PRESS RELEASE: British women rowers on final stretch of record-breaking Pacific crossing – Cairns arrival imminent

British women rowers on final stretch of record-breaking Pacific crossing – Cairns arrival imminent

Cairns, Queensland, Wednesday 15 October 2025. With less than 350 nautical miles to row, and the lure of hot pizza on their minds, British adventurers Jess Rowe (28) and Miriam Payne (25) are closing in on the finish line of their extraordinary 8,000-mile, non-stop and unsupported Pacific Ocean crossing.

Rowe and Payne, who together form the Seas the Day Ocean Rowing Team, are set to make land – and history – as the youngest and first all-female pair to complete a non-stop, unsupported row across the Pacific from Peru to Australia.

In addition to their record-breaking feat, the pair have been rowing in support of The Outward Bound Trust, a UK-based charity that helps young people build resilience and life skills through adventure.

Over the weekend, the duo announced they had smashed their £50,000 fundraising goal, raising more than £52,000 (approximately AUD $101,000 / USD $67,000).

“We can’t believe it! You’ve helped us smash our £50k target — thank you so much! With about a week to go, we’ve decided to aim even higher and raise our target to £75,000. Every penny goes towards changing young lives through adventure and challenge — and that’s what keeps us rowing,” the pair posted on social media.

After over 160 days at sea aboard Velocity, a 9m long Rossiter Ocean 2 vessel, the duo now faces their final and most delicate navigational challenge as they cross the Great Barrier Reef before reaching the tropical city of Cairns, anticipated between Saturday 18 October and Monday 20 October.

With flares symbolically marking the end of the row 100 metres off the finish line at Cairns Yacht Club, digital-first travel media company LOST iN – known for celebrating the culture, creativity, and hidden rhythms of cities around the world – has joined as the team’s official arrival, supporting ‘finish line’ celebrations for family, friends and media. Through its storytelling platform and global community of travellers, LOST iN will help bring the Seas the Day journey to a broader audience, highlighting the shared spirit of exploration, resilience, and discovery that links the rowers’ mission with the LOST iN ethos.

A Journey of Setbacks and Triumphs

The women launched from Lima in May 2025 after an initial attempt in April was cut short by rudder failure just 300 nautical miles into the journey. Since relaunching, they have rowed in gruelling two-hour shifts around the clock, up to 16 hours a day, averaging 50 nautical miles daily and an incredible 84nm a day a couple of weeks ago.
They have battled storms, water-maker failures, ‘ghost ship’ electronics shutdowns, and the relentless toll of sleep deprivation, countered by moments of wonder rowing beneath star-filled skies, encounters with dolphins, sea lions and even a sperm whale – improvised with limited gear, celebrated fresh catches after months of freeze-dried meals, and shared their journey with a global following now topping 100,000 Instagram supporters (as well as over 150,000 on Facebook and 135,000 on TikTok), and their videos since restarting have been watched over 70 million times.

The team are also carrying other unique technologies on board to help them both recover and eat better. They are using Nurosym’s system, which utilises targeted electrical impulses via the Vagus Nerve for neuromodulation to help them maintain calmness and consistent energy, enabling peak biological performance throughout.
Additionally, the British company Home Harvest developed a special on-board growing unit, enabling a sustainable and reliable supply of nutritious leaves and microgreens throughout the row.

One of the World’s Toughest Ocean Feats

This endurance row has seen Rowe and Payne cover a distance nearly three times the length of the Atlantic crossing that many other rowers attempt, placing it among the toughest ocean challenges on the planet. To put this in context, only 15 people, individually or in teams, have ever crossed the whole Pacific in any form in rowing boats; the Seas The Day rowing pair will be the first women to cross non-stop and unsupported, all the way from South America.

“At LOST iN, we’re inspired by stories that celebrate courage, culture, and the human spirit of exploration. Jess and Miriam’s journey embodies all of that by pushing beyond limits while staying deeply connected to the world around them. Supporting their arrival felt like a natural extension of our mission to spotlight authentic experiences and the people who bring them to life,” said the CEO of LOST iN, Jonathan Skogmo.

