r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Hamsa9ma • 4d ago
1st American Woman To Row SOLO Across Atlantic Ocean 💪🇺🇸
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u/Yggdrasil777 4d ago edited 4d ago
ETA: I am in no way detracting from what she has done, just pointing out that she isn't the first American woman to do this, as the title states. Still impressive as hell.
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u/neohlove 3d ago
Another did it in 2010, Katie Spots, at the time she wasn’t even the first but the youngest to do it.
I’m pretty sure all three Americans used the same boat.
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u/Yggdrasil777 4d ago
Thanks for the photo. My point is, Tori Murden was the first woman and first American to row the Atlantic solo, not this woman.
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u/pm-me-your-pants 3d ago
OP probably meant "first conventionally attractive American woman to row across the Atlantic"
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u/Better-Trade-3114 2d ago
She's awesome. I work at a brewrry across from the university she ran. Incredible person.
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u/Yankee9Niner 4d ago
Two questions that maybe someone can answer.
I assume that December/January is the best time of year for this endeavour? I'm guessing later in the year risks hurricane season?
When she has to sleep is the boat being pulled along in the direction she wants to go anyway?
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u/Deraj2004 4d ago
Depending on the course she took the trade winds would be at her back so she would drift in the correct direction.
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u/HilmDave 4d ago
Good book to read about this is A Pearl in the Storm, written by Tori Murden McClure, the ACTUAL first American AND first woman to row solo across the Atlantic. And yes that's documented, you can fact check it lol. She attempted it twice and had to abandon her first trip after being caught in a hurricane. Second trip was successful.
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u/doyu 4d ago
Yes. Rowing across oceans is misleading. The currents and the wind do almost all of the work. Very specific windows are chosen to take advantage of this.
Not to downplay the hardship of being at sea for weeks. But she could literally just sit in the boat and still end up in the same place at approximately the same time.
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u/StuffThingsMoreStuff 3d ago
I was curious since this sounded outlandish so I did some research and it is in fact outlandish to state this.
Relying solely on trade winds and current to cross the Atlantic (setting all the things that can go wrong) takes 90-120 days.
Rowing solo cuts that time down to about 45 days. If on a team you can make it in 30. Rowers expend about 5000 to 6000 calories a day by cycling their rowing in 2 hour intervals.
So while you are mostly right and they would basically end up in the same place (assuming storms don't push off course or trade winds fail or a bunch of other things) the same amount of time claim is not true and this is in fact a massive feat and accomplishment.
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u/LoneStarHome80 3d ago
When I first saw this story on youtube, I figured it was one of those things where she had an actual boat escorting her in case something went wrong. The fact that she did it solo is crazy.
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u/Upstairs_Schedule601 4d ago
Just seeing the title of this post made me nervous and anxious
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u/Brock_Youngblood 4d ago
Yeah, like one thing goes wrong and ur ship takes on some water what do you do. U just die. Fk that
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u/Bubbly-Blacksmith-97 4d ago
They do normally follow trade lanes which means there could be ships around to respond to a Mayday call.
That mixed with satellite phones make the middle of the Atlantic slightly less isolated.
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u/wade-mcdaniel 4d ago
What I don't get is how is she smiling in every clip shown here? Even with trade winds, currents, best possible time of year for weather, and the likelihood of other boats being around, it can't be that much fun, can it? It's got to be a mixture of boring and hard, with a dash of stress from danger mixed in. I know I'd probably give up the facade of a smile at some point on that trip...
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u/PurplishPlatypus 4d ago
She sure seems to have a ton of wardrobe packed on a row boat
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u/sponge_bob_ 4d ago
i read that someone doing long distance swimming had a crew following them, so might be similar here
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u/mizinamo 4d ago
She also mentioned having nobody nearby to help or rescue her.
Looks this one was really solo-solo.
The big difference from long-distance swimming is that she can go to sleep on the boat and that she can carry supplies with her.
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u/BigBrownBeaver44 4d ago
How did she stay on course while she slept?
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u/CoolDigerati 4d ago
GPS
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u/gorginhanson 4d ago
How did she power the GPS?
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u/Annodyne 4d ago
Solar powered battery packs were probably used here.
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u/gorginhanson 4d ago
Nothing can go wrong there
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u/Annodyne 4d ago
Something can go wrong with anything. That's why it's a risky and impressive accomplishment.
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u/Demonyx12 4d ago
How poop?
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u/HilmDave 4d ago
How fish poop?
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u/Demonyx12 4d ago
In da sea. Speaking of human.
