Michelle Lee, a 50-year-old massage therapist from Sydney, just became the first woman to row solo, with no assistance and no stops, across the Pacific. It took her more than 237 days, passing through five hurricanes and four cyclones, to row from Mexico to Australia. Here’s a great story from ABC Far North:
An Australian has become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean unassisted and without stopping.
Sydney-based Michelle Lee was greeted by cheering friends and supporters as she rowed into Port Douglas in Far North Queensland on Wednesday morning, marking the end of a 14,000-kilometre, 237-day journey.
She crossed the paths of four cyclones and five hurricanes on her epic journey from Ensenada on the west coast of Mexico, with the marine life of the Pacific and a satellite phone her only company.
“When I was out there in the middle of nowhere, completely isolated, I was never lonely,” Lee said.
Lee set off from Mexico in her 8-metre by 2-metre carbon fibre boat, The Australian Maid, on August 8, 2022.
Taking her first few steps on dry land in nearly eight months, Lee said the promise of greeting loved ones and eating unpackaged food helped her through a tough end to her journey, which saw her rowing in six-hour lots as she tried to navigate a difficult outgoing tide.
“Knowing [my friends]were just there and I can’t touch them, can’t see them, I actually felt alone for the first time, just sitting out there on the Great Barrier Reef waiting to come in,” she said.
Lee said her encounters with wildlife were a “massive highlight” of her journey, adding that she was trailed by two large sharks for weeks.
She recalled a time a baby shark — one of a group of about 50 swimming below her — jumped up into the deck of her boat.
Lee said it was a “privilege” to experience the unique nature of the Pacific Ocean.
“You’re just experiencing and witnessing Mother Nature in all her runway-ready, take-me-as-I-am, natural beauty,” she said.
“Some days she’s better than others, and she certainly puts you through the paces.”
As she approached the Port Douglas jetty, Lee’s friends sounded their support with air horns and music.
Close friend Corinne Gardiner said Lee’s support network had been following her journey every step of the way.
“There have been long, long chats on the satellite phone,” she said.
“We’ve had a few tears together. We’ve had a lot of laughs together. We’ve been talking constantly.” Read more:
