Solo U.S. ocean rower reaches land after months at sea

Mar 15, 2010 News

Sets World Record as Youngest Person to Row Ocean Solo

Georgetown, Guyana—March 14, 2010—American endurance athlete, Katie Spotz, 22, has reached land after 70 days and about 6 hours on the Atlantic Ocean, setting a world record as the youngest person to row across an ocean solo. Spotz reached land at 1620 GMT, in Guyana and crossed approximately 2,817 miles during her journey.

Katie Spotz

“The final days of my row were similar to the first ones, with generally calm seas. I’m so glad I extended the journey 400 miles, as a part of me was holding on dearly to the simplicity of the sea,” she said. Spotz conducted the entire row solo with no support boat other than an escort from the Coast Guard for the final 4 miles into land which provided no assistance, but was there in case of any emergency. Her arrival, like her entire journey, was tracked via her Web site RowforWater.com and Twitter, as she moved slowly along the Demerara River into port Georgetown to the dock.
Spotz started rowing in early January from Dakar in Africa and had planned to arrive in Cayenne, in early March. Her original estimation for the journey was three months or more, but due to her determination and focus, as well as good weather conditions, she had a speedy journey. A week earlier, Spotz made the decision to lengthen her row by 400 miles, and divert from Cayenne to Georgetown, Guyana so she could reach land unassisted via a safer route.
“Although it wasn’t a storm, on Friday there were several forces in opposition: strong winds and a strong current making for some powerful waves as I reached the continental shelf. Waves seemed to spike up unexpectedly with great force. Every moment outside was spent harnessed to the boat and I frequently questioned whether it would capsize. Then on Saturday, my tracker unit had been acting up and took its final farewell when it went up in smoke and I grabbed the fire extinguisher. Thankfully, all the glitches and malfunctions seemed to happen in the final days,” she said.
“Anyone reading Katie’s blogs over the past 10 weeks would have been forgiven for thinking this was a walk in the park. The way Katie has just carried on with no drama belies that fact that she has done something incredibly challenging that very few people have ever achieved before. And, in doing so, she has set new records of her own,” said Sam Williams, the London-based rower and operations consultant/coach who has been instrumental in Katie’s row.
The journey, which was dedicated to increasing awareness and raising funds for safe clean water and the charity, Blue Planet Run Foundation, is being followed around the globe. As of her arrival, her efforts have raised $70,905 for the charity, which includes a $5,000 matching offer — far more than the initial goal of $30,000, which would cover the cost of providing a lifetime of clean water for 1,000 people ($30 per person). To extend her fundraising efforts, a new target of $30 per mile rowed (approximately 2,817 miles) was posted on the RowforWater.com Web site, which has the potential of raising a total $84, 510 for the cause.
Since she began the row on January 3, her successful social media connections resulted in followers from 135 countries who have become connected through RowforWater.com blog posts, Twitter, Facebook and media updates.
“I am so thankful to all of the people who followed my journey and sent me encouraging messages, but especially for their donations and support for safe drinking water, which were inspirations for the row. I am also very grateful for the support of my sponsors, including my title sponsor, GaREAT Sport Complex in Geneva, Ohio, as well as Pentair Water, World Shipping, Kinetico Water Systems, Moen, Weatherguy.com, Germ Guardian, and so many more who helped fund my journey through corporate contributions,” said Spotz.