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One last sunrise to sunset. One more day up and down merciless swells. Another round of raw palms gripping unforgiving oars.

But after more than 8,000 nautical miles at sea – a monumental half-year voyage over the Pacific Ocean that included close encounters with whales, malfunctioning navigation equipment and sweet treat crises – the ocean presented a final test.

Strong 20-knot breezes approaching Cairns kept pushing their small vessel, the Velocity, off course from land that was now frustratingly within reach.

Friends and family waited ashore as a planned midday arrival shifted to 2pm, followed by 4pm, then twilight hours. Finally, at 6.42pm, they reached the Cairns sailing club.

"Those final few hours were brutal," Rowe expressed, eventually on solid ground.

"Gusts were driving us from the passage, and we genuinely believed we might fail. We ended up outside the channel and contemplated a final swim to land. To ultimately arrive, after extensive preparation, seems absolutely amazing."

The Monumental Voyage Commences

The English women – 28-year-old Rowe and 25-year-old Payne – departed from Lima, Peru on May fifth (an earlier April effort was stopped by equipment malfunction).

Across nearly half a year on water, they maintained 50 nautical miles daily, working as a team through daytime hours, single rower overnight while her crewmate slept just a few hours in a tight compartment.

Survival and Challenges

Kept alive with 400kg of mostly freeze-dried food, a saltwater conversion device and a vessel-based sprout cultivation system, the women counted on a less-than-reliable solar system for only partial electrical requirements.

During most of their voyage over the enormous Pacific, they lacked directional instruments or signaling devices, making them essentially invisible, hardly noticeable to maritime traffic.

The duo faced nine-meter waves, navigated shipping lanes and weathered furious gales that, on occasion, silenced all of their electronics.

Historic Accomplishment

Yet they continued paddling, stroke by relentless stroke, during intensely warm periods, under star-filled night skies.

They established a fresh milestone as the first all-female pair to paddle over the South Pacific, non-stop and unsupported.

And they have raised more than £86,000 (179,000 Australian dollars) supporting Outward Bound.

Existence Onboard

The pair did their best to keep in contact with the world away from their compact craft.

Around day one-forty, they declared a "cocoa crisis" – diminished to merely two remaining pieces with over 1,000 miles remaining – but granted themselves the pleasure of unwrapping a portion to honor England's rugby team winning the Rugby World Cup.

Individual Perspectives

Payne, from a landlocked part of Yorkshire, had not been at sea before her solo Atlantic crossing in 2022 achieving record pace.

She now has a second ocean conquered. However there were instances, she admitted, when they feared they wouldn't make it. Beginning on the sixth day, a path over the planet's biggest sea appeared insurmountable.

"Our electrical systems were diminishing, the water-maker pipes burst, however following multiple fixes, we accomplished a workaround and barely maintained progress with minimal electricity throughout the remaining journey. Whenever issues arose, we just looked at each other and went, 'of course it has!' But we kept going."

"Having Jess as a partner proved invaluable. The remarkable aspect was our collaborative effort, we problem-solved together, and we consistently shared identical objectives," she stated.

Rowe originates from Hampshire. Preceding her ocean conquest, she paddled the Atlantic, trekked England's coastal trail, ascended Mount Kenya and pedaled across Spanish terrain. There might still be more.

"We had such a good time together, and we're enthusiastically preparing additional journeys together as well. No other partner would have sufficed."