Icon: enlarge
Jasmine Harrison: The British woman set out from La Gomera in December on her more than 4,800 kilometer journey
Photo: Penny Bird / dpa
"It's the best experience you can hope for as a young person": The British Jasmine Harrison (21) was the youngest woman to row across the Atlantic by herself.
The swimming instructor from North Yorkshire arrived on Saturday after 70 days in Antigua in the Caribbean, as the organization Atlantic Campaigns announced.
Harrison set out from La Gomera in the Canary Islands in mid-December for her more than 4,800 kilometer rowing trip, with which the Englishwoman collected more than 10,000 pounds (about 11,500 euros) in donations for charitable organizations.
Her experience was a mix of "good and bad memories," but she enjoyed the chance to get away from it all, Harrison said after her arrival, according to the BBC.
"There's nothing like getting away from it all - social media, bad news, literally everything," she said.
Awake two hours, sleep two hours
According to the BBC, the crossing was not without difficulties.
Only two days before the goal, Harrison capsized once and injured her elbow.
During her unaccompanied crossing, she lived according to an unusual rhythm: she slept for two hours and then stayed awake for two hours.
Although Harrison had been almost completely isolated from the outside world for the past 70 days, she was able to speak to her mother every day on a satellite phone.
When asked what she looked forward to most when she got back on land, Harrison said, "Food, definitely food," according to the BBC.
Before Harrison, a 22-year-old American had held the record.
The 70-year-old Frank Rothwell from Oldham, England, recently made the same crossing - making him the oldest rower to have crossed the Atlantic unaccompanied.
Icon: The mirror
asc / dpa