Pacific rowing world record smashed by four women relying on positivity and gratitude

Ocean Sheroes slice 14 days off the Pacific rowing world record, from San Francisco to Hawaii, as part of the Great Pacific Race

Letting go of ‘grumpiness’ and focusing on happiness is the key to their success

3-MIN READ3-MIN

The Ocean Sheroes, who smashed the world record for rowing across the Pacific, from San Francisco to Hawaii. Photo: Great Pacific Race/@hawaiisportsphotography

Published: 6:45pm, 13 Jul 2021Updated: 9:55pm, 14 Jul 2021

As four women pulled into Hawaii having smashed 14 days off the Pacific rowing world record, you would be forgiven for thinking their epic feat was a sum total of their fitness and strength. In fact, their secret is happiness.

“When you have a great mentality and you want to get out on the oars, when you’re positive you’ll have more energy and want to row harder,” said team member Bella Collins. “You see teams that are extremely fit, but if you’re not mentally in that right place you won’t row really hard or have that energy to get you through that night shift.”

The Ocean Sheroes team – comprising Collins, Purusha Gordon, Mary Sutherland and Lily Lower – set off from San Francisco as part of the Great Pacific Race. They rowed unsupported for 35 days, in non-stop shifts, and arrived in Hawaii as women’s record holders and second overall to men’s record-holders Latitude 35. They aimed to come in under the previous world record of 50 days, but shocked even themselves by breaking it by so much.

The positive attitude did not happen by mistake.

The Ocean Sheroes’ world record-setting pace was based of positivity and happiness. Photo: Great Pacific Race/Rod Mayer

“It’s something we actively worked on,” Collins said. “We practised daily gratitude. If you do it every day, you can’t just say the wind and the waves, you have to really think of things you’re grateful for.