hours; well, 36 hours to be fair. As Mark and I reached our final checkpoint we realised that we were going to make it, and even with a bit of time to spare. It's thoughts like that that catch you out though as suddenly we dropped out of 8/9kmph down to 1.5/2kmph. As we moved out of an island network we came head on with the full force of the tidal Amazon; we would battle on for 20 minutes just to break for water to see our meagre mileage taken back from us.

Santarém

  • 8 OCT 2013
  • By Anton Wright

So I had written a large blog about the occurrences in Manaus yet what started yet again with the line "well what an eventful 24 hours" and was only supposed to be a short one-page recap ended up being a three-page, drama queen, blow-by-blow moan-a-thon. The moment for that blog has long gone because now we are what we set out to be in August; we are just two very good friends, neighbours even, doing something amazing and having an amazing time doing it.

Living with Mother Nature

  • 7 OCT 2013
  • By Murilo Reis

I'm back in Iquitos, it did seem much longer than the way out there. It was no easy decision to take. I get myself cheering for them and I'm happy to see their progress on the map.

I'm sure it will be now even more seen full for them to accomplish the journey. I was the translator in a foreigner land now they have to talk and understand the river, and Anton and Mark are doing it very well.

How not to row the Amazon

  • 3 OCT 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

Don't pay attention to scaremongers. No matter how noble the intention, tales of robbery and murder will forever put you off visiting one of the wonders of the world. People love stories of anguish and horror, particularly when based in fact. However, they do a poor job at contextualisation and fail to link factual data to statistical probabilities.

What we're looking for

  • 3 OCT 2013
  • By Murilo Reis

We have come to a point in our journey where we are no longer going in the same direction. I will not be continuing with the team from this point. I have brought Mark and Anton as far as I can, translating, setting up receptions in every port, bringing them through the most dangerous part of the river, teaching them to read the river and current and how to navigate the Amazon at night. From now to Macapá they do not need me anymore, and I have done everything I can for them.

Manaus, Macapá or bust

  • 2 OCT 2013
  • By Anton Wright

I think I'm not sleeping properly due to a combination of stress and exhaustion. The exhaustion isn't going to get any better for the next few days / weeks but I realised last night that the stress I can deal with. As soon as I see the other guys today I am going to explain, explain that yes I am stressed at the moment and that I realise it, also to apologise in advance for being awful to be with when I am stressed and to ask them to tell me when they think I am letting it get to me too much, they will be able to see better than me anyway.

Gratitude

  • 2 OCT 2013
  • By Murilo Reis

At the very first moment that we started talking about this journey and its possible challenges, it sounded that would be close to the mission impossible, not because of the possible events that could create obstacles, for example storms. It was almost stressing to hear all the warning about the pirates, river villains and the Brazilian authorities.

Why I'm doing this

  • 30 SEP 2013
  • By Murilo Reis

I came to Peru and decided to live here because of the jungle and I think there is hope and amazing potential. The people are left to their own luck and the jungle left to be abused and used as if it could be replaced after we destroy it. After a short talk to Anton and Mark I thought that this was maybe my chance to talk to people who are listening. To talk to people that are interested in helping and hoping to do something for the Amazon.

World music

  • 29 SEP 2013
  • By Murilo Reis

More than showing the Amazon, and its beauties and issues, for me this trip has been both treacherous and rewarding. I’m used to physical challenges but this has become more than that, a mix of competing egos, personal unfinished issues, experiments with emotional balance, and the 24x7 lack of privacy.

And the wheels fell off

  • 27 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

It's very hard to be told what your faults are; it's especially hard to be told what your faults are whilst you are blowing all of your energy trying to row the length of the river Amazon, so as the facts were pointed out to me the news cut me deep. Annoyingly the 48 hours previously I felt as strong as an ox. Physically I was weak however mentally I was as strong as I had ever been, I felt amazing with a capital 'A'.

Conflict and harmony

  • 19 SEP 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

Anton's been very candid about last night's clearing-the-air and the build-up of small frustrations and misunderstandings that led up to it. None of it should surprise. We are human after all – three of them – sequestered to a small ocean rowing boat in intense heat, deprived of sleep, sex and solitude, on a river the colour of cities (to borrow from Saul Bellow).

