Ocean Rowing: Katie's On The Water!

A few weeks back I posted a story on Katie Spotz, a 22-year old American woman who was preparing to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, she was on her way to Senegal, along the West Coast of Africa, where she would begin her epic journey, which officially got underway yesterday when she hit the ocean at last.

Katie expects to be on the water for somewhere between 70-100 days, covering 2480 miles in the process. Her target destination is Guyana, in South America, and if successful, she'll become the youngest person to ever row an ocean and the first American to row from Africa to South America.

Katie is making this journey as a fund raising effort for the Blue Planet Run organization, which is a non-profit foundation that promotes and funds clean water projects around the globe. Blue Planet Run is working hard to achieve their goal of clean drinking water for everyone on Earth, and Katie's efforts will help place a spotlight on those efforts.

For the next three month or so, Katie will be confined to her custom built and designed 19 foot row boat, which includes storage for her supplies and gear, a small cabin for her to escape to the elements, and solar cells for recharging her gadgets so we can track her progress. On her first day out, she covered 44 miles, which is an impressive start to her journey.

Look for more updates on Katie's website and be following her Twitter feed at @katiespotz.