Jasmine Harrison is now the youngest woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean at 21-years-old. From Thirsk in North Yorkshire, Jasmine is a part-time swimming teacher and a bartender. She decided to sign up for the Talisker Whisky Atlantic challenge after having watched the finale of the 2017 event. Three years later she began her 3000–mile (4,828km) journey from the Canary Islands in December.
When asked about her daring challenge, she said that it had been a mix of “good and bad memories”, and added that the chance to escape from day-to-day life was something she relished. “There’s nothing like it, actually getting away from everything–social media, bad news, from literally everything,”she said. Whilst the 21–year-old was relatively cut off from the world, she had a satellite phone as a means of communication which she used to call her mother everyday during her 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes journey.
The young rower explained she would row for two hours and sleep for two hours on rotation during a crossing that was not without its challenges. She capsized two days before the finishing line. Fortunately, she was safe and the boat and key equipment were not damaged, but the incident left her with an elbow injury.
Jasmine was instructed to take pain relief medication by the Safety Officer, but was still able to row. Despite the difficulties, when the young rower docked in Antigua, Caribbean, she described the experience as “amazing “ and “everything I wanted it to be”.
The swimming teacher managed to not only break records, but to also raise more than £10,000 for charity. The record of the youngest female solo ocean rower was previously held by 22-year-old Katie Spots in 2010. She rowed the Atlantic from January 3rd to March 14th.
Positive World Online 