Congratulations to Lia Ditton, who has set a new women’s world record for rowing solo from San Francisco to Hawaii. The 40-year-old Briton made landfall on September 12, completing the passage in 86 days, 10 hours, 5 minutes, and 56 seconds, to break Roz Savage’s 2008 record of 100 days. In addition to adverse currents and winds, she survived two capsizes, encounters with sharks, and a shortage of food. Ditton described the 2,700NM voyage as the greatest psychological challenge of her life.

Nauticmag.com reports that her current row, which Lia calls the half marathon, is viewed by Lia as training. Her main target is to row 5,500 miles from Japan to San Francisco in spring 2021, bidding to succeed where 19 other attempts have failed. To maintain her mission to become the first solo rower to cross the North Pacific, Lia relies on the generosity of her supporters through her crowdfunding campaign. Anyone who would like to add any amount to contribute to the cause can visit www.patreon.com/RowLiaRow. The RowLiaRow ‘Family of Believers’ are entitled to exclusive blog content and updates.