Michelle Lee became the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. After completing an epic 240-day expedition, she landed in Queensland, Australia, on April 5, 2023, becoming the first solo female rower ever to cross the Pacific.
Lee began her 14,000-kilometer rowing journey from Ensenada, Mexico, on August 8, 2022—just three days after her 50th birthday.
Before this achievement, Lee had already broken the women’s world speed record for rowing one million meters on a rowing machine (in 5 days, 21 hours, and 35 minutes). In 2019, she became the first Australian woman to row solo across any ocean when she crossed the Atlantic during the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
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A Stormy Start to the Expedition
Lee’s Pacific expedition began slowly. In the first few weeks, she struggled with difficult winds and currents. At one point, the weather became so bad that she had to contact a meteorologist every four hours to find the most efficient way to proceed.
Lee tried to stay positive. During one storm, she decided to keep rowing despite the harsh conditions because staying inside the cabin was driving her crazy.
“I ended up rowing in 20-knot winds and big seas. It was amazing for me—it felt like breaking new boundaries. Now I know I can row in 20-knot winds. That gave me confidence,” she said.
But rowing through storms was far from easy. She faced five storms, four cyclones, and many long days trapped inside her small cabin. Cyclone Gabrielle was the worst—it kept her confined for nine long, anxious days. All she could do was drop anchor and listen to the waves pounding against her boat.
Shark Nursery
Beyond the physical struggle, Lee’s greatest challenge was loneliness. Living in isolation for eight months was tough, and she admitted to hitting many emotional lows. To stay sane, she listened to 37 audiobooks, played the ukulele, and talked with friends and family whenever possible.
“There were some really long conversations on the satellite phone. We’ve cried and laughed together. We just kept talking,” one of Lee’s friends told ABC Australia while waiting for her to land.
Fortunately, wildlife encounters lifted her spirits. Her most memorable experience came when her boat became a nursery for baby sharks. She had been followed by two adult sharks for weeks, and soon she saw four baby sharks swimming beneath her boat. The mother sharks left for a while before returning later. Lee believed that after following her for so long, the sharks felt safe giving birth near her. Before long, dozens of baby sharks surrounded her.
“My boat has become a nursery. It’s so cute. Everyone’s in harmony,” she wrote.
One morning, however, she stepped out of her cabin to find a shark thrashing on the deck. Sadly, she couldn’t help it back into the water. All she could do was wait until it died before returning it to the sea.
Crossing the Great Barrier Reef
Lee’s journey remained difficult until the very end. Two cyclones struck as she crossed the Coral Sea. She headed west but couldn’t predict exactly which harbor she would reach. Strong winds and rough waves kept pushing her off course. Her landing was delayed several times, and she had to carefully maneuver through the Great Barrier Reef, near Australia.
“There’s a lot to organize for this, and it requires a great deal of planning and strategy,” Lee wrote on her blog. “There was Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. It was very technical for Roger, my weather router, to get me across the Great Barrier Reef at the right time.”
Lee spent days navigating through the vast coral formations and finally reached the finish line. She rowed for six straight hours, hoping to arrive in Port Douglas. But the conditions became so complicated that she had to change her final landing point—58 kilometers away from her original plan.
“The last part was a real battle,” she told reporters. (Sulung Prasetyo)
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