The all-women rowing collective Team Antigua Island Girls is grieving the loss of Marcella André, a seasoned broadcast and communications specialist who played an integral role in the team’s landmark transatlantic expedition. In a public memorial statement released on Thursday, the group shared that André was one of the first administrative volunteers to join their effort ahead of their open-ocean crossing. When the rowers were thousands of miles from land, André stepped into a critical role as the primary bridge between the team at sea and their network of supporters back home in Antigua.
In their heartfelt tribute, team representatives emphasized that André was far more than an external backer — she was a core chapter of the group’s history-making story. Just one week before her passing, the team had issued a public call to the local community to send thoughts and support to André as she battled a severe, life-threatening health crisis.
The team has extended its deepest sympathies to André’s family, close friends, and all who loved her, noting that her foundational contributions to their journey will forever be preserved in the team’s legacy. “Marcella helped us carry our story across an ocean, and we will carry her memory with us always,” the statement read. The tribute closed with the group’s enduring motto that binds all who have supported their mission: “Once an Island Girl, always an Island Girl.”