Woman sets world record rowing solo from San Francisco to Honolulu

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    HONOLULU (KITV) — 40-year-old Lia Ditton is an accomplished captain who’s competed in some of the world’s most challenging ocean races. Saturday morning, she added her greatest feat so far to the list – she broke the women’s world record for rowing solo from San Francisco to Hawaii.

Ditton spent 86 days, 10 hours, 5 minutes, and 56 seconds by herself at sea – with no support boat trailing nearby.
It was a grueling physical and psychological journey, encountering one of her major obstacles when she first set out.

“It was very difficult breaking away from the California coast,” Ditton said. “There were epic currents that were going like ‘snakes and ladders.’ You could hit a snake and lose miles overnight and that happened to me for a week. Then other times you’re flying along with great conditions and you hit a ladder – it’s a board game,” she explained.

The true test of Ditton’s spirit came when her boat capsized not once, but twice.

“The first time was a sort of freak wave,” Ditton recalled, still referring to the difficult conditions pulling away from California. “It was like a cliff of a wave that fell and fell and fell. I’ve never seen a wave like it. It was an avalanche of water that came toward me.” She got thrown into the water, and with adrenaline pumping through her veins, was somehow able to flip the boat back over. A feat, which she says, would normally be impossible.

The second time she capsized was even more menacing – the wave took her by surprise while she was asleep. Thankfully, she was able to quickly right the boat but in order to prevent it from overturning again, Ditton said she had to fill the boat with water to weigh it down. She jokingly described the experience as her rowing the Pacific Ocean, across the Pacific Ocean, constantly filling the compartments with water.

Although Ditton’s storytelling is full of laughs and lightheartedness, her journey was nothing less than perilous as she continued to brave the shifting tides and mental warfare.

“I knew it would be hard after that [second capsizing] because of what had happened psychologically, but I massively underestimated what the challenge would be.” Ditton explained how the traumatizing event would keep her awake, fearful of what dangers could come in the darkness of night. “It’s very hard to let go to sleep, or to sleep and stay asleep. I battled with that for the last thousand miles which is a month and a half,” she said. Regardless of that waking nightmare, Ditton still wouldn’t have been able to get much rest. She said she’d try and sleep once the sun had set, but would still have to wake up periodically throughout the night to check that she was still drifting in a favorable direction.

The long days and nights came with surprise visitors – and these weren’t hallucinations. Somewhere along the way, Ditton found herself in close encounters with sharks. She’s been seafaring for decades and has on occasion, spotted shark fins in the water but had never come face-to-face with them the way she did on this trip. “I had one shark that was ramming the boat in the night trying to eat fish following it around,” she said. On another occasion, it was predator versus prey as a shark feasted on a tuna beside her boat. Another time, a shark decided to keep making laps, circling her as she pressed forward thousands of miles away from land.

Another setback came when she learned fellow rower, Angela Madsen, died on her own solo journey from California to Hawaii. “We’re part of the same family in the sport that we do,” Ditton said quietly. “I was massively impacted by it. Arguably I should’ve turned off and gone back to land, but it’s hard to rationalize why you would do that. It’s a difficult call to make but I did think of her as I rode her line of longitude.”

As the days passed, Ditton would eventually run out of food. She packed 75 days worth of sustenance, blaming the decision on her over-ambition. Perhaps the risk of starving was just one way she motivated herself since the record to beat was 100 days. Despite the shortage, Ditton said she didn’t have to ration or go hungry.

If anything’s clear after meeting her – it’s that Ditton has an unbreakable spirit. She learned to cope with the extreme stress by learning to take the challenge day by day – forgetting about the past and focusing on the present to help her get to the finish line. She rowed alone but says she was never lonely. Her support system included a sports psychologist, a weather expert who could help her anticipate inclement weather, among other consultants working behind-the-scenes. Above all, she says her responsibility at sea is writing.

“I’m going to see things that people are never going to see and I want to share that and take people on this journey with me,” Ditton said. She wrote every day and made videos, using those outlets as a way to connect with others on the open ocean.

Her greatest memory from the adventure – were the rainbows that laid just beyond the horizon. “There were spectacular end-to-end rainbows of fantastical color… just complete arcing rainbows when I needed it the most. It was like sending someone a hug in the middle of the ocean – I loved it.” Ditton said these almost-spiritual moments intensified when the rainbows would appear at sunset, right after an evening rain. The rich blue of the Pacific was another sight that she found hard to tire of. “I can see why survivors of abandoned ships at sea often end up believing in God at the end. There’s a very strong power that’s very visible in nature. And when you’re immersed in it without frontiers like in the ocean, it’s hard not to wonder,” she mused.

Somehow, that promise of beauty beyond helped her power through the home stretch – rowing for 23 hours nonstop. Amid the exhaustion, the enormity of the moment she landed was almost too incredible to comprehend. As she finally made her way into Waikiki Yacht Harbor, Ditton said it was like passing a torch and described the scene as a brilliant “Mexican wave of celebration.” She didn’t expect the large crowd and truly felt the Aloha Spirit. She bashfully admitted her amazement, although she says she didn’t have much of a speech prepared. “There were people everywhere,” she laughed. “You haven’t seen people for 80-something days and they want you to talk and walk and say something inspiring.”

Believe it or not, Ditton considers this 86-day mission as “training” for her real test – rowing solo across the entire Pacific from Japan to San Francisco. It’s double the distance, twice the time at sea, and has never been done before. Ultimately, her true goal is to inspire kids so that they’ll know anything is possible. She’s motivated by the chance that the tales of her dedication can change a child’s life.

For now, she’ll be recovering on Oahu preparing for her Japan trip. Ditton says her first order of business is getting a taste of our famous pineapples – and taking a nap.

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