Jasmine Harrison – Keynote Speaker

At 21 years old, many young people are preoccupied by social media or living in a comfort zone unsure what to do with their life.

Not so Jasmine Harrison. Aged 21, the part-time swimming teacher and bartender decided to do something extraordinary by attempting the immense challenge of rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean on her own – despite the fact that she had never rowed before.

This bold, life-changing decision was driven by Jasmine’s passion for adventure and a desire to change perceptions of what young women are capable of doing. And to encourage other young people – and people of all ages – to step out their comfort zone, overcome anxiety and embrace new challenges. Her lifetime passions had been as a sportswoman (competitive swimmer, GB Youth Pentathlete) and outdoor life and from the age of 18 a traveller and adventurer visiting over 20 countries, often solo and usually off the beaten track.

Ocean rowing is widely regarded as one of the world’s most gruelling challenges and rarely attempted. Since the first ocean row in 1896, the feat has been attempted less than 1,000 times. To put that into context, more people tried to climb Mount Everest in 2019. Add in the fact that solo female ocean rows are even rarer, with only 19 women successfully crossing any ocean, and the scale of Jasmine’s bravery and ambition is abundantly clear.

Undaunted, Jasmine Harrison set off from the Canary Islands buoyed by self-belief and a clarity of purpose that comes with knowing what challenges lie ahead.

Along the way, she had to endure and overcome daily physical and mental exhaustion, often paddling for over 12hours a day and surviving on erratic sleep and eating patterns. Not to mention life-threatening danger, including nearly colliding with a massive drilling ship and being thrown into the ocean, and injury, when her boat was twice capsized by waves.

Jasmine Harrison not only survived, she completed the crossing to Antigua in 70 days, in doing so at 21 years old achieving her goal of becoming the youngest woman in the world to row solo across the Atlantic – taking the record from previous holder, 22-year-old Katie Spotz from the USA. In addition, she became the youngest female to row solo across any ocean.