8,000 Nautical Miles Rowed, over 160 days at sea; last stretch!
Welcome to another blog! They are now approaching the first big reefs in the Coral Sea and have but 200 nautical miles to row now – give or take. They are now experiencing currents driving them South and lighter winds which makes getting North and finding a good place to cross the Great Barrier Reef a little challenging – but they have come this far and are determined to make Cairns and that Patata pizza, with prosciutto as an extra (and quite a few beers!), from the famous Salt House restaurant and bar next to Cairns Yacht Club!
After the somersault into the Coral Sea
Once the winds had normalised having gone beyond Vanuatu they clocked 70+ nautical miles a day for over three days and were flying along and enjoying the wet but perfect rowing conditions for such a heavy boat, able to surf the waves in the right direction – West!
This transition into the Coral Sea also marked another major milestone; They had rowed over 7,000 nautical miles and had but 1,000 or so to go.
Mims and Jess ( with the help of Paddington supervising) have rowed over 7,000 nautical miles.
The winds blew South Easterly for several days and their main task was to fight to keep South so that they did not end up being blown North of Cairns, or worse, end up in Papua New Guinea. Difficult rowing conditions with waves over the deck constantly soaking them.
They managed to stay on a Westerly course in spite of the difficult conditions but at a cost. They are suffering silently with flaring salt sores as they can never get fully dry and prickly heat in the hot and humid conditions that they are experiencing now.
Shipping Lanes Next
Their major next challenges were navigating the shipping lanes which run N to S about 400nm off the east coast of Australia, still with limited power, as well as the various reefs that dot the Coral Sea on the way to the Great Barrier Reef.
Several ships came very close but they made it through, and they passed nicely South of one of the larger reef systems called South Flinders reef.
On the 2nd of October they passed another major milestone; 150 days at sea. Jess rowed the Atlantic in 42 days and Miriam took just a few days more, this highlights the sheer scale of their undertaking!
Shipping lanes seen here
Seas the Day (Velocity) navigating the shipping lanes off the east coast of Australia, still with limited power, as well as the various reefs that dot the Coral Sea on the way to the Great Barrier Reef.
📜Ships Log - 7th October - 500nm to go!
We’re now on the home stretch of this epic adventure. The goal: to become the first women’s team to row non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean. It feels surreal. As we close in on Australia, we’ve been reflecting on just how wild the ride has been so far.
Getting here hasn’t been easy. Our start was delayed (thanks Peruvian customs!) and just six days in, our rudder snapped beyond repair. The spare had started to delaminate too and after desperate attempts to improvise a solution, it looked like the dream could be over.
Drifting toward international waters, we faced losing not just the row but our boat. Then came our hero: Alec Hughes, who paused his round-the-world sail to tow us 350 miles back to shore, saving the expedition.
With new rudders and a tight cyclone-season deadline, we relaunched just in time. But the ocean had more in store. Cold, cloudy skies, no tailwinds and major power issues forced us into “ghost ship” mode, with most electronics shut down. Our parents have been keeping a watch from home, tracking nearby vessels since we had no AIS alarm.
Then came water-maker failures: burst pipes, endless repairs and some days spent hand-pumping. Even our emergency unit broke, leaving us to improvise a fix for the filter with a pair of knickers. After nine pipe fixes, we finally discovered a bypass that kept us going.
The first 3,000 miles offered no following seas—just cross winds, crashing waves, seas like treacle and salt sores.
The sleep deprivation has been relentless and at times we’re rowing up to 16 hours a day. We will probably sleep like the dead when we return to land.
Mims and Jess are now on the home stretch of this epic adventure. The goal: to become the first women’s team to row non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean.
Through all of it, the ocean has given back in ways that made every hardship worth it. We’ve rowed beneath skies crowded with stars, with the Milky Way stretched overhead and shooting stars bright enough to light up the night. We’ve shared the sea with sea lions, dolphins, a sperm whale, turtles and seabirds we’ve come to know like neighbours. We grew fresh greens on board and even caught a yellowfin tuna—a feast after months of freeze-dried meals.
As we approach Australia, the thinner ozone has made the heat brutal, but at least the sun has boosted our batteries. After 6,000 miles like a ghost ship, the joy of finally switching on our chart plotter again was immense.
Now, with just 500 nautical miles left, the exhaustion is bone-deep and the lure of hot pizza never far from our minds. Yet, every challenge has made us stronger. As a good friend often reminds us: it’s not what happens that defines you, but how you respond.
This may be a pairs row, but it has never been a pairs effort. Thank you endlessly to our support team for being with us every step of the way.
To everyone who has supported us and donated to The Outward Bound Trust—thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
The Pacific has thrown plenty at us already. No doubt it has a little more in store before Australia, but we’re ready for whatever comes next and soaking in these last days at sea.
Mims and Jess x
200nm to go and the great Barrier Reef to cross
Perhaps their final big challenge will be crossing the Great Barrier Reef. At the time of writing they might enter the Eastern fringes on Friday evening, not ideal to try to cross at night so they might have to hold off and wait until Saturday morning. A family friend of Miriam’s parents, Alec, who is a local professional fisherman, has volunteered to go out and help guide them through the trickiest sections, the main problem being their power is still intermittent, and their chart plotter cannot be kept switched on all the time.
A lot of planning has gone into the crossing with Alec communicating regularly with Simon their weather router, with changing factors, particularly wind and current which can run fast near the reef. Together they have come up with what looks like a great course. Over the next couple of days, they are rowing in very strong 20+ knot winds and these are helping to drive them fast towards the reef. We hope these winds will settle by Friday 17th.
Their intended route is here:
📜Ships Log - Wednesday 15th October - Day 163
The final approach to Cairns Marina is upon us and we’re just days away from stepping on to the shores of Australia.
