You Did It!
My dearest Anna Dunk, Harry Allen, Rowan Dally my remarkable Three Flying Fish.
As I sit here reflecting on the moment you docked ‘Gill’ your boat to safety after 3,162 miles across the Atlantic, my heart is full to bursting with a mix of pride, awe, and the quiet ache that comes when something truly extraordinary reaches its end.
You did it. You completed World's Toughest Row unsupported, as the youngest mixed gender trio ever to row any ocean in history.
That record isn’t just a line in a logbook it’s a beacon, proof that youth, determination, and heart can conquer what most would never even dream of attempting.
But this journey was never just about the oars dipping into the waves or the miles ticking by. It was about you three trusting each other through storms that tested body and soul, through nights when the ocean felt endless and unforgiving. And from the very first day you shared your wild vision with me, I knew this was something special something worth every ounce of effort to bring to life.
As your Partnership Director and Mentor, I’ve spent a lifetime gathering remarkable, kind, generous souls who see possibility where others see only risk.
I’ve always believed that the greatest adventures aren’t solo flights; they’re symphonies built from collaboration, from one person saying “yes” when another says “I believe in this.” With you, that belief came alive. Partners stepped forward, communities rallied, friends became family, and together we turned a dream into a movement. Your courage inspired them, and their support lifted you across that vast blue expanse.
And then there’s the fundraising over £50,000 raised for Teenage Cancer Trust. That number isn’t cold statistics; it’s lives touched, families supported, young people given hope in their darkest hours. One of you lost a classmate far too soon, and you turned that pain into purpose. Every pound, every donation, every shared story carried her memory forward and reminded us why we push ourselves beyond comfort: to make the world a little kinder, a little brighter for those who need it most.
You’ve proven that true strength isn’t just physical it’s emotional, it’s communal, it’s the quiet resolve to keep going for something bigger than yourself.
As this chapter closes and you step back onto solid ground, carry this one timeless truth with you into whatever comes next: it takes a village to raise a child. You three were raised by a village of supporters, believers, donors, dreamers, and doers who saw your spark and fanned it into flame.
Now, as you grow into the next phase of your lives, pass that wisdom on. Be the village for others. Mentor the young, lift the weary, gather the remarkable around the next impossible dream.
Because the world needs more people like you people who row not just across oceans, but toward a better future for everyone.
You will always be my Three Flying Fish.’
Bernie Hollywood OBE JP
