Cambridge woman completes epic solo row from Europe to South America

Cambridge: A 21-year-old student has made history. Zara Lachlan is the youngest woman to row solo from Europe to South America. She started her journey from Lagos, Portugal, on October 27 last year. After 97 days, she reached French Guiana.

Zara graduated from Loughborough University and plans to join the Army as a technical officer. During her trip, she faced many challenges. She dealt with a cut leg, an injured arm, and a broken finger. Her boat capsized, and she had equipment failures.

She said the last week was tough. Zara felt close to her destination but couldn’t see it until she was five miles away. When she arrived, fishermen from Brazil cheered for her, confused but supportive.

Her journey lasted 97 days, nine hours, and 20 minutes. She was just 19 hours shy of the solo row speed record. Zara packed 800kg of supplies, including meals and snacks for her daily intake of 5,500 calories.

At first, she struggled and felt lost. But she enjoyed every day, even the hard ones. On day 40, she broke her phone screen, leaving her without music. She rowed for 16 hours daily, often just listening to the water.

She had a close call with a ship that missed her by just 0.1 miles. The ship didn’t have its radio on. Zara learned to be kinder to herself during this journey. She realized that sometimes, you can’t control the weather or the outcome.

Now, she plans to return to university and resume her normal rowing training. Zara has been fundraising for the Team Forces Foundation and Women in Sport during her adventure. She thanked Team Forces for their support, saying she couldn’t have done it without them.