Glory girls! UK rowers set record in Pacif ic epic
A TEAM of British women yesterday became the f i rst f emale rowers to cross the Pacific.
And last night they told how what should have been a six-month journey turned into a nine-month test of endurance after they were hit by bad weather and water damage.
They faced waves the size of three-storey houses, survived a tropical storm and were followed by sharks as they powered their 29ft boat 9,700 miles across the world’s largest ocean.
After surviving on dwindling supplies of freeze-dried meals and protein bars, their Cornish leader said she would know their triumph was complete when she could celebrate with a pasty.
The team, called the Coxless Crew, completed one of the toughest expeditions on Earth to secure two world records – the first all-female team and the first team of four to row the Pacific.
Weather extremes meant they were able to cook pancakes on their boat’s deck using only the heat of the sun, while on other days torrential rain and seawa- ter drenchings left them with exposure sores. But despite seasickness and physical exhaustion, they said they would miss life on board their pink craft, known as Doris.
The crew rowed as pairs in two-hour shifts to keep their boat moving constantly and slept for about 90 minutes at a time. They said they had become so sleep deprived that they occasionally nodded off while rowing. Each burned around 5,000 calories a day, equal to running two marathons.
They left San Francisco in California in April and arrived in the Australian city of Cairns in the early hours of yesterday having spent 257 days at sea. They stopped only twice, in Hawaii and Samoa, to carry out repairs, pick up supplies and swap team members.
Three members – Laura Penhaul, 32, Natalia Cohen, 40, and Emma Mitchell, 30 – rowed the entire distance while another three – Isabel Burnham, 31, Lizanne van Vuuren, 27, and Meg Dyos, 25 – rowed a leg each.
Miss Penhaul, who is originally from Cornwall but now lives in London, said their final 200 miles had been the most gruelling because they were exhausted and rowing against the current.
She said: ‘It’s been a long slog but it’s great to be here at the finish line as true friends.’
The women admitted they had occasionally argued during their epic ocean crossing but joked they probably knew each other better now than most married couples after sharing cramped quarters on the boat, which is only 7ft wide. They were raising money for two charities, Walking With The Wounded and Breast Cancer Care.