Living on a boat smaller than a council house kitchen

  • 19 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

As we neared the border we all felt an amazing sense of relief. Our very expensive yet completely useless GPS maps and system kept promising the next bend would be ours and yet each one showed just more and more water, islands and riverbank. As night set in we realised that it was not going to be as easy as we first thought. In the dark we could finally see first the lights of Santa Rosa, the frontier town in Peru, then further in the distance the lights of Leticia and Tabatina.

Life afloat the Amazon

  • 18 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

Last night Murilo woke me for my shift extremely excited; he had been followed by a pod of pink dolphins for the past two hours and in the background I could hear them all breaching the surface to breathe and see what their crazy intruder was doing next. As a rule dolphins will not come to a boat; they've learnt that it can be dangerous as a local with a gun could see an easy meal. However in the pitch black of night they kept scaring me by creating loud whooshing noises right next to me.

I could have cried

  • 18 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

I could have cried, and I actually did a little. Well, a lot to be honest. The boat had finally arrived to us but our ordeals had only really just begun. The shipping agent that we love so dearly had given us a number of different days and times for arrival, but that story we know. The boat had arrived battered and broken, the keel was split along the hull where they had dragged it along the floor, and the body was scratched and punctured.

Waiting in Nauta for our precious cargo

  • 12 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

Well I'm finding it harder and harder to stay positive; on the outside I am calm and supportive with the other guys, however inside I am prepared to murder someone. We are all currently in Nauta which is our official start point. It's still 20km away from the Amazon by name but here we have supplies and assistance if needed, however we are still yet to receive a boat.

Bugs

  • 11 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

In the boat we have an array of different sprays, covers and treatments but as you know we don't have the boat so in the meantime I just have to struggle through. We also have a bright yellow boat which is not the smartest colour to have chosen - we will however be out on the water and my hope is that on the water there will be fewer bugs and any bugs there are will be blown away by the breeze.

Innocent at heart!

  • 10 SEP 2013
  • Murilo Reis

These past five days have been so long. Since I had the fortune to join the Row the Amazon team I kind of pressed pause on my life in Iquitos so I could spend more time with Mark and Anton. My English is very limited to express (in writing) what I feel about them, I couldn't reply to Anton's words about me it would not make justice.

A cheap and cheerful solution to trust in teams

  • 10 SEP 2013
  • Mark de Rond

Alcohol is a funny thing: it doesn't combine well with exercise, it is a no-no for commercial negotiations. It quickly produces behaviours that are politically very incorrect. It makes fools of the best, and voyeurs of the rest, of us. Yet in spite of it all - or because of it - it can also do wonders for team development: it breaks down barriers and cuts to the chase far more quickly and more effectively, than do more sophisticated team-building exercises: people lower their guard and, in doing so, show you their mettle.

New start date

  • 9 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

This weekend we spent a couple of nights bonding at Murilo's reserve in the jungle. When I call it a reserve I mean it as well - this isn't one of those tourist venues with paths and a pool, this is the real deal. I won't blog about what Murilo has and hasn't done with the place because I can't do it justice, and he can tell you himself now, but I will however talk about what we discussed.

Changes

  • 6 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

Wow how things have changed over the last week, up and down, round and round. So as you now know we have a new and improved team, and what a line up. Murilo has joined our team and it feels like it has been planned since the start, I don't mean that in some strange aligning of the planets way, I mean that it feels comfortable and normal. We have already introduced Murilo and he has also introduced himself so now you have three points of view, opinions and experiences heading your way.

Patti Vasquez

  • 6 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

I don't know what Patti's typical working day is, but I know that, when she comes to the hotel in the afternoon, she carries with her a list of calls to make, or an email that has been sent and even files and documents for us to take. As soon as she gets here she tells us both something in Spanish, then grabs one of our laptops and heads straight for Google translate to get the message across clearly, then she will pick up our phone (local tariff) and make countless calls on our behalf to shipping agents and storage places, booking accommodation and excursions if we want them.

It hasn't hit me yet

  • 6 SEP 2013
  • Murilo Reis

More than anything, I like to be in direct contact with nature and the jungle. I believe this is a great chance to call attention for the Amazon and try to motivate conservation and spread the word of preserving and loving the animals. Rowing the Amazon will give the physical feeling of its magnitude.

Fear of failure

  • 6 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

So as usual at coffee Mark and I began talking, we are now a team of three but Murilo has other commitments with his businesses so he can't always join us which is a shame because it's these little points and conversations that will jell us all together. Anyway the conversation came to what type of person we thought we were, I often find myself trying to figure out what part of me brings me to these points in my life.

