Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Kelsey Pfendler became the fastest person to row solo from California to Hawaii.
Kelsey Pfendler, a 26-year-old Grand Canyon raft guide, completed a solo row from Monterey, California to Honolulu, Hawaii in under 44 days. She launched in May on her 21-foot boat Lily. She appears to have broken both the women's and men's speed records for the 2,400-mile journey. The previous female record was 86 days; the male record was 52 days. She documented the trip on social media, sharing challenges like blistered hands and sleep deprivation. Hundreds greeted her arrival Friday night.
The article also notes a separate effort: marathon swimmer Catherine Breed began a 900-mile swim of California's coast on July 1.
What commenters are saying
Commenters noted the article omitted technical details about the boat. Several links to Pfendler's site and the Rannoch R25 model were shared. One commenter highlighted that Pfendler beat the male record holder's time by six days, becoming the fastest human to complete the crossing. A debate emerged on whether women have an advantage in extreme endurance events, with one commenter citing ultramarathon records showing men maintain roughly a 10-15% performance gap at all distances. Others shared videos of the boat's interior and information about previous ocean rows.