'Success takes grit' - Florida rowers become youngest female pair to row to Hawaii from California

KAUAI, HAWAII — Two-time world record holder Anna McLean decided to pick up her oars once more and get back into the ocean.

This time, the Venice resident did it with her best friend, Jenny D'Anthony.

The duo spent 47 days, 17 hours and 37 minutes on the Pacific Ocean as they traveled from Monterey Bay, California to Kauai, Hawaii. The two are the youngest female crew to row across the Pacific.

McLean has experience on the grueling open ocean after traversing the Atlantic in 2019 with her brother. She faced similar challenges in the Pacific as she did in the Atlantic, according to a news release late Monday.

They left June 8 and faced 30-knot winds along with 15-foot seas that started pushing them toward Mexico.

"Over the next seven days, they battled the intense weather, multiple knockdowns, and a capsize during the night but always managed to persevere through the tough times and continue making progress to Hawaii," the news release stated.

The two fought through broken steering, a lost oar, infected blisters, salt sores, antibiotics going overboard and hallucinations.

"It is a survival expedition for the brave and the daring," the news release said. "It was their relentless spirits that kept them pushing through the freezing nights where their hands were too cold and blistered to hardly grip the oar handle that kept them taking 'just one more stroke,' and telling themselves 'you know it’s going to get better,' but when?"

The second week didn't prove much better. Without wind or waves, the two had to use their full strength to row their 24-foot boat. They found a routine, rowing 18 hours a day with a 6-minute break every two hours.

Halfway, the oarlocks broke, causing each stroke to lose 40% of its power.

"With just 250 miles, problems still arose, one of their batteries went down, forcing them to lose power and no longer be able to make water which they would desalinate from the ocean," the news release said. "This forced them into survival mode where for seven straight days, Anna and Jenny rationed the remainder of their food and water. They had to manually steer and use the remaining battery on their satellite phone sparingly."

Out of food, water and seemingly hope, the two made it to the finish line in Hawaii, but the challenges they faced in the Pacific would not be forgotten.

"When adversity is all around you, there is no place to hide," McLean said in a news release. "Instead, you have to face everything head-on."

McLean said she hopes to inspire others with her achievements.

"My hope is that this journey demonstrates that you, too, can achieve whatever you set your mind to, and I pray that I will have inspired even one person to chase their own dreams with the same desire," she said in a news release. "Success takes grit, a combination of passion and perseverance, but with grit you can do anything."

The hardships weren't just to prove the two women could row half of the world's largest ocean. It was also to prove that women belong in sports, education and leadership.

Since preparing for the row two years ago, McLean and D'Anthony have raised more than $250,000, hoping to pass the gift along to the next generation of women athletes.

"I hope you are inspired to dream big, so big it might even scare you," D'Anthony stated in a news release. "So embrace that dream that keeps you up at night because the perfect time to chase it is now.”