Countdown

The inaugural Pacific Challenge starts in June 2023 with up to 20 teams participating from around the World. The annual edition of this race will see teams starting from the historic harbour of Monterey, following the path of many adventurers and explorers of yester year. An incredible atmosphere of apprehension and excitement is guaranteed during the pre-race period as teams complete their final preparations to set off to row across the Pacific Ocean. A finish line as unique as Hanalei Bay on the stunning island of Kauai is hard to beat as the backdrop to what will be the most incredible, once in a lifetime adventure.

Race facts

As a relatively new and untouched route, the Pacific challenge offers new adventures, new World Records and once in a lifetime experiences.

• The Pacific Ocean is the World’s deepest ocean.
• Just 82 people in 33 boats have successfully rowed to one of the Hawaiian islands from mainland USA.
• The word Pacific means ‘peaceful’.
• The first person to row the Pacific was Patrick Quesnel in 1976.
• The Pacific ocean shrinks by 2cm each year due to the movement of tectonic plates. This means that the Atlantic ocean increases by 2cm each year!
• Of the 33 crews to have completed the voyage, 11 were all female, 18 all male and just 4 mixed gender.
• 75% of the World’s volcanos are situated in the Pacific ocean basin which is called ‘The Ring of Fire’.
• The longest anyone has taken to row this route was Peter Bird who took 147 days.
• The fastest female team to row this route was Latitude 35 who completed the row in 34 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes.
• The average crossing time for all crew sizes is 62 days.