Yank, 22, Crosses Atlantic in Rowboat

Katie Spotz isn't the first to cross the Atlantic, but even Christopher Columbus didn't have to row his boat. The 22-year-old Ohio native yesterday landed in Guyana, reports the New York Times, becoming the youngest person to make the 2,817-mile rowboat trip solo—an odyssey that took her 70 days and raised $70,000 for charity. “You’re in a situation that you can’t escape, so you really have to dig deep,” says Spotz.

Spotz subsisted on freeze-dried food and rowed between 8 and 10 hours a day; her trip could have ended eight days ago, but strong winds and currents near French Guiana forced her to detour. “I’m just impressed by the way she’s got on and done it,” says a mentor. “She’s had such little drama. Most people would be scared out of their minds.” (More Katie Spotz stories.)