Murilo

  • 5 SEP 2013
  • Mark de Rond

So it's a done deal. Late last night we 'signed up' the third member of our team. Born and raised deep inside the dark heart of Brazil's jungle, Murilo Reis is as tough as they come. At 5'10" he isn't massively tall. Nor is he particularly big. But he's the real deal: mentally tough, muscular (in a stringy, understated sort of way), hugely experienced, and Zen-like - not easily fussed or disturbed, unafraid, his threshold for pain several standard deviations above ours.

On Mick Jagger, ayahuasca, and boredom

  • 4 SEP 2013
  • Mark de Rond

The abundance of time gives one cause to reflect. Despite the excitement of bobbing along the river in a few days' time (in truth we'll be rowing as if our life depended on it, seeing that we need to cover at least 80 miles a day, every day), I worry about what I know is to come. Forget the pirates: they are a possibility, albeit a strong one. Let's focus on the certainty, namely of ordinary guys stuck on a small vessel with no place to go, no privacy, and no possibility of respite.

Getting back on track

  • 3 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

I can't believe how this event is developing, I'm not a religious person and I've had to point this out a surprisingly large number of times here, yet something somewhere is afoot. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I have experienced the effects of someone or something else's influence on my life, I've recently described my life as seeming to be controlled by the tides, with surprising and uncontrollable lows followed by amazing highs.

Not-quite-holy-but-not-far-off 'Trinity'

  • 3 SEP 2013
  • Mark de Rond

Our shortlist (until early this morning) consisted of three people, all of whom more or less fitted the bill (the emphasis on 'more or less'). The first, a Peruvian, seemed perfect: an ex-SAS who speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, and spent 18 months training with the Israeli Special Forces. Alas, he ventured out into the jungle eight days ago and hasn't been seen since.

Looking for a new rower

  • 3 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

It's not as stupid as it sounds, we would be faster, safer and with the right person we would be able to avoid trouble and negotiate our way through encounters. Already we have decided to ditch the weekly stops for sightseeing and human interest stories so why not make it safe and fast as well. It should be pointed out that we were advised this during our planning stages and a number of high profile adventurers were suggested but we wanted this for ourselves and said no.

On skinny dipping and caymans

  • 2 SEP 2013
  • Mark de Rond

Anton and I have taken to skinny-dipping in the middle of the night. I had a go at around midnight last night, Anton at 3am. The pool's pretty much right outside of our bedroom door and helps take the edge off the heat. And frankly it feels kind of nice to have removed all firewalls between skin and the elements - even if climbing out of an ice-cold pool naked is never a proud moment, or at least for me it isn't.

Being the first is not enough

  • 2 SEP 2013
  • By Anton Wright

So Mark has been here for almost a week now and I know I am feeling much better at least. We have shared the burden of the boat and also discussed our feelings about loved ones at home. We both miss everyone desperately but we aren't throwing the towel in just yet, don't worry.

Sense and nonsense on decision-making

  • 1 SEP 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

Let me let you in on a little secret. Aside from our various 'formal' reasons for doing something as stupid as rowing down the Amazon unprotected - things like raising money for Leonard Cheshire Disability, however superbly worthwhile, and the pursuit of a novel piece of auto/ethnography and of research questions that can only ever be unearthed by means of first-hand experience - there are others: Anton and I have each had a pretty volatile year.

Mark's arrival

  • 31 AUG 2013
  • By Anton Wright

With a bit of luck the boat will be joining us in a week as well. We are both hoping to get started by the 10th at the latest, but hopefully sooner, as this way we will still have a chance of completing the row before our flights home. In the meantime though we still need to prepare; provisions need to be acquired and a plan of action for when the boat finally arrives must be formulated. And of course we need to look after each other as well. Mark has been a very uplifting influence on me and now I need to make sure I have the same effect on him.

Silver linings at La Casa Fitzcarraldo

  • 30 AUG 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

During our private viewing of Fitzcarraldo, we did manage to down two-thirds of a bottle of the most stunning gin - Cambridge Gin, made by our friend and colleague Lucy Lowe, and labelled specifically for our Row the Amazon adventure - before heading out for a night of karaoke. It's all a bit of a blur now but I do believe I actually lost my karaoke virginity that night to John Lennon's 'Imagine'.

Customs: a case of being patient

  • 29 AUG 2013
  • By Anton Wright

Voices are raised, hands are being held up, all my positive thoughts are running away from me right now and I can see it all falling apart. 'No, no, no,' is all I hear and the panic sets in. Lackeys are now throwing tyres out of the container. We used them to protect the boat during transit, but as we don't have a permit to import tyres they have to go.

