GROHE TEAM OCEAN
ROWING THE PACIFIC OCEAN 2025
FOR #AQUAWARENESS
DEPARTED MAY 31
MEET THE TEAM
GROHE Team Ocean – a team of four adventurers,
preparing to take on the challenge to row the Pacific in 2025!
Wilco van Rooijen (right) – Wilco is a top class mountain climber who has topped several mountains over 8000m and without the use of oxygen. Besides that he is also the holder of The Explorers Grand Slam. Now he’s having a go on Sea.
Ruurd Dasselaar (mid right) – a dentist who loves a bit of a challenge. Ruurd loves sailing, ice skating and fishing. He joins the team with a lot of kilometers under his belt (being previously the teams reserve), as well as bringing in a technical know how.
Bela Evers (left) – Bela, is a keen all-round sporter, who loves adventure and endurance sports. She rowed across the Atlantic in December 2020 which has been an experience never to forget, igniting a passion for the sea.
Joost Schutte (mid left) – Joost is a disciplined former Marine who knows what it takes to go beyond the pain level and keep on going. He’s also a vivid out door sportsman and mountaineer, social entrepreneur, proud father of two, and our on-board medic.
OUR MISSION
At GROHE Team Ocean, our mission is to unite the spirit of human adventure with a deeper purpose: to honor, protect, and preserve the planet’s most precious resource — water.
Through bold, self-powered expeditions that symbolically and physically connect summits and seas, we strive to raise global awareness about the fragility of water systems, inspire behavioral change, and empower the next generation through education.
We believe that true adventure is not just about reaching summits or crossing oceans — it is about using those challenges to serve something greater: ensuring that the water flowing from mountain to sea remains clean, respected, and preserved for all.
We call it #AQUAWARENESS
From the Summit to the Sea, From the Sea to the Summit — Our Journey, Our Message
At GROHE Team Ocean, we set out on an expedition that was about more than rowing rivers and oceans — it was about telling a story, honoring the cycle of
Without you we could not have done this. Thank you GROHE!
Dutch Ocean Rowing Team ‘GROHE Team Ocean’ Honors Title Sponsor GROHE for Their Unwavering Support and Shared Mission As the Dutch Ocean Rowing Team finished its bold journey across the
We Did It: GROHE Team Ocean Completes Our Pacific Row for Water Sustainability
A week ago, we made landfall on the shores of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i after rowing more than 2,133 nautical miles from Monterey, California — a journey that tested us physically, mentally,
Aloha Kauai
Aloha Kauai: Honoring Our Landfall and the Warm Embrace of Nawiliwili Harbor and Kauai Sailing Association When Team Ocean completed our epic Pacific crossing — a journey of nearly 2,400
Bela Evers: The Wonder Woman Rowing Across the Pacific
Day 34: Position: N 23° 23.44′, W 152° 56.20′ | Speed/Course: 2.7 knots / 290° In a tiny 8-meter rowing boat somewhere deep in the Pacific Ocean, three adventurers are
From Summits to Sea: Wilco van Rooijen’s Epic Journey
Day 33: Position: N 23° 34.03′, W 151° 56.13′ | Speed/Course: 1.7 knots / 259° Wilco van Rooijen has stood atop the highest points on Earth and trudged to its
Ruurd Dasselaar: The Artist, the Dentist, the Watermaker of the Pacific
Day 34: Position: N 23° 23.44′, W 152° 56.20′ | Speed/Course: 2.7 knots / 290° If every epic adventure needs its characters, then Ambrosia—the 8-meter rowing boat currently cutting across
The Skies That Row With You: Beauty Beyond the Horizon
Day 30: Position: N 24° 29.80′, W 149° 57.08′ | Speed/Course: 2.4 knots / 241° There are many reasons to cross an ocean in a rowing boat. The challenge. The adventure. The discipline. But what
Why We Row
GROHE Team Ocean’s Journey for Water Sustainability We are GROHE Team Ocean, and right now, as you read this, we’re out here on the Pacific, rowing from Monterey, California to
THE PACIFIC CHALLENGE
What we will be doing: Starting in May 2025, Team Ocean will row unaided from Western USA to the magical backdrop of Hawaii.
A total of 4,500 km rowing in shifts of 2 hours on and 2 hours off non-stop. Facing sores, blisters, massive waves, seasickness, fatigue and a confronting mental challenge. We’ll be rowing to raise awareness for water. Living on less than 8 liters of water per day for 6-8 weeks. What will you do to reduce water consumption? Read more on our mission AQUAWARENESS
LIFE IS WATER IS LIFE!
WHY AQUAWARENESS ?
- The world holds only 2% of fresh water
- A human beings consist of 60% of water
- More than 40% of the world’s population live in water-stressed areas, and water demand is expected to rise 55% over the next 30 years (source: OECD)
- Local problems are; too little water, too much water or water that is too polluted to use
- There is no alternative resource for water.
EVERY DROP COUNTS!
PACIFIC FACTS
- The Pacific is the world's deepest ocean
- The sea on the coast of Hawaii it rising 1 inch every 4 years. Around 13 miles of beaches have already gone.
- Just 133 people have successfully rowed to one of the Hawaiian Islands from mainland USA
- The Pacific has the biggest garbage patch - 3x the size of France
- Never have a Dutch mixed team rowed this route - a Première
- The word Pacific means peaceful