Oar you READY?

28 August 2023. Naxos island, sunset on a beautiful sandy beach having fun with my family. The phone rings — unknown number. It’s my doctor, and in a heavy voice he says the few words I wish nobody ever has to hear. Within a second, my world turns upside down.
It is cancer.

Naturally, the uncertainty hit hard. One question kept surfacing: would I ever row again? The water is where I feel most myself — comfortable, alive, home.

Before treatment started, I went for a long walk along the Thames with my dad. We watched the rowers glide past, and I asked him something I genuinely didn’t know the answer to. Through tears:
“Will I ever be able to row again?”
Being the dad he is, he just hugged me and told me I’d get through it — and that one day, I’d do something big.
I held onto that.
I’ve always loved a good challenge. So here it is.
 
Rowing 250km from the UK to the Netherlands for up to three days non-stop, with my incredible team, Marine, Eyup and Iain, each rowing for their own cause. One the busiest shipping lanes in the world. We will have to face exhaustion , massive cargo ships, tankers, ferries moving day and night.
Once we set off, there is no turning back.
This is the something big.
 
I didn’t get through cancer alone. My family carried me through the hardest moments. My friends showed up in ways I’ll never forget. And my rowing club became my second family.
Returning to the boat was more than sport — it was proof. Even through the pain of a marathon, it was proof that I was still here to feel it. Still capable. Still me.
This challenge is a celebration of being alive.
 
But I was one of the lucky ones. Not everyone is.
I dedicate this row to my best friend, Nelly.
Nelly was a ray of sunshine. She faced cancer for three years with remarkable, quiet strength. She never made a fuss. She never let cancer define her. She carried it privately so she wouldn’t worry the people around her.
That was Nelly: strength without show, courage without noise.
She lost her battle on 8 January 2026, leaving behind two young children.
I will carry her with me on every stroke.
 
This row is my way of giving back. We’re raising money for two charities, both close to my heart:

Fulham Reach Boat Club (FRBC)
FRBC is more than a boat club. It’s a charity that changes lives, that makes rowing accessible to people who would never otherwise have the chance — young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the Boats Not Bars rehabilitation program , rowers with physical disabilities and visual impairments, river clean-ups and water testing to protect biodiversity on the Thames.
For me, FRBC gave me community, structure, and hope during one of the hardest periods of my life. It became my second family. My lifeline.

The Osborne Trust
When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the people most affected — and least thought of — are often the children. Their world falls apart while the adults around them are fighting to survive.
The Osborne Trust supports children whose parent has been diagnosed with cancer, is in treatment, or has died. They offer emotional help for children navigating fear, stress and grief, and they organise activities that give those children a break — a bit of normality in a time when nothing feels normal.
When I thought about my own children, I saw the gap this charity is filling. And I wanted to help fill it.
 
If any of this resonates with you — if you believe pain can be turned into purpose — please consider donating. Every penny goes to FRBC and The Osborne Trust. No amount is too small.
Share this page. Cheer us on. We’d love you to be part of it.
 
With infinite love and gratitude,
Nathalie