Rowing Home

When Suzanne Pinto, at 57, was invited to join the team of rowers for the 2600-mile trans-oceanic Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race and to potentially break the record for the oldest woman ever to row any ocean in a mixed crew, it took less than 24 hours for her to jump at the chance. And then the demons arrived: How in the world could this middle-aged woman possibly survive such a ridiculous escapade?

Rowing Home chronicles the voyage of a bold and buoyant trailblazer determined to live up to the expectations she laid out for her kids from Day One: “If you are scared of something, you have to do it.” The trials begin long before the crew hit the open sea and grow to epic proportions along the way. Massive waves, broken equipment, ruined food supplies, flying fish to the face, and grueling inter-crew conflict all add to the ordeal of a lifetime.

Pinto’s poignant mix of storytelling, journal entries, rowing facts, and razor-sharp character observations – sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing – offers readers an inside look at one of the most nautically treacherous and socially fraught challenges of the modern age.

Author Biography

Suzanne Pinto is a fearless adventurer, a friend to all living things, good-natured grandmother, and an inveterate rower living on two coasts, Gloucester, Massachusetts (U.S.) and San Carlos, Mexico. This first-time author, now mostly retired from her work as a forensic psychologist and social work consultant, keeps busy rowing, biking, babysitting, and enjoying her every remaining moment above ground.