A 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.
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.
“I just love boats in the middle of nowhere,” she said in one video.
Local news outlets reported Pfendler was eventually expected to address the media. An emailed interview request sent to Pfendler’s team was not immediately returned.
In a recent video posted as she neared Oahu, she reflected on the meaning of her accomplishment and what she hoped others would take from it.
“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.
“Think about trying to find your own big, hard, scary thing. You might not think that you are strong enough to finish it right now, but you’re definitely strong enough to start it, and you’ll find everything else along the way. I’m going to go finish my big, hard scary thing.”
Pfendler’s accomplishment came two days after marathon swimmer Catherine Breed began a 900-mile swim, aiming to becoming the first person to swim California’s entire coast.
Her goal is to swim five hours daily from the Oregon state line to Mexico’s border, with the hopes of finishing by November, the California news outlet SFist reported.
Guardian staff contributed reporting