We’re hoping to arrive over the weekend, so do keep a look out on our tracker!
The plan will go as follows:
We’ll meet family friend Alec Dunn, a local fisherman who’s kindly offered to guide us through the Great Barrier Reef. Once safely through, we’ll then row northward on the final approach.
Just a few miles out, family, boats from the Yacht Club and we hope a bunch of sailors who are following on the Sea People App, will come to welcome us in and some of this will be live streamed on our Instagram account.
We’ll then have to head to a berth in Cairns Marlin Marina for our customs clearance and then row a short distance to the Cairns Yacht Club. Thankfully our family are sorting this out for us with the help of Cairns North Port Authority.
We’ll then anchor inside the marina and set off the celebratory flares (also live streamed) before getting ourselves tied to the dock and stepping on land, where the clock will stop on this epic adventure. After this, we’ll finally be able to scoff the long awaited for pizza. Of course we’ve already given the parents our orders!
As well as family, friends and fellow ocean rowers, we’re excited to have some of our sponsors out there to greet us, including AVA Global Logistics and associates of YPI Crew.
There will be a few live streams due to the time it takes between us rowing a few miles out, setting off flares and stepping on land so do stay tuned.
Provided we reach land without support, we’ll gain at least three Guinness world records, including the first female team to row the Pacific non-stop and unsupported.
Adventure has shaped our lives and so our mission all along was to give back and raise as much money as possible for the Outward Bound Trust.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve reached our charity fundraising target of £50,000 and so we’ve increased it to £75,000. Please all continue to share the link and help us to reach our new target, enabling the charity to change young lives.
We wanted to be able to inspire the younger generation but instead find that we are on the receiving end. Throughout the crossing, we’ve had letters to open from Southbourne Junior School and have received video messages and notes from children all over. It’s inspired us to keep pushing when things get tough and has given us that extra boost.
Once settled, we’re hoping to encourage children to come and visit us at Cairns Marina so that we can show them around our boat and share tales from the high seas.
We hope to also share our story through public speaking whilst we’re in Australia and to continue raising money for our charity. The mission doesn’t stop here.
We’re unsure how our bodies are going to react once we step back into normal life and know that it could take quite some time to fully recover both physically and mentally.
We’ve not walked for nearly 6 months and so this is going to be exhausting. We’ve used a totally different set of muscles on the boat than we’ll need on land so bad backs and sore muscles will be the norm until we regain our strength.
From experience after rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in 2022 we know that this will take a few months. In addition, we have 6 months of sleep deprivation to catch up on, and we’ll likely need a lot more than the standard 8 hours for a while.
Hopefully we’ll get some down time to relax, step away from the chaos and process the past months (and even years of preparation)!
To say we’re excited would be an understatement. Australia — we’re coming for you!
The latest weather report from Simon
164/1/5 Hi Miriam, hi Jess, 48M on 282T average since yesterday, but you’re bang on track & going quicker than that since turning the corner. Looks v sunny too, good for charging I hope.
164/2/5 Hardly any current for now. Seas are forecast to build to about 2m TONIGHT, but for now you probably have sone shelter from the reefs.
164/3/5 TONIGHT ESE/SE 15-20 inc 18-23 kts. TMW ESE/SE 18-23 kts FRI easing ESE/SE 15-20 then 12-17 SAT&SUN SE 12-17 easing 8-12 kts. MON&TUE SE/ESE 10-15 kts.
164/4/5 For now recommend 300-310T/293-313M/113-123backM. That’s a bit higher than the track between WPTs and keeps you out of more adverse current.
164/5/5 Have a look on the chart, see what you think. I’ll check back in a few hours so we can see you progress on this leg – may need to slow down! Cheerio, Simon
Shore team – what are we up to?
Family members, friends local and from afar have now arrived in cairns – almost! Miriam’s Folks were diverted to Baku in Azerbaijan (don’t ask!) and will be arriving on the 16th, 24 hours after they were supposed to arrive. The rush to get things prepared is on!
I arrived 4 days ago and Jess’ sister and boyfriend from Bali the next day. There has been little time to sleep (not helped by the jet lag). We have spent our time working on everything from ensuring that all the protocols for their arrival with customs and bio inspections are in place, to finding them a berth for Velocity, to meeting the growing team here who are helping to ensure a smooth arrival. The Cairns Yacht Club and Sea People will be out there with a flotilla. There are also media teams in America, UK and Australia ramping up for the arrival. There are also some key sponsors coming into town. It is going to be quite the party! We can’t forget the land crew in UK who continue to provide the best support to the girls.
Anyone can get in touch with us through: contact@seasthedayoceanrowing.com
A final word
After such a long journey both girls report that, while they are so close, the build-up of the extreme physical effort that they have had to put into this, and the severe sleep deprivation is now really taking a toll on them and that they are exhausted and really struggling. Their dwindling food supplies also only contain things that they find unpalatable at best. There is also an emotional element of course, as although they have had outside contact, they have been isolated from friends and family for so long that their arrival into a bustling city like Cairns might also be a bit of a shock. Having not walked anywhere for 5 months there will also likely be a long period of physical rehabilitation required. We are all here for them and thank all who have followed this incredible journey and for your continued support.
Our job now is to see them in safely.
We expect our next blog to be out in a couple of weeks to report on how their arrival unfolds. Stay tuned!
REMEMBER: You can track Mims and Jess on the homepage or on the YB Races App 📱 by searching Seas the Day.
Jess and Miriam are raising vital funds for The Outward Bound Trust, a charity helping young people get outdoors, push their limits, and grow in confidence. The team hopes to inspire the next generation to take on challenges of their own.
If you’d like to be part of their story and help Seas the Day make history with the Great Pacific Escapade, please donate.
