{"id":111021,"date":"2025-12-24T08:16:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T08:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/?p=111021"},"modified":"2025-12-25T02:45:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T02:45:24","slug":"top-expeditions-of-2025-7-the-first-womans-team-to-row-the-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/top-expeditions-of-2025-7-the-first-womans-team-to-row-the-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Expeditions of 2025 – #7: The First Woman’s Team to Row the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year, Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe became the first all-female team to row nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. Starting in Lima, Peru, the British pair rowed 15,210km across the open ocean and landed in Cairns, Australia, 165 days later.<\/p>\n

From the beginning, equipment failure and technical issues bedeviled the crossing. Only days after launching in April, their rudder failed completely, forcing them to abandon the attempt and catch a tow back to Lima. The setback cost them almost four weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was particularly worrying,\u201d they told ExplorersWeb, \u201cbecause we needed to depart by a specific date to avoid the Australian hurricane season.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also triggered a financial scramble, as their spare rudder showed the same issue: \u201cPeel ply left inside the rudder during construction allowed the foam core to expand and split the structure,\u201d the pair explained.<\/p>\n

New rudders had to be manufactured in the UK and flown to Peru at high cost.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Seas the Day<\/p><\/div>\n

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Problems, problems<\/h2>\n

When they relaunched in early May, the problems continued almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had problems with virtually every piece of equipment on board,\u201d they admitted.<\/p>\n

Their pipes of their electric watermaker burst, then the emergency watermaker failed, and they ended up replacing the filter with a pair of knickers. Soon after that, their electrical system began hemorrhaging power.<\/p>\n

The power issues impacted the entire expedition. For almost the whole crossing, Payne and Rowe were forced into what they described as \u201cghost-ship mode.\u201d Their batteries drained so fast that they had to shut down all non-essential systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne by one, we had to shut everything down,\u201d they said. \u201cNo AIS, no VHF radio, no chart plotter, no navigation lights, and even our radar reflector was turned off.\u201d<\/p>\n

They generated just enough electricity to briefly run the watermaker and charge their Garmin inReach to stay in contact with their safety officer and weather router. At times, even the autopilot failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were frequent occasions when we had to go completely dead ship and navigate using the stars or [the direction of] the wind on a small flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

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