Bethlehem, NH – A woman from Bethlehem, NH, will begin a January 24, 2026, solo rowboat trip on the Atlantic Ocean that could take her between three and six months to complete from port to port.
As part of a program known as the Atlantic Dash, she is expected to be alone on the water in her specially equipped single-occupant boat that will see the trip’s conclusion at Antigua in the Caribbean, where friends and family will be waiting to welcome her back to land.
Renee Blacken, 40, decided in the winter of 2023 that she would do the trip, seeing, she said during a recent interview with The Bridge Weekly, that she had the help and resources, plus the time and mindset to serve others. She figured everything was in order and said, “Now is the time for me to do this.”
Renee came to the Granite State on a bit of a circuitous route. She was born in Ithaca, New York, attended high school in Putney, Vermont, and Bates College in Maine. She has been in New Hampshire for the past 12 years. She has a son, Walter, 13, and she is now hard at work finalizing all the training, arrangements, practice runs, and licensing she will need to make the 3200-mile solo water journey.
She says she is doing the trip to raise awareness of and funding for trauma recovery programs that integrate mind and body healing in northern New Hampshire. She held several events earlier this year to raise funds and awareness for trauma recovery programs. She says she will be rowing the open Atlantic Ocean for trauma survivors.
My conversation with Renee was packed with information about her boat trip, which is scheduled to begin on January 24, 2026. She said she expects to leave from the shoreline of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and row to Antigua in the Caribbean Sea. She will have no motor, no sail, just her oars.
Her local group is Team FOARtysomething. The trip will raise awareness of the importance of trauma recovery programs in New Hampshire and the region. It will connect individuals to trauma recovery resources and programs in northern New Hampshire. She noted that it will also reduce the burden of cost participation by providing funding for programs that incorporate trauma-sensitive yoga, mindfulness meditation, breathing techniques, and somatic practices to aid in processing trauma and foster posttraumatic growth. She will also be doing the trip to help fund the development and expansion of trauma recovery programs.
When she dips her oars into the ocean at the end of next January, she will be rowing and navigating 3200 miles over water as part of the Atlantic Dash 2026 program. She will be one lady in a rowboat with no support boats, and she will be spending 60 to 90 days on the open ocean.
According to her website and through our recent face-to-face interview, Renee is an endurance athlete, musician, yoga instructor, teacher, farmer, lover of the mountains, ocean adventure, and physical and mental challenger and survivor.
She learned to row while at the Putney School and continued at college in Maine and Trinity College in Ireland, where she rowed with the Dublin University Ladies Boat Club. She has also competed in the Irish National championships and the Women’s Henley Regatta in 2003.
She is an experienced marathon and ultramarathoner, a long-distance backpacker, and a cycler. With her ocean crossing, she will be the first American woman and the first solo female to row in the Atlantic Dash. Only two other American women have ever completed a solo transatlantic row to date, and at fortysomething, she will be the oldest American woman to complete the voyage as a lone rower.
According to the Atlantic Dash personnel and their website, rowing alone in the Atlantic Ocean is not about being first or being the fastest; it is about the spirit of adventure. They note that they are a diverse group with different backgrounds, abilities, ages, and life experiences that come together to achieve the same goal: to row the Atlantic Ocean safely in a tiny rowing boat.
The Atlantic Dash rowers write that they are humans, not super-humans. They say they are breaking the misconception that ocean rowing is an elitist sport. “Our goal is to demonstrate that anyone can accomplish things they may have never thought possible.”
They also protect their playground. “We love the ocean, and we aim to minimize our environmental impact by protecting and taking care of it.”
Renee indicated there are several ways for the public to support her programs. First is the internet’s GoFundMe, where contributions go directly toward Team FOARtysomething rowing-related expenses, such as event entry, transporting the boat to Lanzarote, and transporting the boat from Antigua.
There is also the Amazon Wishlist that will assist her with the purchase of essential items for the row and also to donate to the Outdoor Adventuring For Good which will “ increase the availability and accessibility of trauma recovery programs in northern New Hampshire and the surrounding area for veterans, first responders, active military, survivors of domestic abuse and assault, and other survivors of acute and complex trauma.”
And the far-reaching program will provide free and reduced-cost programs that integrate mind and body healing for individuals dealing with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain as a result of traumatic life experiences.
During her Atlantic crossing, she will be maintaining communication with several social media channels and will be reaching out to schools while she rows her boat. She said it is fantastic that she can be in the middle of the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean and speak directly to a sixth-grade class about the ocean and why she is making the trip.
She said there will be no chase boats or other supply vessels with her, and she will be communicating daily with the Atlantic Dash program through satellite technology. She will also be working on weather reports, medical reports, and other essential programs to ensure her survival in case of any issues. The electronics will keep her informed as to what is ahead of her as she makes the crossing.
She said she has been preparing for the past two years and will continue until the moment she boards her boat named “Reset” and casts off for her long journey.
Her website is WWW.outdooradventuringforgood.org.

Have a story?