England's Jasmine Harrison, 21, becomes youngest woman to row solo across an ocean
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All Jasmine Harrison wanted to do was go it alone. She wound up making history in the process.
The 21-year-old from the landlocked town of Thirsk, England, set a world record as the youngest female to row solo across any ocean β 70 days, 3 hours and 48 minutes β by finishing the 2020 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge on Saturday, according to organizer Atlantic Campaigns.
Harrison's traverse began in Spain and ended 3,000 miles away in Antigua. She lit a pair of flares as she cruised into the harbor.
A Twitter account that tracked her journey posted: "A near collision with a drilling ship, two capsizes, lots of peanut butter and Nutella consumed, visits from dolphins and a world record."
Happening to be in Antigua for the finish of the the 2018 challenge planted the seed for such a feat in Harrison's mind, she wrote on her personal website. While traveling through Europe a year later, she made the official decision she would try.
"Especially because then I could be the youngest solo female to ever row an ocean and try and inspire more young people, particularly girls to just give something a go," she wrote. "The more it scares you the more achievement you can gain. Anxiety is now such a common thing over some of the smallest of tasks, I would be lying if I wasn't scared to do this knowing all the daunting obstacles that I will face, so I am asking support from everybody so that confidence boosting can be a universal normalised (sic) compliment.
"I enjoy travelling by myself because I see so many rewards. If you want to do something NOW is the time; I'm seizing this opportunity to go solo!"
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.