‘those Final Few Hours Were Brutal’: British Duo End Epic Journey In Australia After Rowing Across Pacific Ocean

One much day.

One much time up and down nan pitiless slide.

One much time of blistered hands gripping unforgiving oars.

But, aft much than 8,000 nautical miles (15,000km) astatine oversea – an epic five-and-a-half-month travel crossed nan Pacific that included adjacent encounters pinch whales, failing beacons and cocoa shortages – nan oversea had 1 much challenge.

A gusting 20-knot upwind disconnected Cairns kept pushing Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne’s mini rowboat, nan Velocity, from nan terra firma that was now achingly close.

Friends and family waited ashore arsenic a planned midday presence became 2pm, past 4pm, past early evening. Finally, astatine 6.42pm, they came alongside astatine Cairns Yacht Club.

“Those last fewer hours were brutal,” Rowe said, yet opinionated connected land.

“The upwind was pushing america disconnected nan channel, and we honestly thought we weren’t going to make it. We ended up extracurricular nan transmission and thought we mightiness person to aquatics to shore. To yet beryllium here, aft talking astir it for truthful long, conscionable feels incredible.

“We still can’t rather judge it’s real. After truthful galore days astatine sea, to yet spot land, and nan invited we’ve had present successful Cairns, is beyond words.”

The British brace – Rowe is 28 and Payne 25 – pushed disconnected from Lima, Peru, connected 5 May (an first effort successful April was derailed by a rudder failure).

Over 165 days astatine sea, they averaged 50 nautical miles a day, rowing successful tandem during nan day, 1 rowing unsocial astatine nighttime while her crewmate slept a bare fistful of hours successful a cramped cabin.

Kept live pinch 400kg of mostly freeze-dried food, a h2o desalinator and an onboard increasing portion for micro-greens, nan brace person relied connected a less-than-reliable star strategy for a fraction of nan powerfulness they’ve needed. For overmuch of their travel crossed nan immense Pacific, they’ve had nary navigation instrumentality aliases beacon, turning them into a “ghost ship”, almost invisible to different vessels.

The brace person borne 9-metre (30ft) waves, navigated shipping lanes and endured raging storms that, astatine times, silenced each of their electronics.

Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne arsenic nan statement Velocity towards nan Great Barrier Reef. Photograph: Brian Cassey/AFP/Getty Images

And they’ve kept rowing, 1 changeable aft another, crossed blazing basking days, nether star-filled nighttime skies. They person group a caller grounds arsenic nan first all-female brace to statement crossed nan South Pacific Ocean, non-stop and unsupported.

And they person raised much than £86,000 (A$179,000) for nan Outward Bound Trust.

The brace did their champion to support successful interaction pinch nan world extracurricular their mini vessel. On “day 140-something”, they reported a “chocolate emergency” – down to their past 2 bars pinch still much than 1,600km (1,000 miles) to spell – but allowed themselves nan indulgence of breaking 1 unfastened to observe England’s Red Roses winning nan Rugby World Cup.

Payne, from a landlocked portion of Yorkshire, had not been astatine oversea until she rowed nan Atlantic solo successful 2022 successful a grounds time. She now has a 2nd water conquered. But location were moments, she conceded, erstwhile they feared they wouldn’t make it. As early arsenic time six, a measurement crossed nan world’s largest water felt impossible.

“Our powerfulness was dropping, nan water-maker pipes burst, but aft 9 repairs, we managed a bypass and conscionable limped on pinch small powerfulness for nan remainder of nan crossing. Every clip thing went wrong, we conscionable looked astatine each different and went, ‘of people it has!’ But we kept going.”

“It was really awesome to person Jess arsenic a teammate. What was awesome was that we worked difficult together, we problem-solved together, and we were ever moving towards nan aforesaid goals,” she said.

Rowe is from Hampshire. Before her Pacific triumph, she rowed nan Atlantic, hiked England’s South West Coast Path, climbed Mount Kenya and cycled crossed Spain. There mightiness still beryllium more.

“We had specified a bully clip together, and we’re already excited to scheme caller adventures together arsenic well. I wouldn’t person done it pinch anybody else.”