This January, I am embarking on a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean! After 2,500 miles and 70-100 days alone at sea, I will become the youngest person ever to row an ocean solo and the first American to row from Africa to South America.

But this row is about something much more important: safe drinking water. Unsafe drinking water is the leading cause of sickness, disease and death worldwide ― but it's a problem that, working together, we can solve. To join me in helping the billion people around the world who lack access to safe drinking water, click here.

Thanks for your support!

Day 37 — Halfway

1,230 miles away from the nearest land, 36 days without seeing another human being, and I just might be in one of the most remote places on the planet aside from the North and South Pole.

So how does it feel to be smack dab in the middle of an ocean? Well, it’s the same limitless sky, same deep blue waters, same endless horizon, while sitting in the same bright yellow rowboat. But today, no sunset or wildlife could be more exciting than seeing the half-way point tick by on my GPS.

WKSU News: Ocean rower Katie Spotz reaches halfway point, on pace to make history

A 22-year old Mentor woman who wants to make history with a cross-Atlantic Ocean row has reached the half-way point of her journey. Katie Spotz left Senegal, Africa, around the first of the year and will arrive in Brazil in about six weeks. WKSU’s Amanda Rabinowitz catches up with Spotz through her close friend and fellow ocean rower Sam Williams.

Click here to listen to the WKSU interview

Click here to read more.

LA Times: Outposts

Katie Spotz has been rowing for 37 straight days. Not on a rowing machine in air-conditioned comfort, but across a large expanse of sea since mid-December.

Spotz, 22, is attempting to row 2,500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, from Senegal in West Africa to French Guiana in South America. If successful, she will become the youngest person to solo row across the Atlantic Ocean.

“Most people think I am crazy and my family is not an exception,” Spotz said in a pre-departure interview posted on her website.

Day 34 — Too much or never enough

We all do it. And, apparently, the average person does it for a total of five years in their lifetime. Some more than others, and I would have to be in the “more” group at the moment. (Hint: It is not rowing)

This post is fully dedicated to all the calories that make this rowing machine run. So, chew on this:

• 300 Clif bars (lots of different flavors)
• 210 dehydrated lunches/dinners
• 98 dehydrated breakfast meals
• 90 Snickers bars
• 80 Bumble bars

Day 31 — Sea surprises

North, south, east, or west — look any which direction today and you might be puzzled to find any noticeable differences, down to every passing cloud and wave. But it was not the sky or waves that made today special. Here are a few surprises for the day:

• Birds. Not sure what is it about 8N 31W, but the wildlife has been abundant and lively! On a typical day, I can expect to see a few birds either heading straight east or west. But today, I found a swarm of about twenty birds flying about, rather aimlessly. I was certainly caught off guard to hear chirping! As I was rowing along, I also spotted two albatross floating by.