How does someone make the decision to spend three months rowing thousands of miles? For Ashley Ellis and her friends, the thought first hatched over wine and appetizers one night.
“Some of us women from [Orlando Rowing Club] were sitting around my kitchen. We were chatting and hanging out. Someone shared the idea about the Great Loop. Most of us were like, ‘What is that?’” she said. “When one of our friends said, ‘What if we rowed it?’, we sort of like choked on our bread and wine and were like, ‘What are you saying?’”
Fast forward several years, and Ellis is part of a team of six rowers training to row more than 5,000 miles, supported by the nonprofit Human Powered Potential. The crew plans to travel around the Florida peninsula, up the East Coast, up the Hudson River, through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River. For Ellis and the whole group, the cause is personal: raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which directly funds Parkinson’s research.
“We are bigger than the disease, that’s really what this is all about,” said Ellis, 44, who has early-onset Parkinson’s disease. “There’s a sisterhood, a friendship and a bond that we share as part of this. The relationship part of this journey is maybe even more important than the physical effort itself.”
The team features Ellis’s friends Elizabeth Hall and Andrea Vigil, her cousin Becky Watt and sisters Megan Laughlin and Maureen Twohig, whose mother has Parkinson’s.
Rowers, from left, Megan Laughlin, Becky Watt, Elizabeth Hall, Andrea Vigil, Maureen Twohig and Ashley Ellis stand together on the American Spirit boat before a training row from Hontoon Island State Park in Volusia County on April 19. The team plans to row more than 5,000 miles to raise money for Parkinson’s research. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
“I’ve grown to love Ashley so much, and I’m so inspired by her goal of rowing the Great American Loop. Raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation is a huge goal,” Twohig said. “This is what happens when girls get together and talk each other into something crazy.”
For the six rowers and their craft, a purpose-built ocean rowing boat called the American Spirit, this challenging feat represents the continuation of an effort started by a team of four men who rowed across the Pacific Ocean in 41 days.
In June 2024, friends Brendan Cusick, Scott Forman, Peter Durso, and Patrick Morrissey came together as team Human Powered Potential, launching from Monterey, California, and rowing west toward Hawaii on the World’s Toughest Row. In the process, they became the first four-man American team to complete the mid-Pacific crossing and raised $43 million for Parkinson’s research. Morrissey became the first person diagnosed with Parkinson’s to complete the Pacific route.
In June 2024, Patrick Morrissey, Scott Forman, Brendan Cusick and Peter Durso raced for team Human Powered Potential (HPP) and completed a 41-day journey from California to Hawaii, raising $43 million for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Patrick Morrissey became the first person with Parkinson’s to row the Pacific. (Courtesy World’s Toughest Row)
“We spent about 15 months physically training for this endeavor,” Cusick said. “When you get into the middle of that row, that’s where that grit, determination and resilience really comes into play.”
The most harrowing experience of the crew’s Pacific crossing came a few days into the row when huge swells brought seasickness and harsh conditions.
“Scott and I looked at each other, and it was kind of like, ‘Can we do this? Is this even possible?’ What we realized is that this cause and what we are doing was so much bigger than just the four of us rowing an ocean,” Cusick said. “Six hours later, after a rest, we pulled the para anchor in, and we didn’t stop until we got to Hawaii.”
That same mission will help propel the Orlando-based team to success when they set off for their epic journey in spring 2027, moving forward as the “Second Wave” of Human Powered Potential using the same boat that made the Pacific crossing. Their row will be the first of a series of athletic endeavors led by individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and supported by Human Powered Potential to raise awareness and funds for a cure.
The women will follow a two hours on, two hours off rowing schedule, keeping the boat moving constantly for the anticipated three-month journey. While four rowers take turns on the boat, another two will follow in an RV to support, tagging in when the on-board athletes need a break.
Rowers, from left, Andrea Vigil, Elizabeth Hall, Maureen Twohig, Ashley Ellis and Megan Laughlin row together on the American Spirit boat past Blue Spring State Park in Volusia County on April 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Now two months into their training process, the Orlando-based team is finding camaraderie and cohesion, which will be essential in tough moments on the water.
“We’re all in it together, and we’re all here to support each other. I feel like God gives us all talents, and sometimes it’s through the challenges that we discover our strengths and what we can accomplish,” Watt said. “When you have a group like this that can unify and feed off each other’s strengths and be there for each other through our weaknesses, it’s just amazing what can evolve and what we can accomplish.”
Rowers, from left, Megan Laughlin, Becky Watt, Ashley Ellis, Andrea Vigil and Elizabeth Hall hang out together on the American Spirit boat before a training row from Hontoon Island State Park in Volusia County on April 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Along the way, the team hopes to raise funds for research, awareness of Parkinson’s and inspiration for others to exercise, something that is believed to slow the progression of the disease.
“What’s really awesome about team Human Powered Potential is that in so many ways, they continue to exemplify the important role that community plays in the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s mission to ultimately close our doors for good because we found a cure,” said Liz Diemer, director of Team Fox. “Exercise is one of the most powerful treatments for those living with Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing brain neurodegenerative disease in the world. An estimated 6 million people worldwide are currently living with Parkinson’s, with the number expected to double by 2040, according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
As the first crew of four passes the oars to the “Second Wave” team, the strength of relationships and sense of purpose among those involved continues to grow over time.
“As we get to know the team and we see who we’re passing off to, that depth of character and personality and passion is so enriching,” Cusick said. “It makes us so excited to see this next adventure coming forth.”
To learn more or donate, visit humanpoweredpotential.org.
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