Woman rows solo across the Pacific to set a record

Kelsey Pfendler, a 31-year-old from New York, is attempting to become the youngest woman to row unassisted from California to Hawaii. The journey spans over 2,400 miles and will test her physical strength and mental endurance. If successful, she will also be the first American woman ever to complete this route.

Pfendler departed from Monterey, California on May 21 and has been posting daily updates on TikTok under the handle @yourowkelsey. A live tracking system allows followers to monitor her position in real time. As of May 28, she was off the Southern California coast, moving at 1.6 knots and had covered about 229 miles.

The first week proved difficult. Strong headwinds battered her boat as she left the California coast, and her hands developed blisters from rowing. A weather front then pushed her into bone-chilling temperatures and punishing waves. While taking shelter, she lost the cap to her freshwater storage bag, forcing her to rely on emergency supplies and freeze-dried food that required water to prepare.

"It's tortillas and peanut butter until I get some sun," Pfendler said. Her desalination device, which creates fresh water using solar power, could not operate during the stormy, overcast conditions. She has rationed her emergency supply of 25 small water bottles to make them last.

The voyage has included moments of wonder alongside the hardship. Pfendler crossed the continental shelf at 50 to 60 miles off the California coast—an experience few people witness so directly. She also spotted either a sea lion or a dolphin hunting nearby, with the animal leaping out of the water around her boat. "It was really cool, it was in the dark and it was kinda special for me," she said.

This is not Pfendler's first crossing of the Pacific. In 2024, she completed a similar journey from California to Hawaii with three teammates, serving as skipper. That trip took 40 days, 22 hours, and 14 minutes. Rowing solo adds a significant new challenge. If she finishes, she will be just the third woman ever to row solo from California to Hawaii. British rower Lia Ditton holds the current record, set in 2020, of 86 days, 10 hours, and 56 seconds.