Why are so many people trying to row the Pacific this year?
For more stories like this, check out The Chronicles weekly Travel newsletter! Sign up here. On the evening of June 22, amid calm seas and a light southerly wind, Erden Eru slid his rowboat into the water off Crescent City, becoming the 19th person this summer to embark on a voyage from California across the Pacific Ocean. Even for veterans of the rowing community and those who follow the sport closely, the number of people setting out from Northern California on ocean odysseys this year is hard to comprehend. Prior to Eru, three solo adventurers  a kayaker, a hydrofoiler and a rower  attempted the 2,400-mile crossing to Hawaii. Another rower set out for a whopping 7,400-mile journey to Australia. All four were driven by the prospect of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Then there are the small rowboat crews powering their way to Honolulu this summer, many seeking speed records. Eleven people have participated in the Great Pacific Race, a team event that departed from San Francisco. So far, two teams have made the islands. A separate crew of four Brits that shoved off from Monterey arrived in Hawaii on Monday after 43 days at sea. There are so many, even Ive lost track now, said Lia Ditton, of Point Richmond, who was one of only two soloists to successfully row from San Francisco to Hawaii last summer. I used to know all the rowers and boats by name, but I dont anymore.  This summer could signal that the worlds niche community of extreme rowers, long preoccupied with traversing the Atlantic, is shifting its gaze to Earths largest ocean, one of the last places where world-record firsts are still up for grabs. Though wild, fearsome and unpredictable, the Pacific holds a certain appeal for both newcomers and salty stalwarts of ocean rowing. Its still viewed as a new and exciting route, said Chris Martin, duty officer for the Great Pacific Race, who helps coordinate safety and logistics for the event. Its the less-rowed ocean in comparison to the Atlantic.  Of the 95 east-west, human-powered expeditions across the Pacific since 1971, 34 have occurred in the past five years, according to the Ocean Rowing Society, the sports record-keeper. Rowers point to several reasons for the uptick. Broadly, social media has magnified these kinds of exploits, giving greater exposure to individual adventurers and making extraordinary feats seem plainly accessible and achievable, even to amateurs. Case in point: Some of the recent solo attempts to Hawaii were undertaken by people with little or no solo ocean experience. Martin is seeing the same phenomenon play out in the Great Pacific Race: sign-ups from people who have never handled an oar before, let alone crossed a smaller ocean. We have people deciding to do the race because they tapped their birthday into Google and found the race was starting then and said, That sounds like something Id like to do, he said. Tom Magarov/Associated Press  Geography has something to do with it too, Martin said. The British and the French have traditionally been more inclined to tackle the Atlantic, and so as more Americans warm up to the sport, interest in the Pacific is peaking. If youre from America, its easier to mentally process the concept of going from California to Hawaii, Martin said. At the same time, a similar race across the Atlantic called the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge, has come to draw more than 100 participants in recent years and is now oversubscribed. The spillover from that event is beginning to wash up in California, Martin says. His race, which typically hosts just a few rowing teams, has received so much interest for the 2023 event that coordinators plan to admit rowers by invitation only to keep the numbers manageable and guard against an influx of shaky newbies. They have a misconception that the Pacific is kinder than the Atlantic  very false, Ditton said. But the appeal remains. The idea of arriving into Waikiki is something pretty much anyone on the planet can agree with, Martin said. Theyre literally rowing to a tropical paradise.  The coronavirus pandemic played a role in shaping this years crop of rowers and could send more of them into the ocean in the years ahead. COVID-19 waylaid some 2020 bids. For example, Marin kayaker Cyril Derreumauxs plan to paddle to Hawaii ran aground last year when the pandemic shut down shipping and his boat was held up in the United Kingdom. After the pandemic ruined his work schedule this year, Carlo Facchino, of Fremont, decided to shoot for Hawaii this summer but couldnt cobble together the requisite equipment in time. He hopes to launch next year. People are realizing, Hey, I need to take advantage of opportunities when they become available, because its not a given that theyll present themselves again, Facchino said. Another driving factor was the death of his mother, he said. It really drove home that we have limited time on Earth.  Some wonder whether this literal sea change will cause American adventure brands and corporate sponsors to take notice. Ocean excursions in the United States dont inspire the enthusiasm found in the United Kingdom, where long-distance rowers can make a modest living from endorsements. But that could change if more Americans enter the fray. Ocean rowing is becoming more sport-like and less adventure-like, Ditton said. Regardless of how many people set sail, the Pacific has a way of spitting people out. All four soloists who set out this summer before Eru  none of whom, notably, are American-born  have flamed out. Australian rower Heather Taylor left Monterey for Hawaii in April but called in a rescue after 40 days battling seasickness and brutal winds that pushed her too far south. Kayaker Derreumaux, originally of France, set out for Hawaii from Sausalito on May 30 but phoned the U.S. Coast Guard for a helicopter rescue after six rough days hunkering down in his cabin. Courtesy Quin O'Hara  Half Moon Bay big-wave surfer Chris Bertish, originally from South Africa, had a similar idea to cross to Hawaii, but on a custom hydrofoil boat. He set sail June 8 out of Pillar Point Harbor but pulled out at Morro Bay after sustaining electronic failures. Rower Jason Harrison set out from San Francisco Bay in June, hoping to row by himself to his home country of Australia. However, after several days mired in fog off the California coast and suffering damages to his boat, he returned to Monterey. Though all four returned safely to California, rowers arent always so fortunate. An American Paralympian who set out from Los Angeles last summer drowned halfway to Honolulu. A Chinese rower who launched a crossing attempt in 2019 washed up dead in the Philippines last year. Courtesy Erden Eru  With the window on this years season closing, Eru is the last solo rower afloat. The 59-year-old Turkish-born adventurer has his sights set deep in the horizon: 7,000 miles to Hong Kong. Its a massive undertaking for a man alone in a rowboat. But Eru, who lives in Seattle and is considered the godfather of ocean rowing, pulled himself across the Pacific in similar fashion once before. Back in 2007, he set out from Bodega Bay on course for Australia and dug his way there after 312 days at sea. It was the first leg of a mega-adventure in which Eru circumnavigated the globe under his own power  by rowboat, sea kayak and bicycle. After five years, he capped off the journey by pedaling back into Bodega Bay on his bike and claiming a world record. To get to Hong Kong, Eru aims to pass north of Hawaii and trace the 20th parallel, eventually rowing between the Philippines and Taiwan on a voyage he expects to take several months. Nothing can physically prepare a rower for 12 hours a day of activity, no matter how much workout we put in, Eru said before his departure. Before leaving Crescent City, he reflected on the heightened interest in his sport. It may be that were just noticing more people now that we have the internet, he said. Still, he senses that something about rowing has taken hold of the American imagination. I wouldnt be surprised if there will be more such individuals rising up to take on the challenge, Eru said. They go out to meet nature in its rawest terms. I think thats a worthwhile challenge that they accept. I wish there were more of us.  Gregory Thomas is The Chronicles editor of lifestyle & outdoors. Email: gthomas@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @GregRThomas