RSK sponsors Team Nautilus coastal research as part of GB Row Challenge

RSK is supporting Team Nautilus as the crew prepares to take on the GB Row Challenge on Sunday, 14 June. This 2000-mile, non-stop circumnavigation of mainland Great Britain will help collect valuable environmental data from around the UK coastline.

How Team Nautilus will row 2000 miles around Great Britain

Six adventurers will make up the crew, including skipper and environmental specialist Aoife Luscombe, fellow environmental specialists Kenza Thomas and Becky Robb, sports science graduate and rowing coach Grace Church, paramedic Kit Nelson and armed forces veteran Matt Bishop.

Life onboard will be demanding. The crew will row in two-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. They will not make landfall or receive supplies. They will be fully self-sufficient, carrying everything they need onboard without a support vessel.

Crew member Kit Nelson said that although 50 days at sea is a daunting prospect and the physical and mental demand nerve racking, it is what makes the challenge so exciting.

He added: “We work well as a team. We’ll support and motivate each other through the more challenging periods of the row, which will make a significant difference.

“I’m looking forward to the changing scenery, particularly the sunrises and sunsets from a perspective that very few people experience. During training, we have seen seals close to the boat, and the possibility of spotting dolphins, sharks and other marine life is a strong motivation while we are at sea.”

Mapping Britain’s changing coastline

As the team members row in the Irish Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel, they will witness the scale and diversity of Britain’s changing coastline. They will also observe environmental pressures that members of the crew are studying, including shifting sediment, coastal erosion, marine traffic, wildlife patterns and water quality.

The boat will carry specialist monitoring equipment, including microplastics filtration that will process 210 L of seawater per day, and hydrophone acoustic recording equipment that will capture underwater noise and marine life. Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling will be completed twice a day to map biodiversity, and continuous salinity (the measure of the concentration of dissolved salts (such as sodium chloride) in a body of water) and temperature sensors will track coastal change in real time.

Skipper Aoife Luscombe said the team appreciates RSK’s support and described it as instrumental: “The sponsorship has taken us to the start line and has helped support the costs of collecting vital environmental samples and data that will help highlight the changing ecosystems of our coastline.”

Environmental research at the heart of the challenge

For fellow crewmate Kenza Thomas, who is also science lead on the row, the biggest draw to the project was having the opportunity to gather data that will contribute to environmental research and understanding.

She said: “By sampling temperature and salinity, bioacoustics, eDNA and microplastics, researchers at the University of Portsmouth can produce an annual map of pollution. The aim is to create awareness with comprehensive data and influence human behaviour. This data will be hosted by our data partner, The Crown Estate, and available for everyone to see.”

RSK Group Water Director Mark Smith reflected on how the challenge mission aligns with the work across the RSK water sector.

He said: “We’re proud to support Team Nautilus as it takes on this extraordinary challenge. What makes this endeavour particularly compelling is the combination of endurance, scientific purpose and real‑world data collection, capturing insights from some of the UK’s most dynamic coastal environments.

“This directly aligns with the work we do across the RSK water sector, where robust data and environmental intelligence are critical to understanding change and informing better decisions.

“Initiatives like this help bridge the gap between science and lived experience at sea, and we look forward to seeing the valuable contributions the team will make to long‑term data sets. We wish the crew every success and safe passage as they embark on this journey.”

Discover more about Team Nautilus.

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