The physical and mental challenges have been immense, the setbacks numerous. The pair have endured searingly hot days and chilly nights and dealt with debilitating blisters and salt sores.<\/p>\n
They have been faced with a series of equipment failures (using a pair of underpants to fix one crucial bit of kit) and there was a pretty tense moment when they feared a pair of curious marlins swimming under their boat might pierce their hull.<\/p>\n
Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe, who are two-thirds of the way through an 8,000-mile row across the Pacific<\/a> from Peru to Australia, are weary \u2013 but relishing the experience.<\/p>\n A video loop of the women rowing in the ocean<\/a>Payne and Rowe crossing the Pacific ocean on their 30ft long boat, the Velocity.<\/p>\n Speaking to the Guardian via satellite phone at a dawn shift change \u2013 they do two hours on, two off during the night \u2013 Rowe said: \u201cI\u2019m very tired, I won\u2019t lie. It\u2019s just so hard to wake up for your shift. We\u2019re both not even hearing our alarms any more. They go off for 10 or 15 minutes and then whoever\u2019s rowing has to wake the other. It\u2019s pretty tough. Apart from the sleep deprivation, we\u2019re loving it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rowe, 28, from Hampshire,<\/a> and Payne, 26, from East Yorkshire<\/a>, are veterans of Atlantic rows and met, appropriately, at the Blue Marlin bar in La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, a haunt for ocean adventurers, where they hatched the plan to tackle the Pacific.<\/p>\n If they succeed they will become the first women\u2019s team and the first pair to row the Pacific non-stop and unsupported.<\/p>\n They have been out for more than 100 days \u2013 and reckon they have about 60 left. Rowe said: \u201cWe\u2019ve reached the point where we\u2019ve got a similar distance to an Atlantic to row. We\u2019ve both rowed the Atlantic, so we\u2019re like: \u2018it\u2019s OK, we\u2019ve just got an Atlantic left.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n They have fallen in love with the Pacific. Rowe said: \u201cEverybody thinks that perhaps we\u2019re in massive storms every day and we\u2019re facing 30ft waves. It\u2019s not always like that. We\u2019ve had so many days when it\u2019s been flat calm. The Pacific \u2013 the peaceful one.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about rowing that\u2019s meditative. You don\u2019t really think about it, you go into a rhythm. I think it also helps having the most amazing 360-degree view and all the night skies and the sunsets.\u201d<\/p>\n Payne and Rowe spent months organising the trip, from finding and refurbishing their 30ft-long boat Velocity to vacuum-packing hundreds of meals.<\/p>\n The rowers have been in their boat for more than 100 days \u2013 and reckon they have about 60 left. Photograph: Seas The Day Ocean Rowing<\/p>\n Getting enough nutrition is vital. They need to take on 5,000 calories a day. \u201cWe really miss fresh fruit and vegetables,\u201d Rowe said. \u201cWe are craving things like mangoes and carrots. We\u2019re pretty fed up of the freeze-dried and dehydrated food.\u201d<\/p>\n They have solar panels but getting enough power has been a struggle; they had to use a pair of Calvin Klein underpants to replace a lost filter on a fresh water maker. Unsurprisingly, fresh water and reliable power are two things they look forward to.<\/p>\n Despite the setbacks, they still get on well. \u201cYou can get to know each other and spend as much time together as possible before, but you never know what can happen out here,\u201d said Rowe. \u201cBut we\u2019re both pretty relaxed personalities. We\u2019ve both listened to each other\u2019s opinions on things and we\u2019re already planning a holiday together afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The pair jump into the water every four days to clean the hull and keep the boat as streamlined as possible. They look forward to these dips as it\u2019s the most they\u2019re able to stretch out and follow it up with a wash with fresh water and clean clothes \u2013 a real treat. There is no toilet onboard \u2013 it is a \u201cbucket and chuck it\u201d situation.<\/p>\n As well as the marlins, they have spotted a sperm whale and plenty of shark fins. They enjoyed a hitchhiker joining them \u2013 a masked booby seabird, probably from the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands \u2013 and do not get bored of the sight of phosphorescence in the wake.<\/p>\n