SEAS THE DAY
The brand offers its sincere congratulations to Mariam Payne and Jess Rowe after they become the first team to row the Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported.
165 days. Nearly 6 months. 8,213 nautical miles. With their Seas the Day challenge, Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe have now achieved the impossible: become the first team to row the Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported. That means they’ve travelled from Lima, Peru, to Cairns, Australia, using no sails and no motors – just 15-hour stints of brutal physical endurance aboard Velocity, their 9-metre rowing boat, where the two had to eat 5,000 calories a day to keep up with the effort.
It was a gruelling, unprecedented feat. More people have walked in space than have rowed across the Pacific Ocean, and to do so means enduring salt sores, “ghost-ship” electrical blackouts and 30-foot waves, as well as sleep deprivation, extreme weather conditions and intense mental and physical stress.
But there was nobody more suited to the job than Miriam and Jess, who met during an earlier challenge on the Atlantic Ocean (where the former won the female solo race record). Seasoned adventurers, the women have scaled some of the world’s most fearsome mountains – but it’s always the sea that keeps calling them back. “The serenity of the open ocean is indescribable; there's a unique quality that's hard to put into words,” says Miriam.
As they reached shore, the two reflected on the magnitude of their accomplishment, the difficulties of their final approach, and the warm reception awaiting them in Cairns. “We still can’t quite believe it’s real. After so many days at sea, to finally see land, and the welcome we’ve had here in Cairns, is beyond words,” said Jess.
It is this tenacity and fearlessness that drew Parajumpers to support the duo. Providing outerwear and other gear to help them on their quest, Parajumpers saw in them the encapsulation of its motto “For your journey” – a paean to courage. The pioneering spirit of these two women aligns perfectly with Parajumpers’ belief in empowering female adventurers to continue breaking records and defying limits. Now, the Parajumpers team wants to extend its heartfelt congratulations to Miriam, Jess and those who worked with them to realise their dream.