Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii | Rowing
A Grand Canyon river rafting guide aiming to become the first U.S. woman to paddle solo in the middle of the Pacific has completed a record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii.
Hundreds of people gathered to applaud Kelsey Pfendler as she docked in the Honolulu harbor on her 21-foot rowboat Lily on Friday night after nearly a month and a half at sea, local media reported.
Setting out from Monterey, California, in May, Pfendler set out to become the first American woman, the youngest woman and the fastest woman to make the journey of more than 2,400 miles (3,900 km) solo. his website. Hundreds of thousands of people followed his journey on social media, sharing the ups and downs and antics of his walk in videos he shot as he bobbed alone in the vast ocean.
Pfendler appears to have broken both the previous women’s and men’s speed records, according to records kept by the International Ocean Rowing Society, which evaluates ocean rowing achievements for Guinness World Records. The organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press about Pfendler’s ending.
The rowing community’s online records showed Saturday morning that Pfendler finished in just under 44 days; this was faster than the previous female record holder’s 86 days or the male record holder’s 52 days recorded by both the association and Guinness World Records.
Pfendler’s video diaries described the logistics of his ocean crossing and survival. He detailed challenges such as blistered hands, the struggle to sleep through high winds, and the mental and physical struggle of dealing with sometimes adverse currents and winds.
She explained how she cooked food, protected her skin from the sun, washed her clothes, and made fresh water.
In some videos, his voice cracked with emotion. In others, she poked fun at the tan line on her forehead and joked about the importance of caffeine pills.
Pfendler’s website says he has been a professional raft guide since he was 18 and has spent the last eight years taking trips along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
“I just love boats in the middle of nowhere,” he said in a video.
Local news outlets reported that Pfendler was expected to eventually address the media. An interview request emailed to Pfendler’s team was not immediately responded to.
In a recent video he posted approaching Oahu, he reflected on the meaning of his accomplishment and what he hopes others will take from it.
“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little stronger in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything more, and I’m happy,” she said.
“Consider trying to find your own big, hard, scary thing. You may not think you’re strong enough to finish it right now, but you’re definitely strong enough to start, and you’ll find everything else along the way. I’m going to go finish my big, hard scary thing.”
Pflender’s achievement came two days after marathon swimmer Catherine Breed began the 900-mile swim, aiming to become the first person to swim the entire coast of California.
Her goal is to swim five hours a day from the Oregon state line to the Mexican border, with the hope of finishing by November, according to California news outlet SFist. reported.
