🔗 Share this article

A final 24-hour stretch. Another day battling through the unforgiving ocean. One more day of blistered hands gripping unforgiving oars.

Yet after traversing 8,000+ sea miles at sea – a monumental half-year voyage over the Pacific Ocean that included intimate meetings with marine giants, malfunctioning navigation equipment and cocoa supply emergencies – the sea had one more challenge.

Powerful 20-knot gusts off Cairns repeatedly forced their small vessel, the Velocity, from the terra firma that was now achingly close.

Friends and family waited ashore as an expected noon touchdown became 2pm, subsequently 4pm, then early evening. Finally, at 6.42pm, they came alongside Cairns Yacht Club.

"Those final few hours were brutal," Rowe said, finally standing on land.

"Gusts were driving us from the passage, and we honestly thought we weren't going to make it. We drifted outside the navigational path and thought we might have to swim to shore. To finally be here, after extensive preparation, proves truly extraordinary."

The Epic Journey Begins

The English women – Rowe is 28 and Payne 25 – pushed off from Lima, Peru in early May (a first try in April was derailed by a rudder failure).

Across nearly half a year on water, they maintained 50 nautical miles daily, paddling together in daylight, single rower overnight while her partner rested just a few hours in a cramped cabin.

Perseverance and Difficulties

Nourished by 400kg of preserved provisions, a water desalinator and an onboard growing unit for micro-greens, the duo depended upon an inconsistent solar power setup for only partial electrical requirements.

During most of their voyage across the vast Pacific, they've had no navigation equipment or beacon, turning them into a "ghost ship", almost invisible to other vessels.

The pair have borne 9-metre waves, traversed marine highways and survived violent tempests that, at times, disabled all electrical systems.

Historic Accomplishment

And they've kept rowing, one stroke after another, across blazing hot days, beneath celestial nightscapes.

They achieved an unprecedented feat as the initial female duo to row across the South Pacific Ocean, without breaks or external assistance.

And they have raised in excess of £86k (Australian $179,000) benefiting the outdoor education charity.

Life Aboard

The women attempted to maintain communication with civilization beyond their small boat.

On "day 140-something", they declared a "cocoa crisis" – reduced to their final two portions with still more than 1,600km to go – but permitted themselves the luxury of opening one bar to celebrate England's Red Roses triumph in global rugby competition.

Personal Insights

Payne, from a landlocked part of Yorkshire, had not been at sea prior to her independent Atlantic journey during 2022 establishing a record.

She has now mastered another ocean. But there were moments, she admitted, when failure seemed possible. As early as day six, a route across the globe's vastest waters appeared insurmountable.

"Our power was dropping, the freshwater system lines broke, but after nine repairs, we accomplished a workaround and simply continued struggling with little power for the rest of the crossing. Each time problems occurred, we merely made eye contact and went, 'naturally it happened!' But we kept going."

"It was really great to have Jess as a teammate. The remarkable aspect was our collaborative effort, we addressed challenges collectively, and we consistently shared identical objectives," she stated.

Rowe originates from Hampshire. Preceding her ocean conquest, she paddled the Atlantic, trekked England's coastal trail, climbed Mount Kenya and biked through Spain. Additional challenges probably remain.

"We shared such wonderful experiences, and we're eagerly anticipating future expeditions collectively once more. I wouldn't have done it with anybody else."