British rowers smash Atlantic female pair record

Two British rowers who had never before taken on the open ocean have smashed the Atlantic world record for a female pair.

Jess Smiles, from north Devon, and Beth Murphy, from Dorking, Surrey, both aged 30, crossed the finish line in Antigua on 21 January after rowing 3,000 miles (4,800km) from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, in 38 days, 12 hours and 18 minutes.

The pair, competing as Team Atlantic Highway, beat the previous women's pairs record by almost a full week, according to organisers the World's Toughest Row.

Smiles and Murphy, who were raising money for the charity The Wave Project, were among 114 rowers in 43 teams attempting the crossing.

Environmental consultant Murphy and Smiles, who works in tourism, met while rowing at Swansea University, where they became close friends.

Murphy said she had dreamed of doing the Atlantic row for years and asked Smiles to join her, only to discover Smiles had secretly wanted to take it on too.

The toughest part for both came soon after the start, when they were still trying to figure out how to live and work together in such a cramped, stressful space, they said.

Murphy also struggled with seasickness, exhaustion and eating, saying she sometimes managed only a few hundred calories a day when the target was 4,000.

The pair joked they stopped only three times, including once to watch dolphins glowing in the moonlight.

"We were very focused on rowing our best and really wanted a good showing against the other female crews in the race," said Murphy.

"But about halfway across we realised that not only were we leading the women's race, but we were on track for the world record.

"Naturally, we started pushing even harder."

They said their bold decision to take a more southerly route may have helped, even though it meant rowing further.

They both said they had never considered giving up, even when their bodies started to seize up in the final days.

"We finished in the dark, which was very, very special, but it also meant you were even more disorientated," said Smiles.

"It was a great reception, but also very overwhelming. We're still trying to process what happened."

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