After nearly two months of non-stop rowing, Luverne High School graduate Caitlin Miller and her rowing partner, George Pagano, safely docked in Antigua Tuesday morning.
Miller of Hardwick and Pagano of Media, Pennsylvania, competed in the “Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge,” a 90-day, 3,000-mile journey from the Island of LaGomera (one of Spain’s Canary Islands just off the coast of Africa) to English Harbor, Antigua.
The pair began rowing on Dec. 20.
Miller is the daughter of Alex and Karen Miller of Hardwick.
Members of both families met the duo in Antigua as they reached the finish line Tuesday.
“Seeing them entering the harbor this morning, we really got a sense of how immense this challenge was — lots of happy tears,” Alex Miller said. “You want your children to follow their dreams, but having them home is even better.”
Miller and Pagano have set two world rowing records.
At ages 23 and 24 respectively, Miller and Pagano, both graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, are the youngest American mixed pair to safely row across the Atlantic Ocean. They also set the record time for an American mixed pair of 58 days, 5 hours and 6 minutes. The previous record was 60 days, 18 hours.
Their boat was the first American-made craft to compete in and complete the challenge.
Out of 26 boats in the challenge, their boat called “Washington’s Crossing” finished in 17th place.
The duo rowed on behalf of finding a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, a disease that claimed the life of Pagano’s grandfather in 2003.
On Monday Miller and Pagano shared this message with Facebook friends: “The final day! Today we row in honor of those who have fallen and those still living with ALS. We have faith that one day the disease won’t be a death sentence. Until then, keep fighting and we will too.”
In next week’s Star Herald, Miller will share with readers what it was like not seeing any other race boat since Day 2 of the Challenge, experiencing a tropical storm, and developing a routine to complete the race at a record-setting pace.