A year on the waves

PICTURED: Jasmine arrived at Thursday Island on 15 August.

Mini Globe Race competitor and Rotary ambassador Jasmine Harrison is currently sailing solo from Thursday Island to Cocos (Keeling) Islands in her 19-foot Rotary-branded yacht Numbatou, more than halfway through her world traverse.

Words Sarah Atkins. President, No Borders Rotaract

WHEN we last caught up with Jasmine Harrison, she was 7,000 miles into her globe-spanning adventure, on her way to the Marquesas islands.

Now on leg three of the Mini Globe Race, en route to Cape Town, Jasmine enjoyed a month-long stopover in Fiji, which completed leg two of the race. The novice sailor, who set off from Portugal in December, has now sailed more than halfway around the world, over 12,000 nautical miles.

Since the first qualifying leg, Jasmine says she has learnt so much. On arriving in Fiji she said, “I really wish I could redo that exact passage, everything again, but now with my experience and knowing the boat and knowing what I’m doing slightly more. It was a horrendous passage no matter how experienced you are but is now a world away. There’s two different people in those
six months.”

The Mini Globe Race is yet another challenge of a lifetime for the young Yorkshire adventurer, a member of the Rotary Club of Thirsk, UK, with exciting pitstops in the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti and Tonga, following in the footsteps of fellow Yorkshireman Captain James Cook.

PICTURED: The Mini Globe Race competitors were given a ceremonial send off from Fiji, with Warriors, singing, flower necklaces, lots of hugs and a few tears

Jasmine is sailing single-handed, racing against 14 other international sailors, and is one of only two female competitors. She is the youngest to take part in the race and celebrated her 26th birthday on the ocean during the second leg of her journey.

The second leg, which took her across the Pacific Ocean, saw her becalmed and even going backwards through the doldrums, crossing the Equator, sharing her boat with Booby birds near the Galapagos Islands, battling fierce squalls, high winds and waves, being becalmed before Fiji with dolphins and finally passing the notorious Cloudbreak reef to enter Fiji in the dark, where she was greeted by a traditional Fijian choir on the dockside.

At each port, Jasmine has been supported by members of Rotary. Chapters from Panama to Papeete have hosted the daring young sailor, providing well-earned food and sightseeing tours during her refuelling breaks.

As well as her love of the sea and sense of personal achievement, Jasmine puts a lot of emphasis on doing good with the platforms these accomplishments have given her. As a Rotary member and ambassador, she is spreading the message of Rotary’s work across the globe and plans to use her current journey to fundraise for ShelterBox and End Polio Now.

“This is a personal challenge for me,” she says. “But I also want to show what Rotary is really like. Rotary is for anybody, for the young and for women
as well.”

Jasmine has well-documented her journey across the seas, with twice-weekly social media posts detailing her hardships but also thanking her many followers, who are inspired by her courage and determination.

PICTURED: A member of the Rotary Club of Thirsk, UK, Jasmine is being sponsored on her epic adventure by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland; stocking up on supplies for leg three of the race.

“It works two ways,” she says. “I’m equally inspired by the commitment of my sponsors and by members of clubs and organisations, and by followers across the world who message to say they have been inspired to swim daily in the sea or walk after illness.”

Jasmine says it is her followers that keep her strong over the long, lonely days at sea and she often responds to comments individually.

The start of leg three, from Fiji to Thursday Island through the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef, saw its fair share of challenges, with big swells, winds around 25 knots, gusting to 35 knots, and little sleep.

After a five-day break on Thursday Island, Jasmine is now en route to Cape Town, some 7,500 miles away!

From Cape Town, the remaining leg of the race will take Jasmine to Recife and then Recife back to Antigua by March 2026, with pit stops along the way, sailing around 24,000 nautical miles in total.

Follow Jasmine’s adventures at: facebook.com/thefulllength