A Journey to Find a Cure: All-female Rowing Team Preps for The Great American Loop

Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Marisa Demar in the Fernandina Beach News-Leader.

An all-female rowing group known as the Human Powered Potential’s Second Wave team has been revving up their training schedule in preparation to become the first to row The Great American Loop. 

The team of six which includes Ashley Ellis, Maureen Twohig, Megan Laughlin, Becky Watt, Elizabeth Hall, and Andrea Virgil, are taking on the journey to raise funds and awareness for The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) which is a national organization whose mission is to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

The captain of the Second Wave, Ellis, spoke on the importance of the cause and her personal battles with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease.

“When I turned 40, I was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease and I have been living with a tremor in my left hand and cramping with issues with walking on my left side, so it was something that I had to process and overcome and realize this is not something that will be limiting to me,” Ellis said. “It’s something that I’m working through and learning how to overcome and find ways to support the research that the MJFF does.” 

Dawn Smith along with Fernandina Beach local Paul Lore, have aided in training the team in Orlando following their transatlantic record-breaking row last year.

“I love passing the passion of ocean rowing to new teams,” Lore said. “Over the last few years we have had five separate row teams stay in our home in Fernandina while they trained.”

Ellis told the News-Leader that selecting Smith as their primary training coach was a “no brainer” in terms of her renowned knowledge of the sport as well as maintaining the all female aspect of their mission.

The Great American Loop is a nautical journey down the Mississippi River, around the Florida Coast, and up the Eastern Seaboard. The route is nearly twice the length of a standard Atlantic crossing. 

As a rowing coach for nearly a decade, Smith has helped several teams prepare for ocean crossings and was elated to prepare the Second Wave for this unique route. “This is something completely different and that is what I love about it,” Smith said. “It is not just ocean crossing, there are ocean parts, coastal parts, inland parts, lakes, it’s a whole different challenge which is fabulous.”

The five-day training in Orlando with Smith was incredibly fulfilling in both the ability to expand their skill set as well as their mental strength to persevere, according to Ellis. “We have learned especially this week through the navigation and safety training that knowledge is power,” Ellis said.

“It had really allowed us to become braver and more courageous and we had a conversation today about how someone living with Parkinson’s really has to face that every day.” Ellis drew a parallel between the row and living with Parkinson’s through the bravery and courage it takes to overcome both situations.

The team is set to launch next spring from New Orleans in the boat known as American Spirit which was used in a previous fundraising row on the Pacific Ocean which raised over $43 million for the MJFF.

The coaching role comes just as Smith and Lore prepare for their second leg of their Hometown Row project. The duo is set to leave June 25 from Newfoundland, Canada, and aims to reach Smith’s hometown of Burnhamon-Crouch, England in August.

Training the Second Wave team additionally served as an opportunity for Lore and Smith to connect prior to their launch date.

“It has been cool that we have combined the two since we can connect about our preparations,” Smith said.

“I love to pay forward all that was shared with me as well as to show teams the importance of memories beyond ocean rowing like ensuring to include inspiration of family and community,” Lore said.

More updates about Lore and Smith’s Hometown Row journey will be published in future editions of the News-Leader as the duo launched on Thursday.

To learn more about the Human Powered Potential Second Wave rowing team, visit their website: humanpoweredpotential.org.