Central Coast woman, crew break rowing record to Hawaii: ‘It feels so surreal’

Four women including Santa Barbara’s Adrienne Smith broke the Guinness world record for an all-female crew on Monday by rowing from San Francisco to Hawaii in just over 34 days.

The Lat 35 crew reached its destination of the Waikiki Yacht Club at just past 6:40 p.m. Hawaiian time —9:40 p.m. Pacific Time — for an emotional reunion with family and friends.

Smith, who operates the Power of Your Om yoga studio in downtown Santa Barbara, was greeted by her husband Jason, the team’s conditioning coach, and Reese, her 4-year-old daughter. In the most poignant moment of their arrival, Reese, raced across the dock and launched into her mom’s arms for a long, tearful embrace.

Smith thanked her daughter for being “as brave” as the rest of them so they could raise money for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

“I’m excited — it feels so surreal,” she said moments later.

Their time of 34 days, 14 hours and 11 minutes was a full day faster than the old record of 35 days, 14 hours, and 23 minutes which was set last year.

The crew — which included Sophia “D.J.” Denison-Johnston, Libby Costello, and Brooke Downes — left San Francisco Bay on June 21 and rowed in pairs for two-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. They never slept more than 90 minutes at a time.

Their following on their Instagram account @lat35racing grew from 1,200 to more than 41,000 during their journey, according to Lat 35’s Barry Hayes. They were featured Tuesday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“I feel relief ... I feel like if I stand up, I’m going to fall over,” Denison-Johnston said. “Mostly, I feel a lot of love.”

They each had a half-dozen leis draped around their necks upon their arrival.

“I feel like I’ve been picked out of a garden,” Costello said.

Although the straight-line distance to Hawaii is about 2,400 nautical miles — the equivalent of about 2,800 miles on land — the journey was actually farther. Ocean and wind conditions required them to row in a southwesterly direction at times instead of due-west.

“I can’t feel my legs … and the rest of me feels amazing,” Downes said as she stepped onto the dock.

She said she now plans “to have fun in Hawaii with my people, and also my team.”

“I love them,” Downes added, “and we’re still best friends after 34 days of being stuck with them.”