Jasmine Harrison, the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, relished the freedom and independence of life at sea. The 21-year-old swimming teacher from Thirsk in North Yorkshire
was inspired to participate in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge after she came across a similar race in 2018. The British woman took her 70-day journey in the stride. She would row for two hours and sleep for two hours on rotation. Harrison was cut off from the world but was able to speak to her mother every day with the help of a satellite phone.
During a conversation with The Guardian, Harrison was asked what she was keen for after landing on the dry land. She answered, "Food, definitely food." She began in Spain's La Gomera in the Canary Islands and docked in Antigua on Saturday, completing the 3,000-mile journey in 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes. Normally, people rely on ration packs on these long journeys. However,contrary to that, Harrison lived off biscuits and chocolate. “I think I ate 40kg of chocolate,” she was quoted as saying.
She preferred to row in a long 12-hour shift and choose to avoid rowing in the rain. In between, she took short breaks to eat, stretch and clean the boat before watching the sunset. A part-time swimming teacher and bartender, she would take a nap and row again in the dark ahead of a longer sleep. With about 100 miles to go, Harrison experienced a setback when her boat capsized. She badly injured her left elbow and informed her safety officer. She was determined to make the journey, on her own terms, opting to do it solo. Harrison felt relieved from the stresses of Covid, far from feeling isolated. Along her route, she got to meet a vast array of wildlife including a few whales, triggerfish, a striped marlin, a pod of dolphins, and pilot fish that swam under her boat.
Harrison held up smoke signals upon approaching landfall, sporting a British flag once ashore. She rowed her way into the record books and even raised more than £10,000 for charity. Before Harrison, the previous youngest female solo ocean rower was American Katie Spotz. She crossed the Atlantic in 2010 from east-to-west at the age of 22. Lukas Haitzmann was the youngest person to make the crossing in 2019 at the age of 18. Harrison has so far reached a total of over £16,000, raising money for ShelterBox and Blue Marine foundation.