Grand Canyon River guide Kelsey Pfendler became the fastest person to row solo from California to Hawaii last week.
The 32-year-old arrived at Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Friday, July 3.
That’s 43 days, 17 hours and 55 minutes after she set out from Monterey, California, on May 21.
Pfendler has said she only hoped to become the first American woman to make the journey solo on a rowboat.
But Pfendler completed the 2,400-mile trip more than 8 days faster than any man, and nearly twice as fast as the previous women’s record.
This was her third time crossing the pacific in a small boat and Pfendler previously competed on the USA women’s raft race team.
She’s been a raft guide on the Colorado River for eight years and currently works for Hatch River Expeditions.
The record-breaking trip raised money for the Flagstaff-based Whale Foundation, a nonprofit that assists Grand Canyon river guides with physical and mental health and financial sustainability.
