Adventure Magazine December 2019/January 2020

THE FINAL EXAM
ROW LIA ROW
In March 2020, Lia Ditton will depart
from Choshi, Japan on a mission to row 5,500
nautical miles, solo and unsupported, across
the Pacific Ocean to the Golden Gate Bridge of
San Francisco.
To date 2 people have rowed this distance.
Both were men and both men were towed
the last 20 and 50 miles respectively. If she
succeeds, she will be the 1st woman and 1st
person to row land-to-land.
This is her interview
How did you get into ocean
rowing? How did it all start for you?
A Danish Olympic was given my
number by a mutual friend. ‘Me? Row
an ocean? You haven’t even met me!’ I
still laugh at the memory of my phone
call with Lisa Kroneberg. I started
reading books about people who
rowed oceans – there were a total of
8 on the subject at the time. I became
fascinated. Within months I had
committed to row the Atlantic.
Rowing round the Farallon
Islands was something that you
were determined to do. Why is
rowing round the Farallon Islands so
challenging?
The Farallon Islands are a chain
of gnarly-looking volcanic islands
situated 26 miles west of the Golden
Gate Bridge of San Francisco. The
islands are a wildlife sanctuary
prohibited to humans – a breeding
ground for elephant seals in the spring
and a shark feeding ground from May
to October.
A sequence of weather events need
to line up favourably in order to reach
the Farallon Islands in a rowboat –
a strong outgoing tide and a weak
incoming tide and either a break in
the wind or an easterly/north-easterly
breeze (which is rare). The islands are
right on the lip of the continental shelf
and subject to huge swells, which have
killed many sailors in the past.
Conquering the row around these
islands was a huge milestone in
your rowing career. Can you talk us
through the three attempts you made?
What was going through your mind
after you failed the first attempt?
What motivated you to continue for
another two?
I proved it was possible to reach
the Farallon Islands in my boat,
when I turned back 2.5 miles shy
of the Southeast Farallon Island on
my reconnaissance mission. My first
official attempt was foiled due to the
marine layer, a wind-fog phenomena
caused by a temperature differential
between land and sea. The experience
felt humiliating because of how much
media coverage the attempt received
(everyone loves a story of aiming big
and coming up short). My second
attempt ended with another battle
with the wind fog, but it’s possible I
might have been able to break through
the marine layer if I had deployed
my sea anchor when I went to sleep.
I didn’t, so I’ll never know! My third
attempt was in October after I had
rowed 350 miles down the coast from
San Francisco to Santa Barbara. I had
that row in the bank, was willing to
be patient for the right conditions and
when the weather presented a perfect
window I dropped everything and
went for it!
How much did achieving your row
around the Farallon Islands impact
your confidence in your attempt to row
the Pacific?
I feel that rowing around
the Farallon Islands was an
accomplishment in its own right.
The main take-away for me, was
never give up. In the end I think my
perseverance to succeed was more
note-worthy than the feat itself.
You spoke a lot about your
mentality during your rows. How do
you keep yourself motivated when
you’re struggling?
I try and think of the bigger
picture – the education programme
for 4-11 year old children who are
following along as well as my amazing
family of Believers who contribute
monthly on my crowdfunding platform
Patreon.com/rowliarow. My Believers
are terrific at offering encouragement.
Can you chat to us about your
boat? How does it work/ where do you
sleep/ what does it look like? What
technology is there on board?
My boat is a 21-foot ocean rowboat
with a cabin at one end and a storage
compartment at the other. I row
on a sliding seat. I have a Katadyn
desalination unit onboard, which
enables me to convert seawater into
drinkable water, a GPS antenna
to determine my position and AIS
(automatic identification system) to
see other ships and for them to seem
me. My YellowBrick tracker shows
you where I am on my website and to
communicate I use a Garmin InReach
satellite device that enables me to
send text messages using my iPhone.
What is it like on your boat, during
a storm? Do you feel safe? What goes
through your mind?
Storms don’t usually appear out of
nowhere. The sky changes, the waves
build. You know something is coming.
Hopefully this gives you enough time
to get ready – tidy up, tie down any
lose items, make food, wash. As the
storm arrives, the important thing is
to monitor how the boat is riding the
waves and make frequent equipment
checks. I have faith that my boat is
designed to withstand the conditions,
but storms are still stressful because
no storm is the same. It’s hard to
sleep, but even harder to eat and use
the toilet bucket!
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ 67