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Posted on 07/04/2026 4:35:42 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
🇺🇸 Using Starlink, American Kelsey Pfendler Broke 4 Records Rowing Solo from California to Hawaii 🇺🇸
On America’s 250th birthday, Kelsey Pfendler, an American woman and Grand Canyon raft guide, turned an audacious dream into history.
During training, she was already doing “homework for my Starlink,” preparing the American-made satellite internet system that would keep her connected while rowing 2,400 miles solo and unsupported from Monterey, California to Oahu, Hawaii.
On May 21, 2026, she launched alone in her 24-foot boat Lily.
Forty-three days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes later (in the early hours of July 4, 2026) she crossed the finish line and shattered four major records:
• Fastest solo row from California to Hawaii (overall)
• Fastest woman ever
• First American woman to complete the Mid-Pacific solo crossing
• Youngest person ever to achieve the feat
Starlink made it possible.
As Elon Musk has said,
“Starlink is designed to provide high-speed internet to places where it’s either impossible or extremely expensive to do so with traditional methods.”
The high-speed satellite connection turned her small boat into a connected command center.
It allowed real-time WhatsApp interviews, daily video updates posted straight from the Pacific, coordination with her shore team, and a constant lifeline that kept millions following her journey.
Without it, the world would have waited in silence until she landed.
Her achievement landed on the perfect day.
As America celebrated 250 years of independence and innovation, one of its own used American technology to push the boundaries of human endurance.
Along the way, she raised more than $30,000 for the Whale Foundation, supporting mental and physical health resources for river guides.
Kelsey Pfendler proved that American grit, paired with American innovation, can still conquer the impossible!
Happy 250th, America. 🌊🚣♀️🇺🇸
(Excerpt) Read more at x.com ...
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Wow that’s quite an impressive achievement.
Yes.
And by a woman too.
That’s amazing!!
You can do that on the subway, but you have to transfer like 9 times.
What is this "woman" thing of which you speak?
Are you a biologist? 🤡
Most amazing thing to me is she’s not wearing gloves and her hands aren’t bloody stumps.
Wow, what a story! Amazing. She’s quite the young woman.
That’s Amazing
Absolutely 💯 Grand Style!
Let’s Hear More on This
Supreme Effort.
Yep, every other aspect I can understand, but the hands surviving unscathed is mind boggling. A weekend of digging up weeds with gloves on, and I’m blistered. 😂💀
After looking at the pic I can’t believe a word of this. The part of the Pacific Ocean she allegedly “crossed” is some of the deepest and most treacherous water on the face of the earth. Think major trenches 7 miles deep. Day and night for 43 days? This is not calm water. And in a row boat? Give me a break. There is so much BS out there it’s not amusing.
“The part of the Pacific Ocean she allegedly “crossed” is some of the deepest and most treacherous water on the face of the earth. “
Not at all. From personal experience.
The name “Pacific” originates from the Latin word pacificus, which means “peaceful” or “peace-making” (combining pax, meaning peace, and facere, meaning to make).Explorer Ferdinand Magellan gave the Pacific Ocean its name in 1520. After braving the treacherous and stormy Straits of Magellan at the tip of South America, his crew entered a surprisingly calm and tranquil body of water. He called it Mar Pacífico, meaning “peaceful sea”
https://www.google.com/search?q=pacific+name+origin
California to Hawaii, not trans Pacific. It’s been done in sea kayaks. In her case it works out to about 50 miles a day. People have also rowed across the Atlantic is is less hospitable.
Gotta love the Coasties.
Ouch! I dispise blisters, even if they’re a useful feature. I do indeed respect her drive to succeed. 🍺🙂
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