American rower Sonya Baumstein, from Orlando, Fla.,sets out in her custom rowboat for San Francisco Sunday, June 7, 2015. Baumstein, who hoped to be the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean, had to give up her quest due to bad weather. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Sonya Baumstein was rescued off the Japanese coast on Saturday after sending out a distress signal, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Baumstein departed from Choshi, Japan, one week ago, hoping to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.
She was headed for San Francisco but sent out the signal on Saturday around 2:20 p.m. about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the coast of Japan.
A freighter traveling nearby rescued her at around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday and passed her on to a coast guard ship around 8:55 p.m. (1155 GMT), the Japanese coast guard said.
Baumstein was hoping to finish the 6,000-mile (9,600-kilometer) journey by late September.
