Hermitage woman speaks of pride after record-breaking Pacific Ocean row

Lizanne Van Vuuren rowed 3,000 miles with the crew completing the second leg of the expedition

AFTER 257 days at sea and rowing 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean, an all-female team arrived in Australia on Monday to complete their record-breaking journey.

And Hermitage’s Lizanne Van Vuuren, 27, has spoken of her pride at completing more than 3,000 miles of the epic feat in the second leg between Hawaii and Samoa.

Miss Van Vuuren’s leg came to an end in October when the 29ft boat, Doris, reached Samoa, and her mum Adri and dad Sarel travelled from Hermitage to welcome her to shore.

She said: “It was a mix of bittersweet emotions for me when we reached Samoa.

“I was incredibly excited to see my family who were waiting for us at the harbour, and very relieved as we were in quite a lot of pain.

“Knowing however that my part in the journey was coming to an end was sad. I had become so used to sharing such a small space with these girls and I knew that I would miss them.”

Adri said: “When she first told us about taking part we were all just terrified. We just couldn’t understand the scale and magnitude of all of it.

“But it was a fantastic feeling, just fantastic elation at seeing that tiny boat come in to Samoa.

“I was so excited to see her and the rest of the crew come in – we were so proud.”

Miss Van Vuuren, who grew up in the West Berkshire village after her family moved from South Africa when she was nine, battled seasickness, sunburn, exhaustion and sleep deprivation during her 97 days at sea.

However, the former Brockhurst and Marlston House primary school student, who had never rowed before signing up to the event, said the experience was as rewarding as it was challenging and helped to form unbreakable bonds with the rest of the crew.

She said: “Being out on the ocean for three months felt like being on a completely different planet.

“We were encapsulated in our own little bubble. It was hot, our skin was constantly covered in salt, sweat or sunscreen and we faced some of the worst currents the Pacific has had in years.

“We saw the most incredible sights – shooting stars, millions of glowing jellyfish passing at night, whales, dolphins, sharks, sunrises and sunsets.”

The Coxless Crew left San Francisco in April last year with a total of six crew members taking part in the Pacific Ocean row which set two world records – the first all-female team and the first team of four to row the Pacific.

Three permanent members – Laura Penhaul, Natalia Cohen, Emma Mitchell – completed the whole challenge, while a further three members each completed a separate leg – Isabel Burnham, Lizanne and Meg Dyos.

The crew adopted a two-hours on and two-hours off rowing pattern for 24 hours a day.

They survived on freeze-dried meals, protein bars, chocolate and fruit or nuts, consuming 5,000 calories a day.

The expedition also raised money for the charities Walking with the Wounded and Breast Cancer Care. For more information or to donate visit http://coxlesscrew.com/