Send Sophia a Hug (or 2)

Update: Sophia and her team (Libby, Brooke, and Adrienne) arrived safely in Honolulu and beat the world record!

Donors - Thanks to you, Dan and I both got to be there to celebrate. Please send me your snail mail address so I can send you a hand-written thank you (w/pics). :-)

Here's a link to the Good Morning America interview they did the evening they landed: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/female-team-breaks-world-record-rowing-california-hawaii-87415645

Original Post:

If you were to row a 29-foot boat — no motor, no sail, and no support vessel — with three other women and a lot of freeze-dried meals from San Francisco to Hawaii, how would you hope to be greeted when you arrive? Oh, you wouldn’t try to row a boat to Hawaii? Neither would I. My name is Rebecca, and my dream was to have kids, when I thought I couldn’t. My daughter Sarah’s dream was to climb mountains. Her twin sister Sophia’s dream was to row to Hawaii.

For the last four weeks, Sophia (“DJ”) and her team have rowed non-stop — 2 hours on and 2 hours off — using the “off” hours to sleep, eat, fix equipment, and check in with the weather navigator via satellite phone. The team has been flooded with messages from people who the team has inspired in the midst of what has otherwise been “a hard summer.” The ones from parents (mostly moms) express gratitude for the opportunity to show their kids how brave and powerful women can be (especially after Roe was overturned). When they arrive, they’ll have gone about 2,400 miles and 4-6 weeks without fresh fruit, showers, or the ability to walk on a surface that doesn’t wobble. If they arrive before July 26, they’ll beat a world record.

If that were you, what would you want? A big salad? A long nap? A toilet that isn’t a bucket? Sophia would like a hug from her parents. Depending on when we go and what flights/hotels are available, it’ll cost about $2500 for one of us and $3500 for both of us. At the urging of a few supportive/persistent friends, we invite you to help us get there.

Thanks to everyone following along, whether you fund us or not. It has meant so much to know that while the team was battling 10-foot waves, 6 seconds apart, some of you were worrying with us. When we watched that little red triangle on the tracker app cross the halfway point, it felt great to know that some of you were celebrating with us. And I imagine that when Sophia is safely in our arms, and I let out a little sigh of relief, perhaps I won’t be the only one.