18 October 2025:
Welcome back to Maritime Maunder. We were planning on a different subject for today's post, but a really monumental event occurred just today which we thought was not only timely, but truly amazing; two women just completed rowing from Peru to Cairns Australia. Here are the details from the British Guardian.
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Six months in a rowboat in the South Pacific Ocean might sound like a nightmare.
The pair say they are keen for a “long-awaited pizza” when they arrive at Cairns Marlin Marina, which is expected to be any time between noon and 2pm AEST on Saturday. There, they will face the next physical challenge of regaining their “land legs”.
Their final approach to Queensland, Australia is proving as challenging as the crossing. Originally bound for Brisbane, stubborn headwinds forced a course change in August.
They are now navigating a new route, requiring guidance from Cairns fisher Alec Dunn, to weave through islands and the Great Barrier Reef.
Buoyed by letters from schoolchildren in their final approach, the duo credit their success to “stubborn determination from start to finish” during their time “spent in the wild in our teeny tiny rowing boat”.
But for British women Jess Rowe, 28, and Miriam Payne, 25, the blisters and salt sores are all just part of the adventure of a lifetime, as they row from South America to Australia in their 9 metre vessel, Velocity.
The aptly named Rowe and Payne are now approaching [ed: they finished this morning in Australia!] the finish line of what has been at times a torturous journey, with the pair expected to arrive in the city of Cairns in tropical far north Queensland at about midday local time on Saturday.
“Mother Nature has been utterly brutal at times but ultimately, she let us pass and we have loved our time living at sea,” Rowe and Payne tell the Guardian.
The pair pushed off from Lima, Peru, in May after an initial April attempt was cut short by rudder failure. Since their successful relaunch, they have rowed with calloused hands around the clock, averaging 50 nautical miles daily. By the end of their trip they will have rowed an estimated 8,300 nautical miles (15,300 km) while raising money for the Outward Bound Trust.
Their survival kit includes 400kg of food, 80% of it freeze-dried, “salty” the water desalinator, “dumpy” the loo bucket and, when a critical pipe failed, a pair of cut up underwear for repairs. A supply of leaves and micro greens are also harvested from an onboard growing unit, and occasionally they catch a fish on the line.
From a cramped rowing station (also know as “the office”), they have faced down 30ft waves, navigated shipping lanes and battled storms that silenced their electronics. They have persisted under star-filled skies and had close encounters with sharks, whales, dolphins, turtles, sea lions and birdlife.
The sun is a crucial ally, providing energy via solar panels. A system fault that led to the onboard solar-powered batteries discharging too quickly was a critical challenge.
Overnight, they switch out every two hours, sleeping in shifts inside their small cabin while the other rows, using lightweight towels for bedding.
Nick Rowe, Jess’s dad, says they have to be extremely cautious with power, especially since the electrical systems run their vital water generator.
For much of the journey, the rowers had to switch off most other electronics due to the battery failure, including the chartplotter – a navigation device – and the beacon that alerts passing ships. This turned their rowboat into a “ghost ship,” adding constant manual navigation and lookout to their already exhausting schedule.
Once settled in Cairns, they want to invite children to visit them in the local marina for tours and hear “tales of the high seas”.
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What an amazing accomplishment - though why someone would do that quite escapes me! But they made it this morning, arriving in Cairns in the dark to a richly deserved welcome from thousands of fans. As mentioned in the body of the post, they were raising money for a cause, Outward Bound Trust. Their initial goal was $50,000 but they raised it twice, bringing in, at the end, nearly $100,000! Well done, ladies. You are toughed than most of us!
Until next time, stay safe.
Fair winds,
Old Salt
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