Harrowing capsize on US to Hawaii solo row attempt
A month after leaving San Francisco, solo ocean rower Lia Ditton is finally on a southwest trajectory on course for Hawaii after recovering from a terrifying capsize and spending weeks battling currents and winds that took her south.
As well as facing challenging conditions that have tested her skills and resolve to the limit, Ditton has also had to cope with the devastating news on June 22 that fellow rower Angela Madsen had died during her attempt on the same route after 57 days.
Ditton, a professional sailor, had been fighting adverse currents, wind and steep waves the size of buildings, as she clawed her way off the Continental Shelf and away from the California coast.
On day 19, her ambitions almost came to an end. As she was rowing, a rogue wave capsized her 21-foot boat and plunged her head first into the dark ocean. With no time to be frightened in the moment, Ditton realised the boat was not easily turning itself back upright so climbed onto it and used all her strength to roll the boat back herself, as she described in her blog.
“The boat was upside down. The boat was not self-righting. I recalled an instance in the Atlantic rowing race, where Chris Martin had rolled his boat back over like a dinghy. Without hesitation I began to roll the boat,” she says. “The boat began to roll over and I remember looking at the hull and seeing only a few barnacles and being pleased by that. I don’t remember how I initiated the roll or how much force I used, but the muscles in my neck, arms and shoulders are very sore now. As the boat rolled I felt frightened because there was nothing to hang onto on the underside of the hull.
“The boat came back upright fast, knocking me back under water. ‘Find the safety line,’ barked the voice in my head. I fumbled again and found the safety line. I grabbed the side deck to pull myself up but there was no strength left in my arms and in that moment I was sure that was why Angela died. ‘NO LIA!’ I tried again and knowing there was no third try, used sheer will and all the energy left in my body to get myself back onboard.”
Once safely back on board, a passing US Navy ship offered a rescue opportunity, but Ditton declined and chose instead to continue. In the days following, while she mentally recovered, Lia had to completely restore all her cabin contents, secure the heavy items and re-pack to create better ballast. On top of this, she had to wash the salt water out of all her clothes using fresh water made via her Spectra water maker. With support from her specialist team on shore to get her back on track, she is now finally catching favourable currents and heading south west towards Hawaii.
With her initial aim of challenging the all-time record of 52 days (set by Rob Eustace in 2014) looking very unlikely now, Ditton is now attempting to break Roz Savage’s 2008 journey of 99 days to Hawaii. She has 50 days of food left and her land-based team is assisting with weather routing, medical support and safety, as well as keeping friends and supporters updated on her progress.
This row is training. Her main target is to row 5,500 miles from Japan to San Francisco in spring 2021, bidding to succeed where 19 other attempts have failed.
Education through exploration is a large part of Ditton’s motivation, and as such her daily blogs and videos recounting the experience ‘as it happens’ have seen her social media following grow, with many new followers gripped to the story of the row.
Lia and her team also prepared a series of education content for younger followers before she set off, covering all areas of her preparation, including what she eats, how she propels herself and how she navigates.
Ditton is backed by several companies, including London Speaker Bureau, Kenzen, Databarracks, ECHO and Ocean Racing. Gear sponsors are PainsWessex, Spinlock, SWITLIK, Spectra, The Canvas Works and Ocean Signal.
Read more about Ditton’s preparations in MIN.
