Katie Spotz Completes Youngest Solo Journey in Rowboat Across Atlantic Ocean

Katie Spotz, 22, who we wrote about previously, has become the world's youngest person to row across the Atlantic.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on March 15 2010

Katie Spotz

In January, we wrote about 22-year-old Katie Spotz from Mentor, Ohio, and her plan to complete a solo rowboat journey across the Atlantic Ocean, despite having only limited experience as a rower.

Now, we’re happy to announce that Spotz has completed her journey: on Sunday, Spotz docked in Georgetown, Guyana, in South America, after 70 days, 5 hours, and 33 minutes alone in the water. In total, Spotz traveled more than 2,817 miles—and even more impressively, her fundraising efforts for the trip have raised over $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation to provide clean drinking water to people in developing countries.

Spotz’ journey wasn’t without its problems: early on in the trip, her foot steering cable broke, forcing her to steer by hand. A day before finishing her journey, the GPS she used to update her location on her blog caught fire. But fortunately, all of the equipment Spotz needed to control the boat remained functional—as did her iPod.

Check out photos and updates from Katie’s journey on her website, Row for Water.

Filed under: General Interest, Heroes, Non-Profits,