Paralympian to row from Long Beach to Hawaii; hopes to inspire wounded vets
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Long Beach rower and paralympian is about to attempt what some might consider impossible: a 2,500-mile trek across the Pacific Ocean.
Angela Madsen and her friend Tara Remington plan to row all the way from Long Beach to Hawaii for a very worthy cause.
"I was flying to Hawaii and I kept looking down at the ocean and thought, 'I want to row that,' recalled Madsen. "It will be my fourth ocean crossing."
The 52-year-old paraplegic holds six Guinness World Records for ocean rowing and is a paralympian with a bronze medal in the shot-put.
Injured while serving in the Marines, Madsen is dedicating her trip to the fallen service men and women. Her boat is adorned with some of their pictures.
She's hoping her story of determination will inspire those injured on the front lines.
"Our guys just need to know that their life is gonna be OK and that they need to crank it up and find another gear and kind of move positively forward," said Madsen.
For Madsen, rowing has been her lifeline. When you're out on the water, she says, no one knows your challenges.
"You get to get out of your chair and just get on a boat, and nobody knows the difference between you and anybody else out here," she said.
Gale force winds forced Madsen to abandon her previous attempt to cross the Pacific last June. And weather again has forced her push her departure back to Tuesday.
Madsen says with her solo boat, which she converted to a pairs boat and outfitted with everything they need for the more than 2,500-mile journey, they're ready to row.
"It's cozy but we'll have a lot more power and it's lighter so we'll have a lot more speed. So we're thinking 50-60 days we should be in Hawaii," said Madsen.
