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One more day. One more day up and down the pitiless slide. Another round of raw palms holding onto unyielding oars.

But after more than 8,000 nautical miles across the ocean – an epic five-and-a-half-month journey over the Pacific Ocean that included intimate meetings with marine giants, malfunctioning navigation equipment and chocolate shortages – the sea had one more challenge.

Strong 20-knot breezes approaching Cairns kept pushing their compact craft, their boat Velocity, off course from land that was now frustratingly within reach.

Supporters anticipated on shore as an expected noon touchdown became 2pm, subsequently 4pm, then twilight hours. At last, at eighteen forty-two, they arrived at Cairns Yacht Club.

"Those final few hours were brutal," Rowe stated, at last on firm earth.

"The wind was pushing us off the channel, and we honestly thought we weren't going to make it. We ended up outside the channel and considered swimming the remaining distance. To ultimately arrive, after extensive preparation, proves truly extraordinary."

The Monumental Voyage Commences

The British pair – Rowe is 28 and Payne 25 – departed from Lima, Peru on May fifth (an initial attempt in April was halted by steering issues).

Over 165 days at sea, they covered approximately 50 sea miles each day, paddling together in daylight, one rowing alone at night while her crewmate slept a bare handful of hours in a cramped cabin.

Survival and Challenges

Nourished by 400kg of preserved provisions, a saltwater conversion device and a vessel-based sprout cultivation system, the women counted on a less-than-reliable solar system for a fraction of the power they've needed.

For much of their journey over the enormous Pacific, they lacked directional instruments or signaling devices, turning them into a "ghost ship", hardly noticeable to maritime traffic.

The women endured 30-foot swells, navigated shipping lanes and weathered furious gales that, periodically, silenced all of their electronics.

Groundbreaking Success

Still they maintained progress, one stroke after another, through scorching daylight hours, beneath celestial nightscapes.

They achieved an unprecedented feat as the first all-female pair to row across the South Pacific Ocean, non-stop and unsupported.

Furthermore they gathered more than £86,000 (179,000 Australian dollars) supporting Outward Bound.

Daily Reality at Sea

The pair did their best to keep in contact with the world beyond their small boat.

On "day 140-something", they declared a "cocoa crisis" – down to their last two bars with still more than 1,600km to go – but allowed themselves the indulgence of unwrapping a portion to celebrate England's Red Roses victory in the World Cup.

Individual Perspectives

Payne, from a landlocked part of Yorkshire, was unacquainted with maritime life prior to her independent Atlantic journey during 2022 establishing a record.

She has now mastered another ocean. However there were instances, she conceded, when they feared they wouldn't make it. As early as day six, a route across the globe's vastest waters felt impossible.

"Our energy was failing, the desalination tubes ruptured, however following multiple fixes, we managed a bypass and barely maintained progress with reduced energy for the rest of the crossing. Every time something went wrong, we simply exchanged glances and went, 'naturally it happened!' Yet we continued forward."

"Having Jess as a partner proved invaluable. Our mutual dedication stood out, we problem-solved together, and we perpetually pursued common aims," she stated.

Rowe is from Hampshire. Before her Pacific triumph, she paddled the Atlantic, walked the southwestern English coastline, scaled the Kenyan peak and pedaled across Spanish terrain. There might still be more.

"We had such a good time together, and we're enthusiastically preparing additional journeys collectively once more. Another teammate wouldn't have worked."