She rowed, rowed, rowed — across the Atlantic
She rowed, rowed, rowed — across the Atlantic
A 22-year-old American rower completed a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, touching a pier in the coffee-brown waters of Guyana to claim a record as the youngest person to accomplish the feat.
Katie Spotz spent more than two months alone at sea.
She rowed for as many as 10 hours a day with breaks for naps, navigation and boat maintenance. At night, she would drift aboard the specially designed ocean row boat, which had equipment including solar panels for power, a satellite phone and a laptop computer.
"I would cook three dehydrated meals a day on a little stove," she said as she devoured a melon at the dock in Georgetown. "At night I would update my Facebook and e-mails. There is not much else to do on a row boat."
"The hardest part was just the solo part," Spotz said, saying she struggled with boredom and had trouble sleeping inside the cramped, 19-foot row boat.
She rowed to raise money and awareness for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a nonprofit whose goal is to bring clean drinking water to the estimated 1 billion people worldwide who lack it.
"The records are just a bonus for Katie. Rowing the Atlantic and raising funds for clean water are the things she really cares about," said her coach Sam Williams.
Share on Facebook
- Posted on March 15, 2010
Animals
Art
Your stories
22 year old Katie Spots in a row boat rowed all the way across the Atlantic ocean on March 15, 2010. For two months Katie was rowing for 10 hours a day including breaks for naps, navigation, and boat maintenance. At night she would update her face book and e-mail. For food she had dehydrated food and cooked it on a little stove.That's what Katie did.
Rowing a boat for more than 2 months sounds difficult especially if you were trying to get across the Atlantic Ocean. Completing the journey was a special feat to Katie Spotz. It was nice for her to raise money and awareness for the Blue Planet Run Foundation.
She rowed all the way acrose the atlantic sea that is so amazing i don't know anyone who could ever do that i know that i defently could ever do that in may life.
Wow that is amazing. Two 2 months of rowing, his arms must be tired. That would be pretty boring though all by yourself your 2 months wow.
That is amazing she could go across the Alantic Ocean. She went in the ocean by herself she must not be scared of anything. If that was me I could not have made It I would always be bored.
That is crazy. My arms would probobly fall of after about three days. I wonder what she did for fun I might die of boredom if i did not have anything to do.
cool!.I think this is cool because she went across the atlanta ocean all alone.If this was me I would only do It If I had plenty of food and vidio games.
Wow! I would never make that. I can't belive she risked her life all the way across the atlantic. She is the craziest person ever.
Sports: That's so cool i mean literally cool really cold i would never in life of me living ever do that at all because you can get extremely sick like death sick Naoma and stuff like that ... that is extremely dangerous to do well ya to the weird girl that has the guts to do that.
I think it is amazing that someone can row so far. I think if I had to do that I could not do it. Think how much entrench you would have to have. He would row 10 hours a day with only a couple brick. And if I where him I would be proud of my self that I accomplish such a big goal.