Seas the Day Expedition Snapshot
Departure: Lima, Peru, (restart) 5 May 2025
Distance: 8,300 (approx. total on completion) nautical miles (15,300 km)
Boat: Velocity, a 9m Rossiter Ocean 2 vessel
Daily Routine: Two-hour rowing shifts, 1800-0600 – row together 0600 to 1800 (15hrs a day each on the oars) consuming 5,000 calories/day
Goal: Raise over £50,000 for The Outward Bound Trust UK, inspiring young people through adventure and resilience
Give: *Support the campaign here: https://givestar.io/gs/AGS4ZMK

Arrival Media Opportunities – Live in Cairns/Remote
• Dockside welcome and press conference (on arrival day)
• Welcome reception and interviews (day after arrival)
• Photography and B-roll footage available

Media Assets (continually being updated with the latest content)
Click here for assorted stills and video documenting the journey

Partners and Supporters
The team would like to thank all their partners, who include: Howden’s, BetterYou, AVA, LOST iN, Branding Science, Coastin, Dock & Bay, Evotix, Home Harvest, Indigo, Lordington Park, Marine, Nurosym, Parajumpers, SaltStick, Secerna, Sovereign Cargo Ltd, SunGod, Trailfinders, YPI and Zhik, as well as all the supporters listed on their website who have helped enable the attempt.

For more, visit: https://www.seasthedayoceanrowing.com/

ENDS

Media Information:
Australian and International Media – Pip Miller PR | Mob: +61 (0) 419 681 543 | Email: [email protected]

UK Media – Sway PR – Vicky Sales | Mob: +44 (0) 7942 441170 | Email: [email protected] – Mark Hayward | Mob: +44 (0) 7731 752096 | Email: [email protected] and | Mob: +44 (0) 7726 330699 | Email: Mia Hodgkinson [email protected]

US Media – Buzzer PR – Liz Villafan, [email protected] and Dana Block, [email protected]

About Seas The Day
Seas The Day is the rowing campaign of adventurers Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne. Their mission: to inspire resilience, teamwork and courage through some of the world’s toughest endurance challenges, including rowing non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean (Peru to Australia). Their journey raises awareness and funds for The Outward Bound Trust UK.

Long before they left Peru, Jess and Miriam were experienced rowers, having met in 2022 in the Canary Islands when they were preparing for The World’s Toughest Row – previously known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – in which they rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. On that occasion, Jess’s team won the women’s event, and Miriam won the solo women’s event in a record time.

Most Pacific rowers complete just 2,800 miles to Hawaii; however, the challenge undertaken by the Seas the Day team took six months to complete, covering approximately 8,300 nautical miles from Lima to Cairns.

The duo has had to overcome many challenges along the way, including rowing up to 16 hours a day, two hours on, two hours off; eating (around 5,000 calories per day) or attempting to sleep in between cleaning the boat, checking and maintaining equipment and of course, trying to keep their water maker going.

Along the way, they navigated several shipping lanes, faced 30ft+ waves, battling blisters, salt sores, sleep deprivation, and not forgetting, close encounters with sharks, whales, dolphins, the odd turtle and a plethora of marine fish and birdlife.

Their boat, Velocity, a 9m long Rossiter Ocean 2 Rowing Boat, is laden with safety and communications equipment, 200 plus days of food, including specially formulated BetterYou vitamin sprays for each of them to help recovery between rows.

The team are also carrying other unique technologies on board to help them both recover and eat better. They are using Nurosym’s system, which utilises targeted electrical impulses via the Vagus Nerve for neuromodulation to help them maintain calmness and consistent energy, enabling peak biological performance throughout.

Additionally, the British company Home Harvest developed a special on-board growing unit, enabling a sustainable and reliable supply of nutritious leaves and microgreens throughout the row. Click here to visit blog: https://www.seasthedayoceanrowing.com/blog/pacific-row-5000-nautical-miles-rowed-birthday-100-days-at-sea

About LOST iN
LOST iN is a digital-first travel media company creating digital content, print guidebooks, and live experiences for a global community of culturally minded travellers. Since 2014, LOST iN has published award-winning travel guidebooks known for their local perspective, design-forward aesthetic, and editorial curation. Now expanding across video, audio, editorial, and social platforms, LOST iN connects audiences with the texture and rhythm of the places worth knowing, helping travelers discover the cultural beating heart of each destination. Learn more at lostin.com.