Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe are taking great leaps forward every week as they learn to ride. They’re currently on a journey rowing 8,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Australia. On their journey, the duo is now two-thirds of the way through their expedition. They may be tired, but they’re enjoying the special experience that only the ocean can provide. So far they’ve spent over 100 days in their 30-foot-long boat called Velocity, speeding across the world’s waters with purpose and precision.
The pair is composed of experts in long distance rowing, having rowed across the Atlantic Ocean before. Their mission is to be the first women’s team — and the first pair of any kind — to accomplish a non-stop, unsupported row across the Pacific. They’re down to fewer than 60 days remaining on their trip. Though arduous challenges of their grand inspired plan lie ahead, they continue to truck along.
Their rowing approach is to take turns, with each rower rowing for ten to fifteen minutes at a time before switching. This approach to energy storage is what helps them stay energized as they glide gracefully through the ocean’s often chaotic waters.
Miriam Payne expressed her feelings about the journey: “If we don’t keep rowing we’ll be bobbing around and going God knows where. You’ve got to keep rowing because that’s the way to survive. So you just go on with it. We keep plodding along.”
Despite the exhaustion that comes with long hours at sea, Jess Rowe admitted, “I’m very tired, I won’t lie. It’s just so hard to wake up for your shift. We’re both not even hearing our alarms anymore.” It’s really rigorous and arduous this expedition, so they’re all getting leathery and a little bit sleep-deprived. Other than the sleep deprivation, we’re absolutely loving it, she gushed.
The women have spent months training and dreaming about this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. They retrofitted their boat, Velocity and cooked and vacuum-packed hundreds of meals to get them through the journey. In order to meet their caloric requirements, they plan to eat upwards of 5,000 calories a day.
Over the course of their trip, they’ve run into plenty of equipment hurdles, from breaking social norms to a broken fresh water maker. Then they played an ingenious game of hot potato and fixed the problem on their own. With the help of some Calvin Klein underpants, they were able to improvise a new filter.
Payne remarked on the refreshing break from digital distractions that comes with life at sea: “It’s quite nice. It’s always just bad news all the time, especially the last few years. In some ways, you do wonder what’s going on, but it is nice just to have a digital detox and be out of the loop.”
Looking back up the coast on their journey, both Payne and Rowe are grateful for their newfound love of the Pacific Ocean. Rowe described the experience: “There’s something about rowing that’s meditative. You don’t really think about it; you go into a rhythm. I think it helps having the most amazing 360-degree view and all the night skies and the sunsets.”
As experienced rowers, the duo knows the physical impact of long-term rowing has on their bodies. Payne noted that while they are feeling strong, they have noticed changes in their physical condition: “The muscles you use for walking have wasted away a bit. It’s going to be nice to move in a different way but we’re still strong.”
Rowe shared insights into the dynamics of their partnership during this intense period: “You can get to know each other and spend as much time together as possible before, but you never know what can happen out here,” emphasizing the unpredictable nature of ocean life.
The vast Pacific Ocean has challenged their fortitude, yes, but it’s offered peace and a reverie, too. Rowe highlighted that while many envision them battling fierce storms and towering waves, much of their journey has been marked by calm seas: “Everybody thinks that perhaps we’re in massive storms every day and we’re facing 30ft waves. It’s not always like that. We’ve jumped at the right time, too, on so many days, when it has been flat calm. The Pacific – the peaceful one.
As they continue their expedition toward Australia, Payne and Rowe embody resilience and teamwork, showcasing what it means to pursue a shared dream against all odds.