Hundreds of people gathered at Honolulu harbor on Friday night to welcome Kelsey Pfendler, a Grand Canyon river-rafting guide, as she completed a record-breaking solo row from California to Hawaii. Pfendler, 28, arrived on her 21-foot rowboat, Lily, after nearly a month-and-a-half at sea, according to local media reports.
Record-breaking achievement
Pfendler launched from Monterey, California, in May with the goal of becoming the first American woman, youngest woman, and fastest woman to row solo across the more than 2,400-mile (3,900 km) mid-Pacific route, according to her website. She appears to have broken both the previous women's speed record of 86 days and the men's speed record of 52 days, finishing in just under 44 days, based on records maintained by the Ocean Rowing Society International, which adjudicates ocean-rowing achievements for Guinness World Records. The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Journey details and challenges
Throughout her voyage, Pfendler shared video diaries on social media, where hundreds of thousands of followers tracked her progress. She documented the logistics of survival at sea, including challenges such as blistered hands, difficulty sleeping amid stiff winds, and coping with unfavorable currents and wind. She explained how she cooked, protected her skin from the sun, washed her clothes, and made fresh water. In some videos, her voice cracked with emotion; in others, she joked about her forehead hat tan line and the importance of caffeine pills.
Background and motivation
Pfendler has been a professional raft guide since age 18 and has spent the last eight years leading trips along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. “I just love boats in the middle of nowhere,” she said in one video. In a recent post as she neared Oahu, she reflected on the meaning of her accomplishment: “If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy. Think about trying to find your own big, hard, scary thing. You might not think that you are strong enough to finish it right now, but you’re definitely strong enough to start it, and you’ll find everything else along the way. I’m going to go finish my big, hard scary thing.”
Related feat
Pfendler's accomplishment came two days after marathon swimmer Catherine Breed began a 900-mile swim aiming to become the first person to swim California's entire coast. Her goal is to swim five hours daily from the Oregon state line to Mexico's border, with hopes of finishing by November, according to the California news outlet SFist.
