Youngest person to complete solo trans-Atlantic row coped with iPods, chocolate, audiobooks

Solo trans-Atlantic rower coped with iPods, candy

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — An Ohio woman who became youngest person to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone says she got through the journey with four iPods, 300 chocolate bars and 100 audiobooks.

Katie Spotz spent more than two months alone at sea before completing her feat in March. The 22-year-old athlete spoke about the adventure at a welcome-home party Saturday in suburban Cleveland.

Spotz says her training included more than 100 hours meditating to help cope with the loneliness of rowing for 10 hours a day. She said the hardest part was sleeping in cramped quarters and battling sleep deprivation. She split the rowing into two-hour shifts and spent time sending e-mails and Twitter messages.

Spotz, from Mentor, set out from Dakar, Senegal, on Jan. 3 and finished March 14 in Georgetown, Guyana.

Information from: The Plain Dealer, www.cleveland.com