Perfection? How boring!

  • 27 AUG 2013
  • By Anton Wright

I sat there in the meeting with four other people, everyone speaking Spanish except me. I feel my hackles rising and I tell myself that any outburst is not going to help, so I slip into irritated-Anton mode instead and sit there in complete ignorance as they talk about me and my "allergies to food" and "medication". They speak in passionate, aggressive tones and I get more and more annoyed.

Problems in Peru

  • 22 AUG 2013
  • By Anton Wright

Our shipping agent hasn't sent the correct form or signed the right box and now Karen from Lima wants to take all of our food and medicines off the boat and impound them. I'm stood in the centre of this market hearing the news on a local phone and feeling completely helpless. I try all of my best tricks: flirting, apologising, playing dumb (this one is easy), but not even the offer of paying whatever it costs is enough to get the boat out. Suddenly everything is in jeopardy and we race back to the hotel.

The beauty of superstition

  • 22 AUG 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

The indigenous people of the Amazon are no stranger to superstition. From our 'sophisticated' armchairs, we smirk at the thought. That is, until we realise that the very best (and almost certainly most ambitious) athletes are little better. Examples are mostly well-known: Canadian hurdler Angela Whyte never carries her podium clothes with her to the track at international competitions for fear of it jinxing her performance. Lawn bowler David Mathie plays with the price tag still attached to his right shoe, whereas his colleague Erin Marie Roth carries a poker chip with her when playing internationally ... If this seems mildly amusing, just remember that many of us are really no more resistant to such illusions in everyday life.

Day 1 in Iquitos

  • 21 AUG 2013
  • By Anton Wright

As I walked out of the airport in Iquitos I remembered why I love this city so much. Firstly it's warm; even at midnight the temperature is high. A local ex-pat turned taxi driver was waiting for me, and as we zipped through the streets of Iquitos - still quite busy considering it was midnight on a Sunday - I considered what my next few days will be like ... The worrying thing is that the boat hasn't arrived here yet. It was supposed to be here on the 14th, and I was looking forward to getting it ready for Mark's arrival, but now it looks like I have a bit of enforced R&R (which I think I need). There is so much stuff that I haven't finished yet and this is my chance - all these little jobs that have been brushed aside will now get my full attention as I sit in the sun and the heat and dip into the dodgy-looking pool.

Psychological safety on the Amazon

  • 12 AUG 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

Another week, another adventure. Our boat has arrived in Lima, Peru, but has been held for 'safeguarding' by our friends at customs. Fortunately help is at hand. Our fixer for Peru (formerly Chief of Police in Lima) assures us that, while customs officers keep changing their minds as to what to do with a golden yellow rowing boat, all will be well. Our Brazilian fixer, who once accompanied Sir Peter Blake on his fateful mission, has been active too.

Putting theory to the test

  • 2 AUG 2013
  • By Mark de Rond

Anton and I have taken out plenty time to discuss what matters most (and what doesn't) as we prepare to row the length of the named Amazon river, unsupported. Others have kayaked, swum, even walked, the length. One poor soul tried motoring his way through in a bathtub surrounded by empty oil barrels but never got beyond the Brazilian border. The authorities just wouldn't have it. Several brave individuals have traipsed as far back as the river's source; that, sadly, our ocean rowing boat would never manage. Food and water included, the damn thing weighs nearly a ton. But, as far as we can tell, no one has rowed it - especially not without a support crew.

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

Follow the journey

The expedition could be followed online with the aid of Voyage Manager technology.

map showing the final route

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

Media coverage

"The Mark Rumble Show" / BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

1 DEC 2013   Mark Rumble interviews Mark de Rond about Row the Amazon. Mark talks about the challenges he and rowing colleague Anton Wright faced during the 2,200 mile row, shares some extraordinary stories and favourite songs. Listen from 21:15 mins...

"Amazon adventure" / Rowing & Regatta: The Official Magazine of British Rowing

NOV/DEC 2013   Two rowers from Cambridge have become the first to row the length of the Amazon. Dr Mark de Rond and Anton Wright completed the 32-day voyage across Peru, Colombia and Brazil...

"Mark de Rond: messing about on the river" / Business Reporter (The Telegraph)

7 NOV 2013   Dave Baxter interviews Mark de Rond, reader in strategy and organisation at Cambridge Judge Business School. Mark speaks about the challenging Amazon row and what a new insight into teamwork and organisation this gave him...

