One boat. 3,000miles. One charity.
Nothing like a much-awaited personal challenge,
mixed with a mighty adventure in the open ocean and
one great purpose: to help a charity fight depression.
Here we go! Look forward to having you ‘on board’ too.
The Journey
The Journey of Hope sets from Tenerife o the coast of Morocco to Antigua in the Caribbean, 3000 miles away.
This is a extreme endurance row where
individuals test themselves against
Mother Nature and row thousands of kilometres
across the Atlantic Ocean. Sleep
deprivation, hallucinations, hunger and
the ultimate test of body and mind will be
balanced by sighting incredible marine life
and witnessing the breaking of each new
day. This grueling journey will consist of a
rowing schedule of 12 hours of rowing per
person per day, broken into two hour
shifts. This is a tough schedule and is
mentally and physically exhausting. Living
in close quarters with 11 other recently
befriended rowers in a small vessel and
unable to see land can also be emotionally
challenging.
Check the full itinerary here >
The Boat
The RX80 "Roxy" is one of the new
additions to Rannoch Adventure’s
boats. It caters for 12
people, with 8 rowing positions
and 8 berths.
All freeze dried food is stored and a water
maker on board will be our lifeline for rehydrating
our food and ourselves. Sleepin
is tight but comfortable and if the weather
becomes too dangerous to row, the boat
does allow all 12 people space to sleep
in, however i believe this to be very taxing
and the joy of being able to row is some
form of relief before the blisters and
aches start back up.
Find out more here >
About Me
I am a PE teacher with a deep
sense of adventure and a big
heart chasing a dream.
Hi, I am John Keevil, but people just call
me Johnny. I’m Rowing4Hope as I honestly
believe if I can do this, anyone can.
Having sadly lost out on an ocean row
across the Atlantic in 2016, it has always
felt like unfinished business that resulted
on periods of doubt, depression and lack
of self-belief, so teaming up with the
amazing team behind the I Am Hope
charity, not only feels good yet also
sounds like the right thing to do. As a
teacher here in New Zealand I have seen
first hand the rising mental health issues
in teenagers. I hope my Rowing4Hope
journey will continue to help raising
awareness and hope for the young adults
and all New Zelanders. We all deserve a
good shot at life and I hope this journey
will encourage the future generations to
realise that help is there and through resilience
your own personal journey
awaits. If you would like to know more
and just get in touch.
Contact me >
About the charity: I AM HOPE
I AM HOPE is the youth and community focused support group run by The Key to Life Charitable Trust, started by Mike King. In 2020, in Aotearoa 119 young people died by suicide and it is estimated another 3,100 tried to take their own lives. While Government agencies are doing their best, some kids are stuck waiting up to six months to receive the counselling they so urgently need. For the last three years Key To Life have been promoting positive attitudinal societal change in schools and communities up and down the country, and funding private care and counselling for young people stuck-in-the-mud on waiting lists. We know kids want to take agency of their own mental health development AND their communities. We give kids permission to do just that, and contribute directly to the social change we’re all working towards. We speak and communicate directly to and with kids. We are unconventional, grassroots, provocative and anti-establishment simply because we know that our approach is effective at engaging with kiwis.