Woman aims to solo row across the Atlantic Ocean

Eco Factor: Katie Spotz to solo row across the Atlantic Ocean to raise $30,000 for Blue Planet Run.

Katie Spotz is planning to solo row across the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of about 2500 miles, which she hopes to cruise in about 100 days. Spotz has just shoved off from Senegal in her one-woman rowboat and will not see another human being for her entire three months at sea.

If Spotz succeeds, she will become the youngest person and the first American to cross an ocean in a rowboat. During her trip she seeks to raise about $30,000 for Blue Planet Run, a group that partners with endurance athletes to fund and implement clean water projects around the world.

The rowboat is not having even the smallest of sails, which means the Spotz will have to row without even a trap to block the sun. However, her boat does carry a solar panel to provide power to a water desalination machine, a GPS unit, radios, a satellite phone and a laptop.