"Amazon challenge" / BBC Look East

5 NOV 2013   BBC Look East interviews Mark de Rond and Anton Wright after their challenging row. The duo rowed more than 2,000 miles and became the first people to row the length of the Amazon...

"Explorers and risk-takers" / Jane Wilson-Howarth Blog

27 OCT 2013   "What is it that makes people set off on expeditions? One such risk taker returned to Cambridge last weekend, having achieved a place in the Guinness Book of Records," writes Jane Wilson-Howarth in her blog. Anton Wright and Mark de Rond managed to row the entirety of the River Amazon...

"Surgery with no anaesthetic was nearly as bad as the lack of Twix" / The Sunday Times

27 OCT 2013   The first man to row the length of the Amazon is filling up on chocolate while recovering from an abscess. Mark de Rond speaks to Josh Glancy about his and Anton Wright's epic row...

"Amazon row finished" / iNewsGr.com

27 OCT 2013   Judge Business School's Mark de Rond and Clare College rowing chief, Anton Wright, completed their epic journey rowing the Amazon, having covered more than 2,000 miles in 32 days...

"Cambridge rowers beat the Amazon" / The Times

25 OCT 2013   Mark de Rond and Anton Wright, two University of Cambridge friends, have become the first people ever to row the navigable length of the Amazon River in 32 days...

"Cambridge pair first to row all of Amazon" / The Daily Telegraph

25 OCT 2013   Two Cambridge University rowers have become the first to cover the navigable length of Amazon. Mark de Rond and Anton Wright completed more than 2,000 miles in 32 days...

"Long and winning rowed" / Metro London

25 OCT 2013   Mark De Rond and Anton Wright finish Amazon record bid in a leaky boat they braved tropical storms, broken communications equipment and an abscess in a very private place...

"Interview with Amazon rowers" / Heart FM Radio

25 OCT 2013   Mark de Rond and Anton Wright gave interview to Heart radio. The duo shared their Amazon row experience and how happy they're to be back to UK...

"Amazon effort" / The Sun

25 OCT 2013   Two Cambridge University friends are the first people ever to row the full length of the Amazon river. Anton Wright, 38, and Dutch-born Mark de Rond, 45, after a series of challenges completed the epic 2,077-mile journey in just 32 days...

"Duo row the entire Amazon River" / Gap Year

25 OCT 2013   Row, row, row your boat, gently down the ... entire length of the Amazon River. Not as catchy as the original, but Mark de Rond and Anton Wright won't worry about that...

"Cambridge rowers complete Amazon challenge" / ITV Anglia

23 OCT 2013   Two rowers from Cambridge University are back in the city, after successfully rowing the length of the Amazon. Academic Mark De Rond and rowing coach Anton Wright finished the gruelling month-long challenge in Brazil last week....

"Oarsome pair near the finish line for Amazon river adventure" / Cambridge News

14 OCT 2013   An epic adventure along the Brazilian coast is almost over for two aspiring world record breakers. Dr Mark de Rond, a researcher in organisational behaviour at Cambridge Judge Business School and Anton Wright, chief rowing coach at Clare College, set off from Peru in their leaky boat four weeks ago in a bid to break the Guinness World Record for long-distance rowing unaided...

"Cambridge rowers near end of Amazon challenge" / ITV.com

13 OCT 2013   Two rowers from the University of Cambridge are nearing the end of a gruelling 2,000 mile Amazon challenge. Mark de Rond, an academic from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School set off from Peru with his rowing partner Anton Wright four weeks ago....

"Amazon rowers reach halfway mark" / Cambridge Network

3 OCT 2013   Braving all the Amazon can throw at them, intrepid rowers Dr Mark de Rond, Anton Wright and Murilo Reis are now halfway through their historic attempt to row the entire length of the iconic river. If they make it, they will be the first to achieve this feat...

"Englishman to attempt unsupported Amazon row" / Telegraph Travel

2 SEP 2013   Uniquely, the pair hope to achieve the feat without any support crew. The boat is scheduled to set off from Nauta, Peru with the goal of reaching Macapá, on the Brazilian coastline in mid-October...

"Cambridge University pair to row the Amazon" / The Outdoor Times

1 SEP 2013   In the course of the next few days, the two gentlemen in the above photograph will take to the water of the Amazon. Their goal is to row the entire 2,077 mile length of the river unsupported, and in so doing become the first known to have ever achieved this feat...

