Grand Canyon River-Rafting Guide Shatters Record For Rowing From California to Hawaii (2,400-Miles)
HONOLULU — A Grand Canyon river-rafting guide has shattered multiple world records after completing a solo rowing journey across the mid-Pacific from California to Hawaii, becoming the first American woman to achieve the feat.
Kelsey Pfendler pulled into a Honolulu harbor on Friday night aboard her 21-foot rowboat, Lily, after nearly a month and a half at sea. Hundreds of supporters gathered at the docks to cheer her arrival, which capped off a grueling 2,400-mile (3,900 km) trek.
Record-Breaking Speed
According to online logs from the Ocean Rowing Society International—which adjudicates ocean-rowing achievements for Guinness World Records—Pfendler completed the journey from Monterey, California, in just under 44 days.
Her finish time comfortably bested both the previous women’s and men’s solo speed records for the route:
- Previous Women’s Record: 86 days
- Previous Men’s Record: 52 days
- Pfendler’s Finish Time: Under 44 days
The Ocean Rowing Society International has not officially certified her accomplishment but pending any funny business, it will happen in coming days.
A Historic Launch
Pfendler set out from Monterey in May with the explicit goal of becoming the first American woman, the youngest woman, and the fastest woman to row the mid-Pacific solo. During her 44 days alone on the water, Pfendler accumulated a massive social media following postin updates from the middle of the Pacific.
Cheers to this incredible woman who 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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