Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe have been without vital navigational equipment for almost 6,000 miles
Two adventurous women who are rowing across the Pacific Ocean have been navigating without vital equipment for the past 6,000 miles. Miriam Payne, of Market Weighton, in East Yorkshire, and Jess Rowe, from Hampshire, are en route from Peru to Australia, powered by oars.
The pair had already hit on problems when their rudder broke in rough seas, just days into their voyage, which began in April. It meant being forced back to shore for repairs but undaunted, they set out again in May.
Now, reports the BBC, Miriam, 25, and Jess, 28, have revealed they have been rowing for nearly 6,000 miles without vital equipment, including navigational lights and a radio. Miriam said: “We can’t seem to figure out what the issue is but we don’t have enough power to run any of our navigation equipment.”
Nonetheless they were “absolutely loving” the challenge and “every stroke is one stroke closer to Australia”. The pair call their team Seas the Day and they are facing a race against time to cross the ocean before the start of cyclone season.
Entirely self-sufficient, they row together during daylight hours and then solo, in two-hour shifts, at night. They never get more than that couple of hours’ sleep at any time, with Miriam saying: “We’ve not had a sleep of more than two hours in 110 days, so we are really feeling pretty exhausted.
“Our bodies are also 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.
Miriam broke the race record for the fastest female solo row, which was also her first sea race. Jess participated with a team of four women called Full Throttle, winning the female race and Murden Cup.
The rowers are aiming 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 appeal page total has already passed the £19,000 mark.
With about eight weeks to go until they reach Australia, Miriam said she was “dying for a slice of toast, a bottle of beer, and an actual shower”. Just before the pair embarked on the gruelling challenge, Miriam told the PA news agency: “I think we got bored of real life.
“At this point we’re so ready to get out there and get away from this chaos and all the packing and planning – it’s been a long process.”
They speculated on the challenges they could encounter, including sleep deprivation, large waves, potential injuries, capsizing, and sea traffic such as large container ships. “There’s lots of things that can go wrong out there, it is a very dangerous environment,” said Jess, while Miriam acknowledged that they would have no control over the elements.
“I think ultimately it’s that respect for the ocean and it is up to Mother Nature to decide,” she said. “There’s a lot of people saying you conquer the ocean but you absolutely don’t.”