Three years ago, aged 18, Jasmine Harrison sat on the stone of the 300-year-old fort guarding English Harbour, the wind in her face, and watched a pair of rowers navigate the buoys marking the finish of their 3,000-mile ultimate endurance row across the Atlantic.
She felt their euphoria as they raised their victory flares high, sensed their personal triumph, and looked on as their cheers were lost in the sound of super-yacht horns blasting a welcome. And she decided in that incredible, emotionally charged moment to do this: to row solo across the Atlantic.
A few hours after crossing the finish line, Jasmine closed the circle and returned to Fort Berkeley to reflect on her three-year journey, at the spot where it all began.
She did it. She made a decision and saw it through: Jasmine holds her flares aloft to celebrate her incredible achievement - inspiring a surge of international literary applause.
A world record against the odds
Jasmine made history in a world in the grip of a pandemic, becoming the youngest woman to row solo across any ocean, spending 70 days alone at sea. (Well, not alone if you count her mascot Wilson.) A massive, life changing triumph. But what makes this story stand out for me, is what happened when Jasmine stepped ashore. When the world discovered the J-Factor.
FEBRUARY 20 2021: Today Jasmine Harrison, a 21-year-old from North Yorkshire, set a new world record for the youngest female solo rower to row any ocean after completing the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Jasmine from team Rudderly Mad crossed the 3,000 mile Atlantic in 70 days, 3 hours and 48 minutes and raised over £11K for Shelterbox & Blue Marine Foundation.
I am one of the race photographers for Atlantic Campaigns, organisers of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, and because of the Covid restrictions, I happened to be the only official photographer documenting Jasmine’s arrival.
Every boat finishing involves the same hugely exciting and intensive drill (did I mention I have the best job in the world?). The media boat heads out to sea to capture the final open-ocean strokes, the finish line flares, the crowds cheering at the fort, before racing ahead to the dockside to capture the rower(s) stepping onto dry land for the first time in many, many weeks.
I knew that there was going to be a media flurry for the arrival on 20 February, but I wasn’t prepared for the tsunami-like wave of media attention that engulfed Jasmine when she set foot on land. [Shelterbox recorded 26.2 million views on the weekend of Jasmine’s arrival.] Even more remarkable, the buzz has not waned much. In fact, it surged again recently, fuelled by International Women’s Day, and another, almost indefinable ingredient…
The J-Factor
The first interview, with BBC World News, was scheduled for 4am. Jasmine showed up calmly, on time, with a quiet confidence borne of facing, and overcoming, the seemingly impossible. She had been awake for 24 hours.
Watching her step forward to the camera for her first live interview streaming across the globe (there were seven that first day and she is still doing an average of three a day) there was no nervousness, no concern about what to say. She is super comfortable in her skin, just being, well, Jasmine. And when she started speaking, I was hooked.
She is so real. Girl-next-door real.
Genuine, frank, endearing, completely down to earth and her well-considered views seem to be based on a finely tuned moral compass that will keep her on a steady course for the rest of her life. This is a young lady who won’t be influenced by media attention, by social media likes, or by anyone who isn’t bona fide. And she is one who is genuinely inspirational and convincing.
In her interview with the Duchess of Cambridge she said “We (women) know we can do it (anything). We know it.”
She is also someone who never forgets thanks and gratitude. One interviewer asked her what she wanted, now she was on land again. Her reply?
“What could I possibly want? I have everything. I have all this.” (Gesturing around her).
42% surge in race media exposure
I loved her. And so, it seems, does the rest of the global audience.
If there is a television channel, radio station, podcast, a newspaper, magazine or digital news platform on the planet that hasn’t yet featured this phenomenal young woman’s story, they soon will. The figures are mind boggling… Early estimates anticipate that race impressions will exceed 11.5 billion [8.1 billion 2020] - source Atlantic Campaigns.
What’s next for Jasmine?
The adventures and tales she has to tell of her transformative and hugely inspiring journey will be fashioned into presentations, events, books and film, creating an instant career for her, set to stand her is good stead for the next decade, at least.
I can’t wait to see what happens next. Strong. Powerful. Humble. She Inspires.
#SheInspires #JFactor #girlnextdoor
A taste of the media coverage
Stop press:
Jasmine has generously agreed to join us at “An Evening of Inspiration” on Wednesday 31 March at 8pm on the Facebook livestream to shine a light on (other) inspirational women and announce The Face of SheInspires 2021. #SheInspires #inspirationchangeslives #womensupportingwomen