Lessons from a 3,000-mile solo row across the Atlantic Ocean

Photos: Courtesy of World’s Toughest Row (main photo) and Neil Bergenroth (inset photo)

By Patrick Prince

Media and Communications Editor

A longtime rowing coach with a robust YouTube channel, Neil Bergenroth was accustomed to receiving emails from strangers.

But nothing like this.

In May 2023, the Holland Hall Upper School technology teacher received an intriguing email from Ireland. Rowing beginner Daragh MacLoughlin wanted to row solo 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in 2025 as part of the World’s Toughest Row competition. And he needed a coach.

You read that right: A complete beginner to the sport wanted to row thousands of miles across the ocean, by himself.

After reading his email, Bergenroth chatted with MacLoughlin on Zoom for a get-to-know-you meeting and the relationship blossomed from there — the determined beginner with the veteran coach who had never worked with a client with such grandiose ambitions.

It was the beginning of a life-changing journey for both men.

With Bergenroth coaching remotely and a team overseeing nutrition, strength training and other things, MacLoughlin did more than complete the race; he won the solo division. In fact, he finished 14th overall out of 43 teams that included teams with multiple rowers in the same boat.

“First and foremost, to see him get back safely was No. 1,” Bergenroth said. “I was worried about him for 40 days. You do all the preparation, but the ocean is its own entity. I was just happy for him that he realized his dream, and we got the job done.”

Said MacLoughlin in an email exchange from his home weeks following the race: “I want everyone to know that you can do anything you truly want in life. I went from zero rowing experience to rowing an ocean, winning the solo class, setting an Irish record and becoming the third-fastest person in solo ocean rowing history to do it. We often set limits on what we think we can do, but just know, the sky is the limit.” 

It would have been understandable for Bergenroth to dismiss that first email, but he didn’t. He kept an open mind and was willing to expand his coaching knowledge to assist MacLoughlin.

“Technically speaking, Neil was not a fit for training me to row on the ocean as this was not particularly his thing,” MacLoughlin said. “But Neil is a life-long learner and I knew that we could match my enthusiasm for achievement with his enthusiasm to learn while applying his experience and methodology. His demeanor was also one I felt I could work with.”

Bergenroth was in Tulsa, watching and analyzing videos of MacLoughlin rowing. Bergenroth also was responsible for designing and implementing a training plan to build aerobic endurance.

“Sometimes we would do an hour-long Zoom where he would get on the machine and row live,” Bergenroth said. “I have an app that you can pair with the monitor on the machine, via Bluetooth, and then when you’re rowing, it sends that data to the cloud, which I can view in real-time, regardless of geographic location in the world in my web dashboard.”

The race began Dec. 14, 2025, in the Canary Islands (off the Western coast of Africa) and ended in the Caribbean island of Antigua on Jan. 23. MacLoughlin’s time of 39 days, 20 hours and 16 minutes was the third-fastest time in the history of ocean rowing.

In an interview immediately following the race, after MacLoughlin talked about his wife and kids, he was asked about others who supported him and mentioned Bergenroth first. That meant a lot.

“I was just so grateful. To be honest, you’re wondering, are you gonna get a shout-out? To be mentioned first among a string of other really great people, it meant a great deal to get that public acknowledgement.”

Bergenroth texted MacLoughlin and thanked him for mentioning his name in that interview. MacLoughlin texted back a one-word response: “Deserved.”

The two recently caught up via Zoom. Watch that conversation here. 

A teacher at Holland Hall since 2003, Bergenroth’s contributions to the Dutch community, like many of Holland Hall’s special faculty, extend beyond the classroom.

Years ago, Bergenroth became interested in coding. That interest led to an interest in app development. He has built four rowing apps and has published a couple of Chemistry apps, a subject he used to teach. 

He’s also developed software that has benefited the school. “Dutch Now” is a mapping software that documents curriculum, which is important during accreditation time. He worked with strength and conditioning coach Phil Muir on individualized strength programming for Holland Hall athletes, which is also a part of “Dutch Now.”

“He’s unashamedly forward-thinking while also being robustly reflective,” said David Parks, the Head of the Upper School at Holland Hall. “I think that those are good traits to have in a friend, a colleague, an employee, a coach, a dad, all those other things.”

Bergenroth, 51, grew up in the United Kingdom. He started rowing in the 8th Grade and quickly found he was good at it. He rowed for Great Britain on the Junior National team, leading to a rowing scholarship at Boston University. 

After earning a degree in Human Development Studies with a near minor in Psychology, he was teaching at a boarding school in Connecticut when he met his future wife, Cathy Rose. Cathy led the couple to Tulsa when she applied for a job at Holland Hall and began teaching here in 2002. 

Their daughter Emily is a Holland Hall junior.

“They both contribute so positively here,” Parks said. “They solve problems. They are kind. They both are gifts to the school.”

Bergenroth was head of the Tulsa Youth Rowing Association for several years. When he stepped down from that role, he wondered if he’d ever coach again. That’s when he came up with the idea for a YouTube channel and a website that would allow him to share his vast knowledge of a sport he’s spent a lifetime doing. The website contained articles on rowing while the channel housed “how-to” videos. 

“The goal initially wasn’t to run a business; it was to share my love and knowledge of the sport for coaches who were new,” Bergenroth said.

Over the years, his YouTube channel has grown far beyond his initial idea, and that eventually led to his meeting with MacLoughlin. 

Bergenroth is grateful for the experience with MacLoughlin and feels its lessons can be applied to Holland Hall students.

“I think we want for all of our students here at Holland Hall to feel empowered, like they can reach and try something,” Bergenroth said. “We had Service Day (when) we had students do phenomenal things and they were empowered to talk with these nonprofits and work with them and create change. They see that impact, and I just want to see as much of that from our students as possible.”

Another lesson for students is when the New York Times called Bergenroth for a rowing story in 2022. The Times also quoted Bergenroth in another story.

“Like I tell the kids, there are going to be periods where you just feel like you’re grinding and nobody is paying attention,” he said. “The only reason the New York Times called was because I had done all this work and I had done this work because I was passionate about something, not because I was chasing an article in the New York Times or money or anything like that. … I tell them this because I want them to understand there is hard work and then all of the sudden maybe lightning strikes.”

Perhaps another lesson for students is the value of keeping an open mind as Bergenroth did when he received that first email from MacLoughlin.

And, a final lesson: find your passion. For Bergenroth, it was rowing.

“Whether you want to row across the Atlantic or not, I think it’s really important for our students to see examples of people that have done things that are out of their comfort zone that they’re passionate about doing. … There’s an approach, and generally, anything you do comes down to daily consistency and discipline and focus. I think we often surprise ourselves in life.”