To mark International Women’s Day tomorrow, we celebrate the Army’s history-making all-female Force Atlantic team’s heroics.
Corporal Gibbons is a team rower and the media lead for the team.
Prior to a training session at Thorney Island, the all female Army Team load their boat into the water ready for a several day long rowing session.
Pictured from left to right - Captain O’Brien, Major Glover, WO1 Lucas MBE, Corporal Gibb.
The crew consisted of:
- 22 Multi-Role Medical Regiment's Captain Imogen ‘Imy‘ O'Brien,
- 6 Regiment RLC Warrant Officer Class One Sheridan Lucas MBE,
- 1 Medical Regiment's Major Rebecca ‘Becca’ Glover, and
- Defence Primary Healthcare nurse Corporal Emma Gibb.
The quartet embarked on an astonishing 3,000-mile journey starting from the Canary Islands and ending in Antigua after 46 days, placing 18th overall and second among all-female teams.
I think the words to summarise the experience would be a wild adventure, and with any adventure comes highs and lows. Overall, I look back and I did enjoy it, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that I will never get to do again.
Skipper Imy said: “I think the words to summarise the experience would be a wild adventure, and with any adventure comes highs and lows.
“Overall, I look back and I did enjoy it, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that I will never get to do again.
“When in life do you get to feel such raw emotions and be exposed to such raw, wild elements? I really appreciate having that experience.”
The gruelling training was extremely testing for Becca, who had no rowing experience prior to her training. However, the toughest tests she encountered were the weather and the non-stop nature of the race.
The ocean is so powerful, and the weather is just brutal, and you realise how insignificant you are in comparison to the forces that are out there.
She said: “The biggest challenge was the unrelenting nature of battling the elements.
“The ocean is so powerful, and the weather is just brutal, and you realise how insignificant you are in comparison to the forces that are out there.
“But no matter how difficult it was, being able to pull together as a team when you’re running on empty was what got us through.”
Both Imy and Becca praise their Army careers for helping them get through the mental and physical challenge the race had to offer.
“My Army career gave me that foundation of grit, resilience, determination and discipline just to keep moving forward, even in the tough times,” Imy said.
Becca added: “I think we take it for granted how much our careers did help us.
We gave our everything, we kept pushing every minute of those 46 days and 55 minutes and, because of that, we could step off onto that pontoon at the finish and be incredibly proud of where we came.
“We are used to being uncomfortable, doing wet and dry drills, and doing stag in the middle of the night. So, none of that was particularly foreign to us and we were already comfortable with that element of it, which I think is huge.
“Right from the start, the weather was so awful, and the waves were so big that we could not have hot rations, so we ended up having cold rations the whole way through. That was not arduous for us as it was something we were already used to, and we were happy with cold rations.”
The team is now back at work and continuing everyday life after celebrations and relaxation with their loved ones. They are incredibly proud of their achievements and look back on the experience with great memories.
Becca said: “We gave our everything, we kept pushing every minute of those 46 days and 55 minutes and, because of that, we could step off onto that pontoon at the finish and be incredibly proud of where we came.
“After soaking up the sun in Antigua for a couple of days with friends and family I am now relaxing and getting back into normal life.”