The next challenge for two rowers, an NFL star and a Navy Seal

New Orleans couple John and Hannah Huppi have tried pretty much every type of rowing there is: indoor, flat water, coastal, beach sprints. Now the Huppis are venturing into ocean rowing and are planning to conquer one of the least-rowed stretches of water in the world, the Arctic Ocean.

Next July the couple, together with teammates Andrew Tropp and Jimmy Graham, will attempt to become the fastest crew to row from Tromsø in Norway to Svalbard in Greenland, the longest stretch of the Arctic Ocean that is navigable before there is simply too much ice. They also want to become the first mixed team to complete the crossing, and set records as the first woman, the first married couple, and the first Black person to row the Arctic.

“The important one for us right now is the fastest time, that would be the coolest thing to achieve,” says John Huppi. The crew hope to complete the crossing in around 14 days: the current record stands at 15 days, five hours and 32 minutes.

Huppi says he feels “personally drawn” to the challenge and the Arctic, and it felt like a natural next step as he and Hannah start to wind down from their coastal rowing careers.

But they needed teammates, and Tropp and Graham came on board in an unexpected manner. Graham is a hugely successful American football player who made his name playing for the New Orleans Saints, and returned to the Saints for a season in 2023. At 37 years old, he is now looking at a post-football future.

“Jimmy has a lot of side interests that he’s picked up, he’s an accomplished pilot, he absolutely loves sailing and has a dream of sailing solo around the world. He’s also an avid cyclist, so that’s how he stays in shape,” explains Huppi.

“It was a big deal that he came back and was playing for the Saints again. I was reading the newspaper and learning about all of his other interests, and reading about his ambition to sail around the world. He had a funny quote that he was nervous about the sailing because he didn’t know how to fit his bike on a sailboat,” Huppi recalls.

Huppi, already thinking about the Arctic Challenge, thought he had a solution for the problem of navigating an ocean while staying fit, so he picked up the phone. Graham said yes, but insisted that Tropp should join the crew; the two old friends had in fact been talking about an ocean row for a number of years. Tropp, who retired from the Navy Seals last year, rowed for Boston University before joining the military.

“It was fate, if you will,” adds Huppi, explaining that the team all bring some of the necessary skills required to complete the challenge.

The team is hoping to support two non-profit organisations that help disadvantaged young people – Covenant House New Orleans, and Laureus Sport for Good New Orleans – and inspire children through the challenge.

“Using this challenge to inspire young people is very meaningful for me. As someone who has experienced homelessness, I recognise the importance of not letting your circumstances define your future. Through this challenge, we will showcase the power of determination, teamwork and resilience, and I am thrilled to use it as a platform for empowering kids to pursue their wildest dreams,” says Graham.

The challenge is at an early stage, with training and fundraising just beginning; Huppi says the anticipated cost is close to US $500,000.

“We just got the boat last week so it’s sitting in my driveway, I’m still unpacking all the gear. We have our first training camp scheduled a little over a month from now,” Huppi says.

As well as familiarising themselves with their boat, a new Rannoch RX45, the team will prepare for air temperatures of between just above freezing to around 10 degrees Celsius (35-50 degrees Fahrenheit). The water temperature will be consistently below freezing, and storms are likely. It will also be constantly light.

“That’s going to be one of the biggest challenges with this, the sun never going down. Twenty-four hours of daylight is going to be a big challenge for us given our sleep cycles are already screwed up,” Huppi predicts.

But it will be worth the discomfort. To date, only 13 people have ever rowed the Arctic Ocean; to put that into perspective, 24 people have flown to the Moon (with 12 setting foot on it).

“Ocean rowing is the one thing that’s still calling that we’ve not done. There’s a greater calling for Hannah and I to get the most out of this sport,” Huppi concludes.