Kelsey Pflendler in her rowboat named Lily – credit, @yourowkelsey on IG
As America celebrated its 250th Birthday, Kelsey Pflendler celebrated her own significant milestone—becoming the first American woman to row a boat from California to Hawaii alone.
As she pulled into Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, she also set records for being the fastest to complete to solo row among either sex, and the youngest woman to do so.
“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy,” she said in a social media vlog entry dated day 43 of her marathon, 2,400-mile voyage.
An 8-year Grand Canyon rafting guide and leader of a 4-member female rowing team that made the Monterey-Hawaii trip in 2024, Kelsey Pflendler was alone in the eastern Pacific for over a month—something she admitted she “loves.” She spent some of day 37 “grieving for the loss of this row,” having then arrived within 500 miles of Oahu.
Those vlog entries on her Instagram detailed her challenges throughout the marathon row, included harrowing ones like dealing with rough seas and recalcitrant currents, as well as the mundane ones of keeping away sunburn and cooking food.
Pflendler shattered the previous women’s record of 86 days 10 hours and 5 minutes held by Lia Ditton according to the Ocean Rowing Society International, but also broke the men’s record of 52 days.
MORE MARATHON ROWS: Nebraska Woman Learns to Row, Then Becomes First Female to Cross the Atlantic Alone in 3,000 Mile Race
Her 43-day transit also came within 3 days of being faster than her previous rowing crew of 4 in 2024. Talk about upper body strength.
She arrived on Oahu in time to celebrate her birthday, after which it’s expected she will address the media which she did not do after she heaved the 21-foot rowboat Lily into Ala Wai after 9 PM, with a crowd of over 100 people from all over the USA there to greet here.
Her trip also aimed to raise money for a charity that supports the physical and mental care of Colorado River rafting guides. $30,000 was thusly raised.
WATCH her arrival moment below…
SHARE This Young Woman’s Incredible Voyage Alone Across The Vast Pacific…
