Two British women resume their audacious bid to row 8,000 miles non-stop across the Pacific Ocean on Monday, after a dramatic mid-sea rescue and an international scramble to repair their damaged vessel.
Miriam Payne, 25, and Jess Rowe, 28, are hoping to be the first female duo to row across the Pacific unsupported but were forced to abort their initial attempt when the rudder of their nine-metre boat Velocity snapped 350 miles off Peru’s coast last month, leaving them drifting in heavy swells.
They are refusing to let their dream sink.
“We’re trying to view it as a positive and that it was the best sea trial we could possibly have had,” Payne told Reuters from Lima. “It was a high stress situation, knowing the rudder was broken but I think we worked really well together.”
The pair, whose challenge is aptly named “Seas The Day”, made contact with Peruvian round-the-world sailor and friend Alec Hughes, who spent two days sailing to rescue them and a week towing them back to port for repairs.
“We were pretty much outside of international waters. So the rules are we can get rescued, but the boat doesn’t. Without Alec we would have had to abandon the boat at sea which would have been absolutely heartbreaking,” Payne said.
Their rescue triggered a remarkable international effort, with Norfolk-based Southgates Boat Yard crafting replacement rudders that arrived in Lima just before the May 8 deadline to avoid the Pacific cyclone season.
“The guys at the boatyard have literally been working through the night to get these new rudders made,” Rowe said.
The Lima to Australia route will benefit from trade winds and currents and will take around six months, with the duo rowing simultaneously or on alternate two-hour night shifts.
With no support, they will carry just essentials: solar panels, a water desalinator and enough dehydrated food to consume 5,000 calories daily, while a shore-based meteorologist will help guide them across the high seas.
FLYING FISH
Cooking the flying fish that regularly land on the deck is not an option though.
“We’ve got a spatula, we can flick them off back into the sea,” Rowe joked. “I couldn’t think of anything worse. They’re bony and slimy and smelly.
“Family and friends have given us milestone packages for halfway and things like that. Mim’s got some chocolate orange and I’ve got Super Noodles for every 1,000 miles.”
They will also need a “healthy dose of fear”, according to Rowe, as they will cross busy shipping lanes, face storms, sharks, whales and even pirate fishing boats alongside physical challenges like blisters and salt sores.
Both women conquered The World’s Toughest Row across the Atlantic in 2022 – Payne winning the solo women’s title and Rowe as part of a team. Pacific crossings are usually 2,800 miles from Hawaii, but Payne and Rowe will cover three times that distance.
“It’ll be interesting to see the differences between our Atlantic rows and how our bodies hold up for that longer period of time,” Hampshire-based Rowe said. “I’m sure we will find a lot of unexpected issues that we haven’t thought about.
“After the Atlantic we both wanted a bigger challenge for ourselves but also to inspire other young people and women.”
The attempt aims to raise 50,000 pounds ($66,355) for the Outward Bound Trust, which helps children develop skills through adventure.
“I feel like everybody would enjoy it if they tried it, but people don’t try it,” Rowe said. “Hopefully we can inspire more people and more children to spend more time outdoors, stepping outside of their comfort zone, being curious.”
($1 = 0.7535 pounds)
