Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe have been at sea for 165 days
An adventurous duo who challenged themselves to row across the Pacific Ocean have succeeded, at the same time reportedly creating a new world record. Miriam Payne, 26, of Market Weighton, East Yorkshire, and Jess Rowe, 28, from Hampshire, encountered a broken rudder, equipment failure, salt sores and plenty of close calls in the 7,730 nautical mile journey.
The rowers, calling themselves the Seas the Day team, stepped back on dry land in Cairns, Australia, on Saturday (October 18). They had set out from Lima, in Peru, on May 5 – the voyage had begun in April but just days in, their rudder broke in rough seas and forced them back to shore for repairs.
A post on social media from Ocean Rowing Stats said: “New World Record. Congratulations to Seas the Day (Miriam Payne & Jess Rowe) who set out from Lima, Peru on 5 May 2025 and successfully rowed the 7730 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in Cairns, Australia on 18 October 2025 with a time of 165 Days, 12 Hours and 33 Minutes to become the fastest pair to row the Pacific Ocean.”
The post was met with a barrage of messages of congratulations. One said: “Outstanding! You both have inspired every young woman on our planet to reach farther than imaginable. May your story be told for the ages. Heroes for us all.”
Another commented: “Needs to be made into a movie so it is not lost in time … what amazing women, what an amazing journey and achievement.” One person replied: “Huge congrats Miriam & Jess! An amazing feat & new world record, loved following your journey.”
There were more responses, with one of them saying: “I am in just freaking awe of you ladies. Unbelievable accomplishment!” A further comment read: “We’ll probably see a couple of Royal honours bestowed upon the young ladies including the possibility of Damehood. If I were Charles I would knight them for that amazing accomplishment.”
Ocean Rowing Stats issued a certificate to mark the record achieved by Miriam and Jess in their boat, Velocity. It also posted images showing the happy rowers celebrating the finish by lighting flares and then stepping off their boat onto land.
A blog following the exploits of the rowers at seasthedayoceanrowing.com posted an entry as the women neared the finish. It said: “After such a long journey both girls report that, while they are so close, the build-up of the extreme physical effort that they have had to put into this, and the severe sleep deprivation is now really taking a toll on them and that they are exhausted and really struggling.
“Their dwindling food supplies also only contain things that they find unpalatable at best. There is also an emotional element of course, as although they have had outside contact, they have been isolated from friends and family for so long that their arrival into a bustling city like Cairns might also be a bit of a shock.
“Having not walked anywhere for 5 months there will also likely be a long period of physical rehabilitation required. We are all here for them and thank all who have followed this incredible journey and for your continued support. Our job now is to see them in safely.”
Entirely self-sufficient, the challenge saw the pair rowing together during daylight hours and then solo, in two-hour shifts, at night. Miriam said earlier on the in voyage: “Our bodies are aching quite a lot from the amount of rowing that we’re doing and we’re losing grip strength in our hands.”
Miriam first started rowing when she was at university in Glasgow and completed a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 2023. She met Jess in the Canary Islands in 2022 when they were preparing for The World’s Toughest Row – previously known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – for which they rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.
The rowers’ aim was to raise £50,000 for The Outward Bound Trust, a charity that aims to help young people build confidence by taking part in outdoor challenges. Their Givestar appeal page has topped the £99,500 mark.