{"id":15163,"date":"2026-06-17T20:46:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15163"},"modified":"2026-06-17T20:46:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:46:33","slug":"how-kelsey-pfendler-is-rowing-solo-from-california-to-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15163","title":{"rendered":"How Kelsey Pfendler Is Rowing Solo from California to Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published June 17, 2026 02:07PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kelsey Pfendler has been at sea for 28 days, in a 24-foot fiberglass boat, totally alone. On May 21, she departed from Monterey, California, with the goal of rowing to Oahu, Hawaii, 2,400 miles away. If she succeeds, she\u2019ll make history as the first American woman to row solo from California to Hawaii, and if she does it as fast as she\u2019s shooting for, she\u2019ll become the fastest woman and youngest person to achieve the feat.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, Pfendler is set to break all of those records. And\u2014while nothing is guaranteed, she emphasizes to me on a WhatsApp call\u2014in addition to her initial goals, she is also on track to break the fastest time outright, which is held by <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guinnessworldrecords.com\/world-records\/384202-fastest-solo-row-of-the-mid-pacific-east-to-west\">Rob Eustace<\/a>, who reached Hawaii after 52 days, 13 hours, and 17 minutes in 2014. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.discovery.com\/exploration\/lia-ditton-completes-her-record-breaking-row-pictures\">Lia Ditton<\/a> holds the world record for the fastest woman after completing the trip in 86 days, 10 hours, and 5 minutes in 2020. Pfendler reached the halfway point of her journey on June 14, on day 25, which, like much of her journey, she documented on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"width:100%;border:none;display:block\" title=\"Script Content\" async=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Posting from the handle @yourowkelsey, Pfendler has racked up 400,000 followers and counting. Her short reels show her alone on her boat, rowing, talking to the camera, and walking through everyday life at sea. She shows the camera her food stash (Cheerios, powdered milk, carb mixes, and backpacking meals), how she boils water (with a Jetboil), and storms she encounters. Sometimes she smiles; sometimes she cries. It\u2019s the most insight many of us have ever gotten into what it takes, both physically and emotionally, to achieve this kind of mission.<\/p>\n<p>So I called her up. Using her Starlink and WhatsApp, Pfendler described what life is like alone in the middle of the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>OUTSIDE: <\/strong><\/em><strong>You\u2019re rowing solo from California to Hawaii <\/strong><strong>in a boat that\u2019s 24 feet long and 5.5 feet wide. What\u2019s the hardest everyday human task to complete out there in this tight space?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kelsey Pfendler: <\/strong>I think just like body maintenance. The repetitive nature of rowing definitely hurts you, but there are also little things that you wouldn\u2019t think about. I have to put anti-chaffing cream on my butt every couple of hours, or I will have horrific sores.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also the arduous task of eating that much food, which is actually really time-consuming and gets annoying.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I bet. I think you said you\u2019re trying to take in 4,000 calories a day.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I don\u2019t want to lose weight because that makes you weaker and makes you less capable of doing things. So I really just have to force myself to eat. Usually I\u2019m hungry, but sometimes I\u2019m tired of eating the same fucking thing. You can only have so much variety, and you just keep eating the same stuff over and over.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2745041\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-aligncenter\"><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Kelsey Pfendler at sea<\/span> (Photo: Kelsey Pfendler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The lack of sleep must be hard, too, while going for a record like that. But, to me, it feels like the year of the woman, what with Rachel Entrekin winning the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/run.outsideonline.com\/trail\/trail-racing\/the-pure-and-joyful-relentlessness-of-being-rachel-entrekin\/\">Cocodona 250 outright<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve channeled her a lot. I thought about some of the interviews she did after that, and especially my first week, because I didn\u2019t sleep, like, at all. I slept for maybe an hour and a half a day. I call that \u201cthe Sea God Week\u201d because I just did not fucking sleep. But I thought about her a lot. In one of her interviews, she said something like, \u201cWhy not me?\u201d And that statement was really motivating for me.<\/p>\n<p>I can get in my own way. I know women are strong, but I feel very average as a person most of the time. \u2029So I\u2019ve been trying to ask myself that question a lot.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of really cool women, especially in the endurance sports world. Women are good at endurance sports. We\u2019re good at pain management and emotional regulation. I\u2019m a girl\u2019s girl, for sure, and I deeply believe in the power of women.<\/p>\n<p>But it is also hard because that is also a very female thing to be like, \u201cOh, but not you. You\u2019re gonna fuck it up somewhere.\u201d\u2029And I\u2019ve been doing that myself a little bit. It\u2019s like a duality, and the nature of it all.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2745038\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Pfendler and her boat\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1350\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2745038\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kelsey-and-boat.