From waitress work to rowing across the Atlantic Ocean at age 21: Jasmine Harrison’s record breaking feat

70 days, 3 hours and 48 minutes alone, in the middle of the ocean and row 12-14 hours a day to get to your destination. Young Briton Jasmine Harrison did it: she crossed the Atlantic and broke an 11-year-old record with an excellent performance. The last to accomplish this feat alone was Ketie Spotz, who holds the title of the youngest woman to do so since 2010 after finishing it at 22 in 260 days.

The Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, organized every year in December since 1997, is a marathon race which starts on the Canary Island of La Gomera, to the Nelson shipyard in Antigua and Barbuda. In total, there are 5,500 kilometers of crossing.

The most surprising thing is that this young woman from Thirsk, in the north of England, was far from being an experienced competitor since I barely have 120 hours of rowing (the minimum required to participate in the tournament) and one year of practice.

It all started in 2017 When Harrison was there, she lived in the Caribbean Islands as a volunteer to help the victims of Hurricane Maria (one of the deadliest cyclones in the Atlantic). It was there that he heard testimonies and anecdotes from some of the athletes who had competed that year. Until there she devoted herself solely to being a children’s swimming instructor, a job that alternated with that of a waitress in a bar to survive.

From that moment his mentality changed to the point of becoming the nineteenth woman to cross an ocean only with the help of his arms and head.

Were 21 boats leaving on December 13, 2020 from the port of San Sebastián de Gomera. While some set sail as a team (up to five rowers) alone eight ships did it alone, and among them Jasmine was the only woman to do so.

With the collaboration of Shelterbox Foundation, english managed to participate in the competition after paying the registration of 21,500 euros and, from that moment, he began to live an unforgettable experience.

There were 70 long days where everything became a routine: 12 or 14 hours a day of rowing and short breaks to eat, refill your water bottle, and stretch your legs. At bedtime, he waved to make sure his boat didn’t stray from its course.

He was a journey full of stories and anecdotes, good and bad, beautiful and terrifying. Twice he was hit by a terrible wave who pulled her from her ship straight out to sea: “I don’t quite remember how it happened. A devious wave came from the side and the next thing I knew I was in the water, ”he recalls that first fall in February.

Then, 160 kilometers to reach the finish line, suffered another setback, this time damaging his elbow.

However, his greatest fear happened one month after departure. On January 17, around four in the morning, the alarm on her ship woke her up: a 227-meter-long drill ship was heading straight for her.

Harrison immediately attempted to contact them by radio without receiving a response. He tried again and again desperately until finally, at the last call, they answered and managed to change course: “I was six minutes from the collision”says the young woman.

Finally, after 70 days, 37 after the arrival of the first pair (Mark Slats and Kai Weidmer arrived in 32 days, 22 hours and 13 minutes, beating crews of up to four rowers), Jasmine Harrison was able to celebrate with a few followers, produces restrictions by the coronavirus.

There they waited for her with a banner announcing the record that he had beaten and with a luxury Bremont watch at $ 6,000. After two months of sailing, he made landfall, took a few minutes to adjust and closed his participation by eating a burger and fries.

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