International waters

Lia Ditton in King Harbor after rowing from San Francisco. Photo by Mike McKinney Waterwoman Lia Ditton, with legions of ‘believers’ behind her, hopes to become the first woman to cross the Pacific Ocean by rowboat “My boat was getting pummeled. We were being dragged up wind, up steep waves by an unexpected westbound current. Many of the waves smacked the cabin. Sleep was out of the question as my boat was tossed from side to side. Every time I tried to sleep, I kept hearing voices — people outside! There were no people outside.” — Lia Ditton, July 6, 11 a.m. Lia Ditton was exhausted. The 38-year-old had been at sea for more than two weeks on her row from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Her trip was part-training and part-promotional journey, to rally interest in her plans to become the third person, and first woman, to compete a trans-Pacific row between Japan and United States. Ditton has sailed and rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and skippered her sailboat to a third-place finish in the Transpacific Yacht Race, from San Pedro to Honolulu. Everything was going well on row down the California coast until rounded Point Conception. The channel’s shallow shelf created a rolling wave…

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