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A final 24-hour stretch. Another day battling through the pitiless slide. One more day of blistered hands holding onto unyielding oars.

Yet after traversing 8,000+ sea miles on the water – an extraordinary 165-day expedition across the Pacific that included close encounters with whales, failing beacons and sweet treat crises – the waters delivered a last obstacle.

Strong 20-knot breezes approaching Cairns kept pushing their small vessel, their rowing boat Velocity, off course from land that was now achingly close.

Friends and family waited ashore as a planned midday arrival evolved into afternoon, then 4pm, then dusk. At last, at eighteen forty-two, they came alongside Cairns Yacht Club.

"Those last hours tested every fiber," Rowe stated, eventually on solid ground.

"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 thought we might have to swim to shore. To finally be here, after extensive preparation, just feels incredible."

The Extraordinary Expedition Starts

The English women – Rowe is 28 and Payne 25 – pushed off from Lima, Peru on May fifth (an earlier April effort was halted by steering issues).

Over 165 days at sea, they averaged 50 nautical miles a day, paddling together in daylight, single rower overnight while her partner rested a bare handful of hours in a tight compartment.

Survival and Challenges

Kept alive with 400kg of mostly freeze-dried food, a seawater purification system and a vessel-based sprout cultivation system, the duo depended upon an unpredictable photovoltaic arrangement for limited energy demands.

For much of their journey over the enormous Pacific, they operated without navigation tools or signaling devices, turning them into a "ghost ship", hardly noticeable to maritime traffic.

The women endured 30-foot swells, crossed commercial routes and weathered furious gales that, at times, disabled all electrical systems.

Record-Breaking Achievement

Still they maintained progress, each pull following the last, during intensely warm periods, below stellar evening heavens.

They achieved an unprecedented feat as the initial female duo to paddle over the South Pacific, continuously and independently.

Additionally they collected more than £86,000 (A$179,000) for the Outward Bound Trust.

Existence Onboard

The duo made every effort to stay connected with society away from their compact craft.

During the 140s of their journey, they declared a "cocoa crisis" – reduced to their final two portions with still more than 1,600km to go – but permitted themselves the luxury of breaking one open to mark the English squad's triumph in global rugby competition.

Personal Reflections

Payne, hailing from inland Yorkshire, had not been at sea until she rowed the Atlantic solo in 2022 in a record time.

She has now mastered another ocean. However there were instances, she acknowledged, when they doubted their success. As early as day six, a path over the planet's biggest sea appeared insurmountable.

"Our power was dropping, the desalination tubes ruptured, but after nine repairs, we achieved an alternative solution and just limped along with little power for the rest of the crossing. Whenever issues arose, we merely made eye contact and went, 'of course it has!' Still we persevered."

"Jess made an exceptional crewmate. The remarkable aspect was our collaborative effort, we addressed challenges collectively, and we perpetually pursued common aims," she remarked.

Rowe originates from Hampshire. Prior to her Pacific success, she paddled the Atlantic, trekked England's coastal trail, scaled the Kenyan peak and biked through Spain. There might still be more.

"We had such a good time together, and we're eagerly anticipating future expeditions together as well. Another teammate wouldn't have worked."