Hawaii attracts nearly 10 million visitors every year.
Pretty much all the tourists travel by plane, with island-hopping cruise ships making up a minuscule percentage —a number not much bigger than a rounding error.
This June, however, four visitors arrived on a rowboat.
Yes, a rowboat.
That’s thanks to Oconomowoc native Johnny Martinez and his three friends, Greg Anderson, Joshua Dukes and Wilton Ngotel, who oared their way across the Pacific Ocean from Washington to Maui.
Engine? Nope. Sail? Think again. Just four friends and four oars on a 25-foot boat out on the open water — with all Mother Nature has to throw them — for 2,554 nautical miles. The distance is about the equivalent of going up and down Lake Michigan 10 times.
Leaving the continental U.S. on May 2, they finally reached the shores of Maui on June 24 – 53 days, one minute and five seconds after departing.
All that time was on the boat. No real kitchen. Forget an actual bathroom. A cozy bed existed only in dreams. They left their friends and families in their wake.
While on the boat, Martinez threw up multiple times from seasickness, saying at one point in an Instagram video he was “feeling nice” simply because he was keeping his food down.
The crew — which rowed in three-hour shifts, meaning everyone rowed 12 hours a day — battled 20-foot waves and 35 mph winds. A couple of weeks in, they encountered a storm so bad they had to sit in place for more than 24 hours with an underwater parachute anchor.
Once, a shark tried to bite one of the oars.
Why did these four adrenaline junkies sign themselves up for this?
Mainly, to raise money for Aeriel Recovery, a disaster response and anti-sex trafficking organization. But also to send a message that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
And that doesn’t necessarily mean rowing across an ocean. It just means seeking adventure and having fun.
Jack Albright can be reached at jalbright@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin man completed 3,000-mile journey rowing across Pacific Ocean
Reporting by Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
