Rowing boat on the Thames river

In this episode we catch up with a rower and a ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú scientist who are gathering incredible insights into the state of our ocean while circumnavigating Great Britain’s coastline.

18 min listen

External Audio

Sport saving our seas

What does sport, science, the sea, and space all have in common? While this sounds like the start of a bad joke, the answer is actually the GB Row challenge. Using state-of-the-art equipment, rowers were able to gather incredible insights into the state of our ocean on their 2,000 mile journey.

We've caught up with Maggie Hodge, one of the rowers from GB Row's all-women , and , a data analyst from the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú and 2024 competitor. In the episode, find out what it’s like circumnavigating Great Britain’s coastline, what they’ve learnt about the state of our seas, and how sport can be a driving force for change.

We’d love you to be part of the discussion, too. Email your questions on this episode or ideas for future episodes to lifesolved@port.ac.uk.

If you’ve been inspired by this episode, and want to support our research then head to to find out how. You can also find out how to work or study with us.

Life Solved is released on Thursdays and available on all major podcast platforms.

Host: Robyn Montague

Producer: Robyn Montague 

Sub Editors: John Worsey and Glenn Harris

USEFUL LINKS

Assessing Pollution With GB Row: /research/research-projects/gb-row

GB ROW 2022 IMPACT REPORT: www.port.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/gb_row_2022_impact_report.pdf

GB Row Challenge website:

International Women's Day PGR Student Spotlight - Laura Fantuzz: /news-events-and-blogs/blogs/international-womens-day-pgr-student-spotlight-laura-fantuzzi

Ocean rowers set new world record for fastest female team around Great Britain: www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/ocean-rowers-set-new-world-record-for-fastest-female-team-around-great-britain

RS Aqua:

OrcaPod (RS Aqua podcast):

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In the latest series of the Life Solved podcast we discuss water habits, how the greatest row on Earth is helping to map the state of our seas, architecture's role in saving our planet, the unstoppable evolution of the English language, and life on the inside.