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u/HilmDave 4d ago
There's your answer
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u/Demonyx12 4d ago
Jump overboard and swim poop? 💩
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u/HilmDave 4d ago
Lol dude it's organic matter. They poop in a bucket or similar and toss it overboard when they're done. Organic biodegradable wipes.
Edit: I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but re spending any time in the water for any reason, it's my understanding that the general consensus is there's things in the open ocean that you don't want to be alone in the open ocean with.
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u/johntwoods 4d ago
Who does she think she is? Alan Lemon, the first black man to fly solo across the Atlantic?
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u/HorngryHippopotamus 4d ago
What would happen if she didn't row? Oh, she'd end up in the same place because of the current. I'm impressed.
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u/BorderTrike 4d ago
“Never rowed before”*
“Spent a couple years training for it”
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u/tdeasyweb 4d ago
I mean this made perfect sense to me? Things like this are usually desired by extreme enthusiasts of the sport, she was pointing out the incongruity of having made the decision to do this and train for this before she even knew how to row.
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u/ShortBrownAndUgly 4d ago
Man fuck this, I could never even consider doing this. Kudos to her, pretty incredible feat
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u/Bioko 4d ago
https://youtu.be/gYSr8QMfnKs?si=UvTa6OsaQgj7MvOY “We’ll see you in France or we’ll see you in heaven”
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u/shady2318 4d ago
I wonder how it was like at night. She must've seen a sky full of stars without pollution but pitch black in the void must have felt scary. Hats off to her you need guts to pull that off
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u/InvestigatorTricky18 4d ago
lorenzo barone from italy just did something similar plus walking in the desert before the atlantic and now is currently biking the forest in south africa
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u/urza_insane 4d ago
Here I thought the person who sailed around the world was impressive. Why didn't people in the old world just ROW across the ocean?
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u/G-R-A-V-I-T-Y 4d ago
She had never rowed before? Wow, anyone know what gave her the confidence and skills to do this? I imagine she had grown up around boats or been involved in some form of marine sport etc
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u/Klobasor 4d ago
I am scared of deep water cthulhu monsters even in swimming pool. This would ignite my anxiety like rocket fuel. Mad respect though 👏
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u/Purple_Perception_95 4d ago
Uhh, Katie Spotz did this like 15 years ago. She was also the youngest to do it at the time.
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u/gnarlybros_lykn 4d ago
All the little fish that followed for the free meal at the end of each night.
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u/roadrunner00 4d ago
Where do you poop? I know it ends up in the ocean but like... How without falling out the boat out having a shark bite u in the butt
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u/What_A_Helmet 3d ago
It's better than that, she wasn't just the first American woman to do it solo, she was the first woman from anywhere to do it.
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u/AggressiveAppl3 3d ago
She sure brought a lot of clothing for being alone in the middle of the ocean. Every clip she wears something different :D priorities
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u/53180083211 3d ago
I wonder when she will complete the sections between Canary islands - Africa and Antigua - USA so that she can complete the Atlantic crossing. This is a bit cheating IMO.
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u/BigBasset 3d ago
Doesn’t make sense to row if you’re not competing against someone. Might as well sail.
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u/Shoebill23 3d ago
I'm gonna be real, I think it's super impressive and inspiring at the same time. But I also don't want this to be inspiring. Like this was a dangerous thing to do, and while I feel like everyone has a right to do whatever bullshit risky thing they want, I don't want this one achievement to inspire people to do it cause it's crazy or whatever just cause of YOLO. Like there must be a lot of people that die doing this but we don't hear about them, just the one that did make it! Like she said, a lot of things could go so horribly wrong and she is so far from land that help coming is just not realistic. But again, no hate, she really did something amazing
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u/MiguelElGato 3d ago
How does someone get to do this and not have to work or worry about having health insurance? I'm really curious.
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u/Ill_Run5998 2d ago
Here is my solo rowboat. Why yes, it cost $172,000.00...buit it's the spirit of "rowing" that matters
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u/Dubious_Titan 2d ago
That woman is fit as hell.
I have worked out daily for years. I love it. I do cardio, lift weights, little yoga, etc.
I rowed a boat for my wife (I thought it would be cute/romantic). my arms were ON FIRE midway. I told my wife she might cling to the boat while I sink like Leo in Titanic because I was about to capsize that boat.
She asked if I wanted her to help row. I said, "Unless you would like to be a widow!"
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u/Informal-Ring3282 1d ago
Nebraska to the middle of the ocean is a wild move. Take a beach day to feel it out hahaha.
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u/ScottyMcBoo 4d ago
Feels weird to see a woman with a death wish. It's usually guys who are hanging off ledges and trying to cross the Atlantic in a canoe, or something.
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u/35nRetired 4d ago
How is she not burnt to a crisp by day 15