10 February 2025

Göran R Buckhorn

After 97 days, solo rower Zara Lachlan, 21, completed a 3,600 nautical-mile voyage from Europe to South America.

On 27 October 2024, Zara Lachlan left Algarve, Portugal, for her solo row over the Atlantic Ocean to French Guiana.

Ms Lachlan, of Cambridge, who is a physics student at Loughborough University, is the first woman and youngest person to row solo from Europe to South America, in aid of Team Forces Foundation and Women in Sport. She arrived at her destination, Grand Port Maritime de la Guyane, south of Rémiré, French Guiana, on Saturday 1 February 2025.

Lachlan told Women in Sport: “It was just incredible to see land as I approached. French Guiana is actually quite flat so I wasn’t that far from the coast when I first spotted it. It felt like it was not only the end of the challenge but, the culmination of a longer mission to get me here, to prepare me for this challenge and then to take on the Atlantic – and make it!”

It was not an easy task. During Ms Lachlan’s journey, she cut her leg, injured her arm, broke a finger, smashed her phone screen, came upon sharks and whales, saw her boat capsize and experienced a near miss with a ship, according to the media.

Here is Zara Lachlan’s 97 days condenced to 72 seconds:

Zara Lachlan will join the Army in September as a technical officer.

BBC published a nice article about Zara Lachlan and her solo trip, see here.

Special thanks to Jane Kingsbury.