GB Row Challenge
GB Row Challenge 2026
The Crown Estate has partnered with GB Row Challenge becoming Lead Environmental Data Partners!
GB Row Challenge, described as ‘the world’s toughest rowing race’, sees teams of rowers circumnavigate the entire coast of Great Britain, unsupported, over 2,000 miles of demanding waters.
Along the way, boats collect vital scientific data on the health of UK coastal waters; each boat is fitted with scientific equipment that collects environmental data, contributing to national research on ocean health.
Rowers gather data on microplastic pollution, biodiversity, underwater noise pollution, sea temperature and salinity, which will be hosted on The Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange.
Data has been collected by teams who have rowed around Great Britain since 2022 and was made possible thanks to the unique partnership between GB Row Challenge and the University of Portsmouth – lead science partner responsible for analysing the data.
Chelsea Bradbury, Senior Marine Data and Insights Manager at The Crown Estate, said: “The GB Row challenge is an important initiative providing invaluable insights about the marine environment around Great Britain and we’re proud to support it again in 2026.
“By hosting the data collected on the Marine Data Exchange, it will be openly accessible to scientists, industries and the public to enable informed decision making. This is an important element of The Crown Estate’s Nature Recovery Ambition and will contribute to a better understanding of how we can protect and restore our precious marine environment.”
Data types being collected
Temperature & Salinity
Biodiversity
Underwater Noise
Microplastics
Live Updates
Track the challenege LIVE using the YB Tracking App!
The race began at 14:00 Sunday 14th June from Tower Bridge, London!
GB Row Blogs
Read the latest GB Row blogs:
- Training for the GB Row Challenge: What it really takes
- Why open marine data matters for the future of our seas
- Rowing for science: building a clearer picture of UK ocean health
Previous GB Row Reports
Thus far in the five year plan that commenced in 2022 two years of data have been collected, processed and analysed by the University of Portsmouth and GB Rowing Challenge.
The ability to compare the data inter-annually reveals patterns and trends in ocean temperature, pollution, and diversity summarised in the reports here.
For more information, visit GB Row Challenge.
