About Us

Atlantic Campaigns SL is a Spanish company situated in San Sebastian de La Gomera. After taking over the organising of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 2012, we have led the race forward to become the safest and most successful ocean rowing race on the planet!

The PR, on the water coverage and media visibility, has never been better and along with our partners, we aim to make sure the race continues to expand worldwide.

The team behind Atlantic Campaigns bring an unparalleled level of support, knowledge and experience, with a combined total of over 50 years of ocean rowing experience both on and off the water.

Carsten Heron Olsen
CEO & Race director

Has been involved in ocean rowing since 2008 and since taking ownership of the race has driven it forward making it more accessible, professional and has created the most successful, premier ocean rowing event in the world. Carsten’s Danish attention to detail amplifies through the race’s organisational structure meaning that the team behind the World’s Toughest Row strive to deliver to the highest standards as shown by the Race Director.

Nikki Holter
Event Manager

Is based in the UK and has been involved in ocean rowing for over 12 years. Nikki assists the rowers from the day they enquire, to the day they leave La Gomera, as well as their families throughout the  ocean row. A constant source of advice and guidance from sign up to the race finish and beyond.

Ian Couch
Head Safety Officer

Has been involved in ocean rowing for 12 years and has completed two rows across the Atlantic and one across the Indian Ocean gaining 5 World Records in the process. He has developed the Ocean Rowing Training Course recognized by the Spanish Authorities and is responsible for the continued development of the safety of the crews in the race. He will check the crews in La Gomera and be in communications with them throughout the race.

Manfred Tennstadt
Operations Manager

Joined the Atlantic Campaigns team in 2015 as the Support Yacht skipper of Skye. Manfred also heads up the Operations team in La Gomera ensuring all logistics, boat movements and local communications are efficient and smooth.

Thor Munch-Anderson
Race Doctor

Is a Danish medical doctor and orthopaedic trauma surgeon. In addition, he holds a master degree and PhD in sports and exercise science and nutrition. For the last 15 years he has been involved with high altitude, arctic, dessert and endurance expeditions and research projects. For the last six years Thor has been the race doctor and also skippered one of the support yachts for five years.

Kyle Miller
Safety Yacht Skipper

First joined the AC team as a crew member of Support Yacht Skye in TWAC 2017 returning in 2019 as a crew member on Suntiki, to the skipper Suntiki in TWAC 2020. Kyle is also a valuable member of the operations team during the pre race period and in Antigua.

Rasmus Wolf Møller
Operations & Web Admin

Joined the Atlantic Campaigns team in 2019 and has been a key member of the Operations Team since, delivering unwaivering support with all boat moving, branding, media and general logistics during the pre race period and in Antigua. Between races, Website Administrator.

Nito Cubas Padilla
Operations

Lives in La Gomera and is the man on the ground making sure everything looks good and is ready for when our rowers arrive. Nito handles the unloading of all vessels when they arrive in La Gomera, coordinates logistics and liaises with relevant parties through the year.

Andreas Galsgaard
Operations & Finish Videographer

Andreas has been providing general race assistance and fantastic content for the race since 2018. Being part of the operations team in the pre race period and the media team in the post race period in Antigua, Andreas positive ‘can-do’ attitude is a huge asset to the AC team!

Fraser Mowlem
Safety Officer & Race Admin

An experienced trainer with considerable technical expertise Fraser had a successful row as a crew member on Row4Victory in 2018. Fraser is part of the Safety Team in La Gomera as well as the second on-call Duty Officer whilst the crews are at sea. He will coordinate the Pre-Shipping Inspections as well as deliver the Ocean Rowing Course.

Kevinia Francis
Finish Officer

After completing TWAC as part of ‘Team Antigua – The Island Girls in the 2018/2019 race, Kevinia and her team mates made sure every crew from there on in the following races were welcomed into Antigua with the warmest of welcomes! Due to this we are very fortunate to have Kevinia our as Finish Officer ensuring that when all crews cross the finish line, they are inspected and processed through customs with efficiency and the best Antiguan welcome!

Evan Stratton
Safety Officer

Evan served in the United States Marine Corps for 8 years, in active and reserve duty capacities from 2007 – 2015. He deployed in support of OIF in 2009, and to UNITAS in 2011. His Awards include a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, and Navy Achievement Medal. Evan has stayed involved in the Veteran community through participation in the Warrior Games, and Invictus Games competing in track and swimming. In 2019 he was selected to the Fight Oar Die rowing team, completing the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 50 days, 11 hours, and 35 minutes setting a boat class world record.

Travis Weste
Safety Officer

Having been part of the AC arrival’s team in Antigua for many years, Travis has not only completed TWAC in 2020, winning the Pairs Race Class with his rowing partner Jojo Nunes, but he has also been on SY Suntiki supporting the fleet of TWAC 2021. Travis has been part of the race from many angles and now continues in the role of Safety Officer bringing a huge wealth of first-hand  knowledge and support.

Penny Bird
Race Photographer

Is a highly qualified & importantly experienced photographer with a unique view through her lense. After supporting Atlantic Discovery (as the 5th non rowing crew member, photographer, logistics manager and consistent smile bringer) we are incredibly pleased to have Penny on the AC team to continue bringing light and feeling into every image she produces.

Robin Skjoldborg
Race Photographer

See’s faces and portraits in such a way that you can almost feel the lines. After being a crew member on S/Y Suntiki for TWAC 2018, Robin captured some of the most incredible images ever taken of our rowers at sea, and then went on to capture the many of the ‘just stepped on land’ portraits.

Christian Kirkeby
Race Videographer

Christian is the creative talent behind all of the sharp and incredibly talented videos that you see on our social media channels. Christian’s editing ability and musical ear is completely unique and now intrinsic to the public vision that is the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Lia Rose
Content Strategist

Lia joined the team in 2021 after seeing the race from a media production angle in a previous year and caught the ocean rowing bug! Lia brings great enthusiasm and experience to our creative team, as well as ensuring our social channels are kept up to date

Charlotte Drew
Live Reporter

Has been delivering video and photos from the finish line of her home island Antigua for many years. Charlotte has provided our teams family, friends and ‘Dot Watchers’ with an inside view of the race, reported from the pre race period, the incredible start and every single finish live on Facebook and YouTube, to thousands of people.

Lars Kristiansen
Operations

Lars joined the race in 2019 crossing the Atlantic Ocean on our Safety Yacht. After that, Lars has been a very big part of the AC team, every year since.

Gemma Sargent
Race Retail

First joined TWAC in 2015 as part of the crew for S/Y Skye and has been part of the AC team ever since. Gemma now runs the TWAC merchandise shop in both La Gomera and Antigua.

Manuel Falcon Ruiz
Safety Yacht Crew

Manu was born and raised in the Canary Islands and crossed the Atlantic for the first time last year as a crew member on the support Yacht Suntiki.
And he is looking forward to crossing again this year!

Staff & Consultants

We work alongside the best worldwide advisors in the ocean rowing industry and strive to constantly provide excellent service and an unforgettable experience that will ultimately make your dreams become a reality. Our goal and main focus is to keep the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge as the best organised ocean rowing event in the world.

Meet our partners

It is incredibly important to us that the partners we work with reflect the ethos of our races, our participants and our principles as a business. As such this means that by choosing to work alongside our partners, our teams are in turn guaranteed expertise, high quality product and service as well as beneficial rates on purchases. Our partners are dedicated specialists within their field, ensuring that product and knowledge delivery is a step towards success.

Official time keepers of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - Bremont

Official timekeeper

Travel partner

Nutrition partner

Communications partner

Official Adjucdicator