Four men, one ocean, 3,100 miles

Saipan native Wilton Ngotel is currently somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, rowing more than 3,100 miles from the coast of Washington State to Maui, Hawaii with three other men using no sails, no engines, and no support boats—only manpower and endurance.

The expedition, called “Row West Pacific,” departed La Push, Washington on Saturday, May 2, and is expected to take between 50 to 70 days on the open ocean. As of Tuesday, May 11, the crew had already rowed more than 200 miles and is expected to reach Kahului, Maui sometime in mid-July.

The four men—Ngotel, Joshua Dukes, Greg Anderson, and Johnny Martinez—come from different backgrounds, including military service, emergency rescue work, coaching, podcasting, and entrepreneurship. Despite that, they all share the same mindset: pushing themselves through difficult challenges and proving ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

“We like to do hard things—not for anything but to really test ourselves,” Ngotel said. “A common thing we share is we don’t like to outsource our manhood or happiness to other men such as watching football or sitting on the couch and watching sports. We’d rather go out and do extraordinary things or try and show people that it is possible.”

He added that the journey has already tested the crew in unexpected ways. “From this journey, we’ve already had encounters where we have to use our life skills to kind of mitigate situations and navigate everything,” he said. But now, they’re in higher spirits. “It’s all coming along….We’re kind of just enjoying it—the talks are getting deeper. All the talks are about getting better and how to shape young minds.”

“Everything is getting sharper out here. There’s really no quit. Everything that we’re learning, especially about ourselves, is acceptance. It’s not like we can jump off and walk away because we’re tired,” said Ngotel.

For Anderson, he said, “We’re doing amazing. In fact, we were just discussing how this was supposed to be hard and difficult, while it is, we’re actually having a really good time and enjoying the trip so far.” To their supporters, he said, “one of the things we’ve been saying is that ordinary men can do extraordinary things, and if you make a choice to do something and pursue something, just believe that you can, and that’s why we’re out here doing it.”

Ngotel said the expedition reflects a lifestyle he has built around discipline and personal growth.

A brown belt in jiu-jitsu and coach in the ENJJ community in the Pacific Northwest, he also runs Ngotel Media and hosts The Patriotic Islander Podcast, where he talks about culture, leadership, and self-improvement.

He said the long days alone on the ocean have also given him time to think about personal struggles and things he has carried for years. But being out on the water, he said, has helped him start letting some of those things go.

For people back home in the CNMI still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, Ngotel also shared a message of resilience and perseverance.

“Everybody sees you, but I just want you guys to know that this too shall pass, and hard times create strong men,” he said. “There’s a lot of strength and resiliency to be built from this adversity that we’re facing.”

“But at the same time, do not use it to handicap yourself and be comfortable depending on other people. Find something that’s gonna fire you up and something that you can do to help your community, and we all grow together.”