Updated: 10:45 p.m.

JODIE VALADE, Plain Dealer Reporter

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - After 70 days adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, up to 10 hours a day spent rowing and the rest of the time alone with her thoughts and endless water, Katie Spotz faced her greatest challenge at the last moment of her record-breaking journey.

As the 22-year-old Mentor native pulled her specially designed solo rowboat up to the pier in Georgetown, Guyana, about 2,817 miles from her starting point in Dakar, Senegal, she had to do something entirely new.

She had to climb a ladder.

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Seventy days without using her legs for anything other than rowing movements, and suddenly, Spotz wondered if this might be the first in more than two months that she would fail.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking," Spotz said via phone Sunday night.

She successfully navigated the ladder, hugged her father and brother who were waiting for her, gobbled up fresh watermelon and finally reveled in her accomplishment: Spotz became become the youngest person and first American to row across the Atlantic Ocean, mainland to mainland. She began her journey Jan. 3 and reached land at about 12:20 p.m. Cleveland time Sunday, completing the row faster than the 90 days she anticipated the voyage might take.

That quickened pace came despite opting two weeks ago to add 400 miles to her journey to land in Georgetown, Guyana. She made the decision to bypass her original ending point in Cayenne, French Guiana, because she wanted to reach land unassisted and avoid rougher seas.

According to the Ocean Rowing Society, she is the 43rd person to complete this east-to-west row across the Atlantic. The previous record for the youngest solo ocean rower was set by Oliver Hicks, a 23-year-old from Great Britain who rowed from New Jersey to England in 2005.

After resting for several hours in Georgetown, Spotz said via phone that she still had the sensation that she was rocking even though she was on land.

"Just kind of going up and down stairs, there were some close calls from falling over," Spotz said, laughing.

And after more than two months alone, Spotz said she was so overwhelmed by the noises and bright lights in the casino adjacent to her Guyana hotel that she had to retire to her room for a few moments of solace.

Her final days of the row included some of her worst luck: strong currents and winds when she reached the continental shelf Friday produced massive waves that she feared would flip her boat -- despite the specially designed rowboat's self-righting capabilities.

"Every moment spent outside was spent harnessed to the boat, and I frequently questioned whether it would capsize," Spotz said.

She spent her nights harnessed within the cabin of the 19-foot boat, too.

Then, Saturday, her tracker unit spontaneously burst into flames, and she had to use her fire extinguisher to douse the fire.

"Thankfully, all the glitches and malfunctions seemed to happen in the final days," she said.

There were also some trying moments about 30 days into the row, when Spotz wasn't able to sleep amid the waves that rocked the boat. There was never a time when she doubted she would complete the row, however.

"I don't think there was a moment where I questioned where I was," Spotz said. "I think I felt like I belonged out there. I think I came out there to be challenged. In that way, I think some of the worst moments were some of the best in that it challenged me and made me grow in ways I couldn't have if I was put in a different circumstance."

Spotz completed the row to raise awareness for clean drinking water, and she raised $70,060 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation. Her initial goal had been to raise $30,000, which would cover the cost of providing a lifetime of clean water for 1,000 people.

The entire cost of the row, estimated to be about $75,000, was funded by donations and sponsorships.

"I'm really thankful to have a safe and successful journey," Spotz said. "I'm really appreciative to all the people who have made this possible. Although it's a solo journey, there have been people all over helping to make this happen."

Spotz is a veteran of endurance events, having already biked across the country, run 150 miles through the desert, and swimming the length of the Allegheny River.

Even with all that experience, her mother, Mary, had to be persuaded of Katie's safety throughout the journey. To help Katie withstand the challenge of desolate conditions, she wrote her daughter a letter to be opened each day. In some, she recounted funny stories about Katie's childhood. In others she told her daughter how proud they were of her. In more than one, Mary reminded Katie that no one would be disappointed if she had to abandon the row.

In the final letter, Mary Spotz said she wrote a command: "You're supposed to be home right now. You're grounded and we're coming to get you."

Spotz never got to that letter -- it was the 100th letter Mary Spotz wrote in case the row lasted that long.

Katie Spotz might be able to save that letter for another time; she already has a plan for her next adventure, but she doesn't want to divulge details yet.

"I guess I just have to kind of appreciate the fact that this is who Katie is, and there's not going to be anything that's going to change her," Mary Spotz said from her Mentor home. "I'm just along for this ride."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654.

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While at sea, her progress was tracked via satellites and GPS positioning, and fans were able to follow along through her Row for Water website. During the voyage, she posted updates and pictures taken during the voyage.

