Completing her row from Monterey to Hawaii, Kelsey Pfendler sets world records.

Kelsey Pfendler completed a solo row from Monterey to Honolulu, arriving on land on Friday night, July 3, after more than 43 days on the water. She became the third woman ever to make the journey solo, and set several additional world records.  

As she rowed her 132-square-foot boat into Honolulu harbor July 3, hundreds of spectators lined the shore chanting, “Kelsey, Kelsey!” She was surprised and overwhelmed, with little sense of just how big she had become. Her Instagram account, @Yourowkesley, gained hundreds of thousands of followers, and her TikTok grew to almost 2 million as people looked for updates on her attempt.

“I was shell-shocked coming into the harbor, people chanting my name," Pfendler says. "It was really intense. I had a lot of emotions." 

Pfendler set out to become the first American woman to solo row the 2,400-mile journey. She not only succeeded at that goal but also beat the overall record, setting a new speed of 43 days, 17 hours and 55 minutes. The previous record was 55 days, set by a male rower.  

Pfendler also became the fastest woman and the youngest female person to row from California to Hawaii. 

“It was a really good experience; I am still processing it,” she says two days after reaching shore. 

After working as a Grand Canyon river guide for more than 10 years, Pfendler rowed to raise money for the Whale Foundation, a network to promote, restore, and celebrate the well-being of the Grand Canyon river guiding community. 

Pfendler previously rowed from Monterey to Hawaii in 2024 as the skipper for a four-woman team called the Hericanes, on a journey that took nearly 41 days.