Adventurers reach South Pacific after epic row

A group of female adventurers rowing across the Pacific were days from running out of food when they reached land after more than three months at sea.

The adventurers arrived in Samoa after rowing from Hawaii. Image by mikigroup / CC BY 2.0

The women, named the Coxless Crew, arrived in Samoa on Sunday, 96 days after setting out from Hawaii for the second leg of their 8,446-mile ocean crossing.

The quartet had expected to reach the South Pacific island at the end of August, but setbacks in a notoriously difficult stretch of the ocean where the winds die away left them weeks behind schedule.

Despite loading up Doris, their pink rowing boat, with extra provisions, the crew had two or three days of food left by the time they arrived in Apia, Samoa’s capital.

After rowing 2,262 nautical miles, pulling the oars in pairs for two hours at a time, they were welcomed to Samoa by the Gaualofa, a traditional twin-hulled Samoan sailing canoe, which escorted them past reefs to the harbour entrance where local canoeists gave them a guard of honour to their mooring.

As they stepped gingerly on to solid land for the first time since July, the four women – Laura Penhaul, Natalia Cohen, Emma Mitchell and Lizanne van Vuuren – were given garlands of flowers.

During the second stage of their journey they faced heavy storms and huge waves, as well as coming across humpback whales and a shark they named “Fernando” which followed their boat.

The women also had to cope with relentless heat, in conditions that allowed them to cook pancakes on deck just from the sun’s rays, using a postcard to flip them.

The Coxless Crew (left to right) Laura Penhaul, Natalia Cohen, Emma Mitchell and Lizanne van Vuuren on dry land before they set off for Samoa. Image by Sarah Moshman/Losing Sight of Shore/PA Wire

Ms Penhaul, 32, from London, said: “Our arrival reception in Apia was mind blowing. We could not have had a more perfect welcome if we had planned it ourselves.”

Ms Cohen, 40, also from the capital, said: “We were adorned with garlands and flower crowns and then wobbled unsteadily to the Fishing Club where they had organised a traditional Samoan breakfast.

“It was all a little overwhelming. We received the most moving welcome speech by the Honorary UK Consul, Brenda Heather Latu, who actually managed to move all of us to tears with her beautiful and humbling words.”

The women will rest for a week and replenish supplies before embarking on the final leg of their expedition, the 2,810-mile stretch to Cairns in north-east Australia, a journey they hope to complete in 45 days.

The crew will change as Ms van Vuuren, 26, will be replaced by Meg Dyos, 24, an estate agent from London.

Ms van Vuuren said: “I can’t quite believe my time on the Pacific is over. The thing I will miss far beyond the wildlife and amazing night sky, or sunrises, is the unity we’ve developed within the team. It has bonded us far beyond what I had imagined.”

The Coxless Crew started out from San Francisco on April 20 and aim to be the first female team and first four-person team to row the Pacific, raising money for Breast Cancer Care and Walking With The Wounded.

(Press Association)