GoKawiilA Grand Canyon river-rafting guide who aimed to become the first US woman to row solo across the mid-Pacific has completed a record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii.
Hundreds of people gathered to cheer on Kelsey Pfendler as she pulled into a Honolulu harbor on Friday night on her 21ft rowboat, Lily, after nearly a month and a half at sea, local media reported.
Pfendler, who launched from Monterey, California, in May, set out to become the first American woman, youngest woman and fastest woman to make the more than 2,400-mile (3,900km) journey solo, according to her website. Hundreds of thousands of people followed along with her journey on social media, where she shared the highs, lows and quirks of her trek in videos taken as she bobbed alone on the vast ocean.
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 Associated Press about Pfendler’s finish.
Kelsey Pfendler. Photograph: YouRowKelsey
The rowing society’s online records showed on Saturday morning 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 explained the logistics of her passage and survival on the ocean. She 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.
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 poked fun at her own forehead hat tan line and joked about the importance of her caffeine pills.
Pfendler’s website says she has been a professional raft guide since she was 18 and has spent the last eight years leading trips along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
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