Unrelenting rough conditions off the northern California coast brought an early end to Angela Madsen’s trans-Pacific rowing attempt this week.
The paraplegic Long Beach resident, who departed from Santa Cruz last week intending to row unassisted and unaccompanied to Hawaii, was rescued by the Coast Guard early Tuesday morning. Her boat, The Spirit of Orlando, is still adrift about 90 miles off the coast. A search for the boat will commence when off-shore weather conditions improve.
Madsen sustained some bumps and bruises on this trip, but implied she’ll be regrouping for another attempt at the 2300-mile rowing odyssey from California to Hawaii.
“This happens in ocean rowing to all who participate,” Madsen told the Post. “Tori Murden took three attempts to make it solo across the Atlantic, and Roz Savage was rescued and her boat set adrift doing the same row as me. Her boat was recovered and she set off a year later and completed it. That is just the nature of ocean rowing.”
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