Kiwi conquers Pacific Ocean after two-month row

Kiwi conquers Pacific Ocean after two-month row

Tara Remington has finally achieved her goal of successfully completing the 4000km row across the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Waikiki.

“I am with my family and I am on land,” she said excitedly from Hawaii this morning.

Tara’s 4000 Km odyssey is to raise money for New Zealand girl Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman. Charlotte lost her arms and legs to meningitis as a baby in 2004. Now a ten-year-old, she needs on-going assistance with prosthetic limbs as she grows.

Her arrival in Waikiki was hampered by bad weather. Family and friends sailed out on-board the boat Scuba Queen at about 1pm yesterday afternoon New Zealand time to find the pair passing the volcanic cone of Diamond Head, located on the South-east Coast of O'ahu at the end of Waikiki. A giant pod of dolphins joined the rowers as they cruised into the Waikiki Harbour.

But high winds brought on by the arrival of a tropical storm delayed their arrival by several hours and they finally arrived at around 7pm Sunday 20 July New Zealand time or 9pm Saturday evening in Hawaii.

The weather delay was frustrating for the pair who could see their family and friends on board the boat.

But finally there were emotional reunions on shore with her wife Rebecca, and children Jade and Seth.

“It’s so nice to have my family here; both Jade and Seth look taller.”

“I feel like I just stepped off The Tardis because it’s just so surreal to go for two months to sea and then suddenly there’s all these people and family and media.”

After the reunions were done Tara finally got around to fulfilling her dream to have a cold drink of orange flavoured Crush and a cheese pizza.

“I am a plain cheese kind of girl, it was just brilliant.”

The pizza was a special treat as she had been living off two minute noodles for the last 15 days of the row after her precious supply of macaroni cheese ran out.

She will now spend the next 10 days in Hawaii relaxing with her family and eating more of her favourite food to gain the estimated 20kg she thinks she has lost in the row.

Tara, 44, a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Education, had been rowing across the Pacific Ocean from Long Beach, Los Angeles to Waikiki in Hawaii with American Paralympian Angela Madsen, 54. The pair left Los Angeles on 20 May in their 6m mono-hull rowboat the Spirit of Orlando.

They have created new places for themselves in the Ocean Rowing record books by completing the 4000km journey in 60 days and 1 hour.

You can donate to Charlotte at: www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/RowingforCharlotte

Angela, a former US marine, is also using the row to raise money for wounded American war veterans. The United States Navy and the National Parks Service is allowing the pair to row the Spirit of Orlando into Pearl Harbour on Tuesday July 22nd Hawaiian time so Angela can pay her respects to fallen comrades.

Tara and Angela are now the first female pair in history to row from California to Hawaii, while Angela, who is paralyzed from the waist down, is the first paraplegic to row from Los Angeles to Hawaii.

Film and pictures of Tara and Angela’s arrival at Waikiki are available from Lew Stowers at American Sports and Entertainment at 001 714 206 8049 or lew.stowers@gmail.com

Lew also has footage of their departure from Los Angeles.

Tara, a Waiuku resident, first got involved with Charlotte’s charity through the Meningitis Trust in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race, and now her daughter Jade is Charlotte’s pen-pal.

Visit www.tararemington.weebly.com for more information on Tara and her Pacific Row 2014.

Make a donation to Charlotte at: www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/RowingforCharlotte
You can also track their progress at https://share.delorme.com/AngelaMadsen

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