The world’s most remote inspiring New Year swim
- Sebastian Sarrasin
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Jasmine Harrison, world record holder, solo sailor, solo rower and swimmer swam 30 miles around the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 19 hours on 17th January 2026.
What makes this feat utterly remarkable is that no-one has ever attempted it before and Jasmine is currently ¾ of the way sailing around the world on a 19-foot long boat in the Mini Globe Race. Having set off from Lagos in Portugal in December 2024 she has sailed 24,000 miles via Antigua, Fiji, Mauritius and Cape Town to reach St Helena on a 7-day pitstop and decided to take on the challenge.
Jasmine said: ‘I heard that the island is hosting an adventure marathon in a couple of weeks and that later in the year an attempt to swim around the island would be made for the first time. I thought, I’m here now so why not try it? In the end I didn’t quite close the loop on the swim but have set a precedent for others to take on this amazing challenge.’
Most swimmers train for months, or even years for lesser events whilst Jasmine has only swam a handful of times in the last 12 months, usually cleaning the hull of her boat! Jasmine had minimal equipment, costume, swim hat and goggles aboard, borrowed a safety tow float and used her boat tracker to record the swimThe Ocean Queen, a fishing boat, and her crew accompanied Jasmine as the safety boat and she set off into the waves and dark at 2am, finally returning to Jamestown in the dark again at 8:30pm.
The conditions were unkind with 25 knot winds and big rolling waves, the currents were unknown and no-one even knew the best direction to swim round the ‘Rock’ as it is affectionately known by its inhabitants the incredibly friendly and welcoming Saints. Jasmine opted to swim clockwise from the wharf at Jamestown, hugging the coastline and encountering counter currents at the South West tip which slowed her progress when she was most tired. The water temperature was 15-22 degrees.
One of the other Mini Globe Race sailors, Josh Kali from the US sailing ‘Skookum’, joined the support boat. Another crew member paddled a kayak to stay closer to Jasmine when the conditions meant the support boat couldn’t.
Josh said ‘it’s been a beautiful ride, the island is stunning’.
On her return to Jamestown Jasmine was greeted by hundreds of islanders, pipes were played and the Governor of St. Helena, Nigel Phillips, presented her with a medal of excellence. The Mantis St Helena Hotel offered her a room for the night to recover. So many people have been inspired by this swim with one island child, aged 4, proudly stating that they are going to swim around St. Helena when they are an adult.
Jasmine is due to set sail to Recife Brazil at midnight on 18th January, continuing on her solo Mini Globe Race aboard her tiny boat Numbatou, a journey expected to take just over two weeks before continuing to race finish in Antigua where she is due to arrive in March.
Notes:
Jasmine was the youngest female to solo row the Atlantic Ocean in 2021, aged 21. She swam from Lands End to John O’Groats in 2022, the first female and only third person to achieve it and holds the Guinness World Record. She is a Forbes 30-under-30 lister (sports, Europe 2021) and holds the Freedom of both Thirsk and Sowerby, North Yorkshire. Jasmine is honoured to be a Squadron Sailing Associate of the Royal Yacht Squadron and is a member of the Ocean Cruising Club. She was a Rotary UK Young Citizen of the year 2023 and is a member of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. She has previously raised over £30k for environmental and humanitarian charities. She works as swimming teacher and lifeguard.
The Mini Globe Race is a low tech, everyman boat race. All boats are of the same design, many are hand built by their skipper. More information on Mini Globe Race - Small Boat. Huge Adventure.
