First woman to row solo around Hong Kong Island digs deep, fighting wind and waves in epic struggle
- Anna Fisher fights back tears as she finishes epic Around The Island Race – ‘everyone could see I was wrecked’
Anna Fisher battled strong winds and high swells to become the first woman to row solo around Hong Kong Island on Sunday.
Fisher completed the 44km Around The Island Race (ATIR) in six hours, 44 minutes and 59 seconds. She passed the halfway mark after two and a half hours, but poor conditions began to take their toll, with 2-metre swells rolling in around Shek O, side winds relentlessly pushing rowers in the wrong direction on the south side, and a strong head wind and choppy waters hindering progress in the harbour.
“It was windy, which is fine, but the amount of side wind … I wasn’t even rowing on one side. I was being pushed off course, I had to divert to get around Round Island [about 26km] or I’d be disqualified and by that point my back was done,” Fisher said. “I thought it would be another two and a half hours. I thought that I could sit it out and make it, not knowing it would take another four hours.”
Fisher, 29, took up rowing at university. This was her fourth and last ATIR, as she is moving to France next year. She’s also an accomplished sailor, having represented Hong Kong at the 2018 Asian Games.
To keep pushing, Fisher pictured her mother. She rarely comes to watch her race, but given the historical significance she was waiting at the finish line, at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Causeway Bay.
“When I was at Round Island, I thought, ‘No, I need to get through this for my mum’,” Fisher said.
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“As I entered Victoria Harbour, I knew it was just 5km to go, then suddenly five of the big ferries were all around me, literally around me. Did I not have enough waves? They gave me more. I had to stop,” she said.
With the end in sight, emotions began to overwhelm Fisher, but she dug deep.
“I was crying the whole time. I was screaming, crying and doing everything for my mum. The support boats came and everyone could see I was wrecked. My back had given out, and it was so windy, but I was thinking that I could see my mum. I was picturing the scene where I’d finally get out off this boat and run up and hug my mum.”
Following Fisher around the island was Marcel Chambers in her support boat. Fisher had picked him because of his loud voice so he could shout over the noise of the ocean. He shouted encouragement, helping her choose rowing lines and ensuring the safety boat kept its distance.
“I was getting frustrated with the wind and waves and he was helping. He was so intuitive to my rowing needs,” Fisher said.
Fisher was raising money for Ocean Recovery Alliance, a Hong Kong-based plastic pollution charity, and Hero Rats, a charity that trains rats to detect mines in Cambodia.
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To keep Fisher’s spirits high, Chambers called “just 1km to go” – it was a white lie to give her hope. Another support boat sped out from the finish area to offer encouragement and shouted “just 4km to go”.
“That’s when I really broke down,” Fisher said.
Finally, she pulled across the finish line. The clubhouse was packed with rowers and supporters who had finished earlier and were now drinking and exchanging stories of their own journeys. When Fisher crossed the line, everyone stood up, whistled, cheered and clapped and an exhausted Fisher cried one final time.
“In all honesty, I’m not super happy with my time,” Fisher added. “But I’m very happy that I’m the first. And I hope in the future, a woman who’s really good at rowing will decide to do it solo because I’ve opened the door.”