"Look East" / BBC East

28 AUG 2013   BBC Look East visits Mark de Rond and Anton Wright on their boat by the river Cam and interviews them about their upcoming unsupported row down the Amazon...

"The Jeremy Sallis Show" / BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

21 AUG 2013   Jeremy Sallis interviews Dr Mark de Rond on his and Anton Wright's row down the Amazon, what he's most worried about, and what the pair are hoping to achieve...

"British and Dutch duo to row the Amazon River" / Peru This Week

8 AUG 2013   The men will sleep in turns at night in order to keep watch for runaway logs which could destroy their boat, a bright yellow ocean-going double scull. They will also have to be vigilant of anacondas, bull sharks, thieves, illegal mining and logging operators trying to keep their locations secret and drug traffickers in the vast rainforest...

"Brits set to row the Amazon!" / Iquitos Times

AUG 2013   Two intrepid Englishmen will set off on 1st September hoping to be the first to row the mighty Amazon from Nauta to the Atlantic Ocean...

"Amazon duo happy to know where they are" / Cambridge News

30 JUL 2013   Polar Bears and Paddleboards, and Row the Amazon, are two local expeditions making use of real-time location technology developed by city firm Voyage Manager. More often used by companies to ensure the safety and security of their travelling staff, Dr Mark De Rond of Judge Business School and Anton Wright of Clare College, are taking Voyage Manager with them when they begin their epic journey the length of the Amazon in September...

"Two men ready for Amazon challenge" / NL Times

15 JUL 2013   Mark de Rond of the Netherlands and Anton Wright of Britain will row the Amazon for six weeks in September. The 2,200-mile challenge will begin in Nauta, Peru on September 1 and will end in Macapa, Brazil ...

"Duo seek to be first to row, row, row the Amazon" / MSN News

13 JUL 2013   The challenge aims to raise money for the Leonard Cheshire Disability, a charity which helps to support disabled people and the two will be tweeting their adventures by satphone and updating their website as they go ...

"Rowers set for oarsome Amazon challenge" / Cambridge News

2 JUL 2013   A two-man team from Cambridge is planning to enter the history books as the first men to row the length of the River Amazon unsupported. Dr Mark de Rond, reader in strategy and organisation at Cambridge's Judge Business School, and Anton Wright, the head coach and boatman for Clare College, will attempt the 2,200-mile row in September ...

"From Cambridge to Brazil: the Great Amazon Row" / Digital Journal

26 JUN 2013   Dr Mark de Rond, Reader in Strategy & Organisation, Cambridge Judge Business School and Anton Wright, Chief Coach, Clare College and Coach, University Lightweights will row the entire length of the Amazon in September of this year ...

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

Give

Leonard Cheshire Disability logo

Anton and Mark are rowing in aid of Leonard Cheshire Disability.

At Leonard Cheshire Disability, we work for a society in which every person is equally valued. We believe that disabled people should have the freedom to live their lives the way they choose - with the opportunity and support to live independently, to contribute economically, and to participate fully in society.

Leonard Cheshire Disability supports thousands of disabled people both in the UK and in more than 50 other countries. We help people with physical impairments, learning difficulties and long-term health conditions, as well as their carers, friends and families.

The needs and aspirations of disabled people are at the heart of what we do. By providing therowers and helping everyone to understand disability and combat discrimination, we aim to remove the barriers that can stop people with disabilities from pursuing their goals and living their lives to the full.

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As the boys were about to set off on their journey, they received this message from Ilyas Khan, Leonard Cheshire Disability's Chairman:

Dear Mark, Anton and Murilo,

I want to send you the best wishes of everyone at Leonard Cheshire Disability as you embark upon your amazing adventure in "rowing the Amazon". Many of us are already reading and following the blog updates, and I must say the photograph from the September 3rd update was stunning.

We are grateful for the support you have provided to Leonard Cheshire Disability in choosing us as your nominated charity. Its a privilege we don't take lightly, just as we don't take lightly the challenge ahead of you. You should know that disabled people all over the world live through their own challenges on a daily basis, and your contribution to further highlighting their stories through your stories is a wonderful partnership.

Here is a link to some videos that might help you with inspiration as you go along your way: youngvoices.lcdisability.org

With warmest best wishes,
Ilyas Khan
Chairman, Leonard Cheshire Disability

2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge.

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