Non-stop Pacific Ocean row halted after heavy storm damages boat

Two women who are attempting to row non-stop across the Pacific Ocean have been forced to turn back after eight days after their boat was damaged in heavy storms.

Miriam Payne, from East Yorkshire, and Jess Rowe, from Hampshire, set off from Lima in Peru on 8 April to sail the 8,000 miles (12,875km) to Australia.

However, after experiencing “steering issues”, the pair realised the rudder of their boat, Velocity, had “completely snapped”.

The crew – both in their twenties – decided, for safety reasons, to return to Lima to get the boat repaired but vowed to get “back out on to the water as soon as possible.”

Miss Payne, from Market Weighton, met Miss Rowe in Antigua at the finish line of the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge in February 2023. Miss Rowe completed the challenge in a team of four.

They are trying to make history as the first women’s team and the first pair to row the entire Pacific non-stop and unsupported.

After setting off from Peru, the crew recorded daily video diaries to document their progress at sea.

Everything had been going to plan until they hit heavy storms just 300 nautical miles into their journey and realised their boat had mechanical problems.

Ms Rowe said: “Mim has just spotted that the rudder had been completely snapped.”

Ms Payne tried to fix the problem but said in the video: “We were a bit worried as we were having steering issues and we cannot figure it out and we had looked and we didn’t notice the rudder was broken.”

On closer inspection, the 25-year-old said: “The rudder was clambering about like a wet fish.”

The rudder had broken in four places and, although they had a spare on board, it was decided it would be safer to return to land to fit a replacement.

Ms Rowe, 28, said it was “disaapointing to have to turn around” and added it was the “smart, though hard, decision to make.”

Once the boat, Velocity, is repaired, they will set off again for the Australian coast.

The trip will take up to six months and the women will need to consume 5,000 calories daily to row, rest, fix the vessel and eat.

The team, called Seas the Day, are raising money for The Outward Bound Trust, a UK charity that aims to teach children important life skills for adventure.