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kelsey-and-boat.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Pfendler and her boat<\/span> (Photo: Carlos Andina)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>How does your body feel today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I actually feel really good compared to my last row. My body is holding up so much better. During my first row, I had a really hard time with butt sores, and I got myself a special seat for this one, and I have a handful of better-researched anti-chafe products. That has been a game-changer.<\/p>\n<p>You know, things ache. \u2029Sometimes I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat the heck\u2019s going on in my knee right now?\u201d I feel like it\u2019s doing weird stuff, but that\u2019s just from repetitive motion.<\/p>\n<p>The sun is fucking relentless. I\u2019m exposed from morning until night. I can\u2019t put up a sunshade because that\u2019s considered a sail, so I\u2019m just baking myself in the sun all day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That sounds brutal, but it does look beautiful out there in your videos. Do you feel like you still appreciate the beauty despite the constant rowing and pains?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you can\u2019t appreciate it even when it\u2019s hard, you\u2019re not doing it right. Yeah, it\u2019s so pretty. It\u2019s beautiful in the sense that it\u2019s so vast. And it\u2019s also just humbling: I am farther away from another person than I could be almost anywhere else in the entire world. And it\u2019s like 30,000 feet deep below me. There\u2019s probably a whole world happening below me. So it\u2019s beautiful, visually, but it\u2019s more beautiful in the context of what it is.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"width:100%;border:none;display:block\" title=\"Script Content\" async=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you describe the ocean to me right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve got no wind right now. It\u2019s just flat. It\u2019s still got texture, but it\u2019s like the surface of an orange peel, and then sometimes there\u2019s a current that pushes you around.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the most important item you have with you, emotionally speaking?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I brought some stuffed animals to keep me company. I have an octopus and a crab that, especially the first week, were really comforting just to have something to hold onto when I\u2019m sleeping. They\u2019re like, silent observers of me sometimes, and it\u2019s funny. It almost feels like they\u2019re holding me accountable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I love that. Do they have names? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, so the crab\u2019s name is Hugo. And the octopus\u2019s name is Maury.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s so sweet. Do you have audiobooks or music out there?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I do some music, but audiobooks have been really good for my entertainment purposes, and I\u2019ll do podcasts. I\u2019ve been comfort-listening to <em>The<\/em> <em>Lord of the Rings,<\/em> because I know the story so well. And I listened to <em>Shark Dialogues<\/em>, which is a historical novel covering the Hawaiian islands from, I think, the 1600s to the\u00a0present day, through the lineage of one Native family.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That sounds like a great read. When you get to Hawaii, what is the first, totally normal land-dwelling luxury that you\u2019re going to indulge in? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I packed a very extensive bath product bag, and my partner brought it to Hawaii when he arrived. It\u2019s like, five Ziplocks of bath products. Last time, I didn\u2019t do that, and there were things I didn\u2019t have that I really wanted. So this time I spent like four hours at Target just gathering bath products. I\u2019m excited to take care of my skin and take a shower. I\u2019m very peely and flakey right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m sure that will feel amazing. Before we hang up, is there anything that you want to add? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, so the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whalefoundation.org\/\">Whale Foundation<\/a> is the charity that I\u2019m supporting with this. They support Grand Canyon River Guides through mental health services, physical health services, and also scholarship opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been a river guide from age 18 until now\u2014I\u2019m going to be 32 in a couple of weeks. I\u2019ve worked in the Grand Canyon for the last ten years, and I had a pretty traumatic event happen on a trip a couple of years ago that left me with some pretty severe PTSD. The Whale Foundation provided, quickly, PTSD-specific mental health care for me for six months after the incident.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re amazing; they support people so deeply, and they\u2019ve been a pillar in the community that I love forever. So I just want them to be successful.<\/p>\n<p><em>This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and flow.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/water-activities\/solo-row-california-hawaii-kelsey-pfendler\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published June 17, 2026 02:07PM Kelsey Pfendler has been at sea for 28 days, in a 24-foot fiberglass boat, totally alone. On May 21, she departed from Monterey, California, with the goal of rowing to Oahu, Hawaii, 2,400 miles away. If she succeeds, she\u2019ll make history as the first American woman to row solo from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}