Taking Rotary to the high seas

PICTURED: Sponsored by Rotary International, young Rotarian Jasmine Harrison is undertaking a world first solo circumnavigation of the globe aboard her 19-foot boat Numbatou.

By Dave King
Editor, Rotary magazine. Great Britain & Ireland.

By the time you read this, Yorkshire Rotarian Jasmine Harrison will be somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, bound for Mystery Island aboard her 19-foot boat Numbatou.

In January, the 25-year-old, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Thirsk, UK, set off from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for the 3,000-mile sail across the Atlantic, bound for the National Sailing Academy
in Antigua.

Those who survived the 33-day Transatlantic crossing, with its unforgiving 70-knot winds and five- to six-metre-high seas, then qualified to enter the McIntyre Mini Globe Race, which started on February 23 with a fleet of 15 yachts.

The 15-month adventure will take in stops in Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji and Darwin, before continuing on to the Cocos Islands, Mauritius, Durban, Cape Town, St Helena and Recife, before arriving back in Antigua on March 23, 2026.

Australian adventurer Don McIntyre launched the concept of this affordable ‘build it Yourself’ Mini class yachts at the start of COVID in 2019. He built one and raced it solo across the Atlantic in 2021.

We have all been dreaming about this day since 2019 when we first launched the idea and now, here we are,” said the
race organiser.

“This is a world first solo circumnavigation race in Minis, but it is much more than that. It is a rich human story, people living their dreams and proving something to themselves, and in the process inspiring many.

“To this day I am stunned with the build quality of their yachts, their determination and passion and sheer guts to have a go. I am truly proud of each and every one of these amazing skippers.”

The adventure began on December 28, 2024, when Jasmine joined 10 men and one other female sailor in Marina de Lagos, Portugal, on the first stage of the 28,000-mile solo odyssey around the world aboard ALMA Globe 580 home-built plywood 19-foot yachts for a 500-mile qualifier to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

The qualifier wasn’t without incident for Jasmine, who was hit on the head by the boom early on, but didn’t sustain a serious injury. She also required a tow into Lanzarote for the final few miles because of equipment problems in the face of tricky headwinds, though having already qualified for the trans-Atlantic race.

“This week was definitely harder than anything I’ve done before,” said Jasmine on arrival in Lanzarote – a woman who has previously rowed across the Atlantic and, at 23, became the first woman to swim the 900-mile length of the UK from Land’s End to John O’Groats, completing the feat in 109 days.

“With swimming and rowing, I know what I’m doing with that. There’s less ropes when you’re swimming!

The first night was absolutely horrific with a four-metre swell. Everything was going wrong. I was on deck, getting knocked over, slipping everywhere. I got wacked by the boom on top of my head. I am so glad I had my hat on. It was not fun. It was an ordeal.

Jasmine is being sponsored by Rotary International for her voyage, with livery on the side of the yacht and a spinnaker sail that carries the Rotary roundel. While in Lanzarote for the lay-over before the start of the Atlantic crossing, she was visited by several Rotarians, including Rotary International Director
Eve Conway.

Speaking before she left, Jasmine said: “I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been supportive on social media while I was out there. I really needed it, and I can guarantee I’ll need it to carry on. And a big shout out to my sponsors Rotary. I am feeling a lot happier.”

Jasmine has been regularly updating her progress on Facebook, describing the varied sailing conditions she is experiencing, witnessing plastic rubbish washed up in a current, and experiencing fine dining on the high seas with a spam, mayonnaise and Pringle crisp wrap!

Catch up with Jasmine in Zone 8

Young Rotary adventurer Jasmine Harrison will be visiting our shores from May to September 2025 and would love Rotary’s support. Here is her schedule for Zone 8:

• Tahiti: May 30 – June 6
• Tonga: June 21-29
• Fiji: July 4-25
• Darwin: August 24 – September 1

If you would like to support Jasmine in any way, please reach out to her mum, Susan, via contact@jasmine-harrison.com.

Find out more and follow Jasmine’s progress via:

• minigloberace.com/tracker

• facebook.com/thefulllength

• instagram.com/jasminerharrison