Kelsey Pfendler conquers the mid-Pacific by herself

American rower Kelsey Pfendler, a Colorado-based professional raft guide, has become the first American woman and the youngest person to row across the mid-Pacific Ocean solo. She completed the 2,400 mile row from Monterey, California, to the Hawaiian island of O’ahu in 43 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 59 seconds, the fastest ever on record. Pfendler, 32, notes on her website that she rowed to Hawaii with three other women in 2024. “People are searching for what they can do and what’s in them,” she says. “(Rowing) forces you to dig as deep as you can to find what you need to push through some really hard situations.”