2,000 miles in 43 days: American woman becomes fastest and youngest to row Mid-Pacific

A 31-year-old American woman has attained two new Guinness World Records titles – and a special interview on the Jennifer Hudson Show – after becoming the youngest and fastest woman in the world to row across the Mid-Pacific ocean. 

Kelsey Pfendler (b. 5 July 1994, USA) battled the waves for 3,776.2 km (2,039 nautical miles) between 21 May and 4 July this year, eventually completing the exhausting journey from Monterey, California to O'ahu, Hawaii, USA aboard her boat Lily. 

She shared stories about her experience on the talk show this 29 September, awing crowds with her determined spirit and physical strength, before GWR Adjudicator Hannah Ortman took to the stage and surprised her with two well-deserved award certificates.

At the start of her record-breaking row, Kelsey said her goal was to “become the first American woman, the youngest woman, and the fastest woman to complete the crossing solo” – and that she did. 

Finishing with a time of 43 days 17 hr 55 min, she nearly doubled Lia Ditton’s (UK) record of 86 days to become the new title holder for the fastest solo row of the Mid-Pacific east to west (female). She was also quicker than the male record holder, who completed his row in 52 days.

And in addition, Kelsey also claimed the record for the youngest person to row the Mid-Pacific solo (female) – achieved one day before her 32nd birthday, at the age of 31 years and 364 days old.

“I truly love ocean rowing,” she said to GWR. “I love every piece of it. I love the repetition and how much of yourself you have to give to the process every day. I love the strategy. I loved the opportunity to be alone, I love the ocean. I loved waking up every day with a clear goal for what I had to do.”

Kelsey told us that she first started rowing at the age of 18, when she worked as a professional river guide and racer on the swirling whitewater rapids near her home.

“I’m always trying to find a way to be on a boat in the middle of nowhere,” she explained, adding that she has competed with the USA women’s raft race team since 2020. They attended the World Rafting Championships in Bosnia in 2022, and took second place in the world.

Prior to this year’s attempt, Kelsey had only finished one ocean row in her life, which required nearly two years of training and preparation with her three female teammates to complete. Over the course of 40 days, 22 hrs and 14 min, they rode from California to Hawaii – an arduous task that left them “sleep-deprived and ready for a shower.” 

Nevertheless, when Kelsey was asked if she would do it again, she hardly hesitated. “In a heartbeat,” she replied… and the rest was history.

“Part of me really wanted to know what I could do alone,” she said. “And the Mid-Pacific solo was a very notorious row.

“The hopes and drive were there, but in no way did I think it was a guaranteed thing,” she continued. “But I was always going to give it my all.”

Luckily, Kelsey’s record attempt came right after her prior Mid-Pacific row, so she says she had the foundation and structure of training to fall back on. She supplemented her preparations with “countless hours on the rowing machine” and power lifting, all while serving as her very own fundraiser, manager, boat repair specialist, and social media manager.

Admittedly it was hard work, but she says that it’s all about being mentally resilient – and being sure to speak to yourself gently during stressful moments.

Read more stories like this in our dedicated Adventures and Epic Journeys section!

Finally, on 21 May, she was ready to start her voyage. 

Aboard her 24 ft (7.3 m)-long board, she pushed off near the coast of California, and spent the next four days battling roaring waves and tricky currents during what would become the most difficult part of her journey.

“Getting off the coast of California was hard,” she said. “The sleep deprivation, along with the currents and wind against me, asked me to give everything I had every day. I didn’t sleep more than an hour a day for the first four days. There were nights when the waves were huge and I was definitely scared.”

Nevertheless, Kelsey persisted – and she soon adopted a routine, growing to love the solitary nature of her quest. 

Each day, she would row until midnight, then sleep for two hours, before rowing for another three hours and resting for two. During the rowing, she’d listen to audio books, repair any problems on the boat, and update her weather routing and navigation. She lived on a diet of 4,000 calories a day, entirely made of pre-packaged and dehydrated snacks (such as tuna packets, she said, which “do wonders”, or Pop-Tarts).

“I didn’t expect to love the solitude as much as I did,” she reminisced. “But I was also surprised how well I did on such little sleep. Sure, I was tired, but I was fully awake and alive during my days.” 

She also said that: “I honestly love being in nature alone. I didn’t have to convince myself to want to be there.”

Eventually, after 43 days, Kelsey spotted land – the green island of O’ahu, peering at her through the Molokai channel. 

She was determined to finish her race strong, given that a prior record holder had once gotten stuck in the challenging passage – but as soon as she arrived on shore she felt that the “gratitude for what had happened was overwhelming.”

“I’m excited to be a benchmark for some other women to come and break one day,” she stated to GWR. “Your dreams are worth your time. Very normal people can do incredible things.”

And this message – as well as Kelsey’s captivating spirit – has captured the minds of many around the world, causing quite a buzz when she returned from her incredible quest. Her social media pages swelled with thousands of new followers, and her story was broadcast across America on a major talk show and local news channels. 

Yet what’s next for Kelsey? Unsurprisingly, she plans to keep rowing.

“I’m attempting a ‘Big 3’ solo,” she said confidently. “First, I plan to solo row the Indian Ocean in an attempt for the women’s world record in 2028. Then, row from the Canaries to Florida in the winter of 2028, then return to O’ahu and finish the Pacific by rowing to the Philippines. 

“Both the Canaries to Florida, and O’ahu to the Philippines, will be female firsts for those routes.”

So we can’t wait to see what other record-breaking adventures she has in store. 

Congratulations, Kelsey – you are Officially Amazing!