Renee Blacken makes history as first woman to row Atlantic Dash solo
By Mike Moses
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BETHLEHEM, N.H. (WMUR) — A Bethlehem woman is home after rowing 3,200 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua.
For 65 days, Renee Blacken was alone in the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s wild, and in some ways, I am still like, how did I do that?” Blacken said.
She had no safety net or chase boat, rowing in open water as part of the Atlantic Dash.
“When it came down to it, it was me in the boat, learning to trust myself, learning to trust the equipment that I had,” she said.
Blacken had no face-to-face contact for more than two months, aside from occasional sightings of dolphins, fish or birds.
She said one of the most memorable moments of her voyage was when the Queen Victoria cruise ship passed by.
“They sounded all of their horns and whistles. They made an announcement from the bridge about me, about Outdoor Adventuring for Good. Had the passengers come up onto the deck. So that was like, that was a pretty cool human experience out there,” she said.
Blacken raised nearly $20,000 during her journey for the nonprofit Outdoor Adventuring for Good, which supports trauma recovery programs.
“Basically, providing support to programs that give people agency on their own healing journeys,” she said.
She also made history by becoming the first woman to row solo in the Atlantic Dash and the first American to compete in the event. She’s the fourth American woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
“I think part of my work out there was learning to be proud of myself for what I was able to do,” Blacken said.
When she finally reached land, Blacken said it wasn’t just a relief but also gave her confidence to rely on herself when it mattered most.
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