Rowing with Timothy Hamilton: The Brotherhood

Rowing across the Atlantic is a family affair for Timothy Hamilton.

This article was written by Bill Springer. Photography courtesy of Timothy Hamilton.

When Timothy Hamilton, the director of Lurssen Americas, first brought up competing in World’s Toughest Row endurance race across the Atlantic, his brothers were not convinced. But after years of training—and over 37 days of rowing!—Hamilton and his brothers Trent and Thomas, and their nephew Ben Clark, were the third team to cross the finish in Antigua earlier this year. And they raised thousands of dollars for Send Relief’s work among Afghan refugees, too.

But it’s obvious the experience was way more meaningful to Timothy than what place they finished in the race. “Before I decided to do this race, I realized that life was going by fast,” he told me recently. “And I really wanted to pay attention to the most important things in life my wife and kids, and my brothers, too.

“I was inspired to do something meaningful with my brothers because we don’t live that close anymore and hadn’t had a chance to see each other that much. I wanted us all to have an adventure that we could look back on and always remember.”

I had to ask: “What was it actually like… rowing across the ocean? Being at sea for over a month in a row boat?”

“Oh man,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to put into words. It was hard, and beautiful, and frustrating and special. But most of all, it was simple. All we needed to do was row, eat, and sleep. That simplicity is a pretty rare gif these days.

“We did it for the adventure, and the challenge, and our love of the ocean. But most importantly, we did it for the brotherhood.”

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