A Grand Canyon river rafting guide who aimed to become the first American woman to row across the mid-Pacific solo has completed her record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii. Hundreds gathered to cheer on Kelsey Pfendler as she pulled into a Honolulu harbor Friday night on her 21-foot row boat, Lily, after nearly a month and a half at sea, per the AP. The 32-year-old Pfendler, who launched from Monterey, California, in May, set out to become the first American woman, the youngest woman, and the fastest woman to make the more than 2,400-mile journey solo, according to her website.
Pfendler appears to have broken both the previous women's speed record as well as the men's speed record, according to records maintained by Ocean Rowing Society International, which adjudicates ocean-rowing achievements for Guinness World Records. The organization didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from the AP about Pfendler's finish. The rowing society's online records showed Saturday that Pfendler finished in just under 44 days, faster than the previous comparable female record holder's 86 days or the male record holder's 52 days as recorded by both the society and Guinness World Records.
Pfendler's video diaries detailed challenges including blistered hands, the struggle to sleep amid stiff winds, and the mental and physical struggle of coping with sometimes-unfavorable currents and wind. In some videos, her voice cracked with emotion. In others, she poked fun at her own forehead hat tan line and joked about the importance of her caffeine pills. Hundreds of thousands of people followed along with her journey on social media, where she shared the highs, lows, and quirks of her trek as she bobbed alone on the vast ocean.
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