TEEN ROWS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

New Jersey teenager Oliver Crane became the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean early Sunday when he arrived on the Caribbean island of Antigua to a crowd of cheering friends and family. The 19-year-old Crane completed his 3,000-mile voyage in 44 days after starting in the Canary Islands on Dec. 14. He broke the previous record for the youngest solo crossing, set in 2010 that was held by then-22-year-old Katie Spotz. Crane’s 23-foot, custom-built boat had a solar-powered water maker and is designed to right itself if it capsizes, which happened a number of times along the way. There’s no toilet on board – Crane had to use a bucket. (* Good to know – that was my next question.) Crane had two satellite phones on board to communicate with his team on shore, who helped him with navigation and weather forecasts. He says he ate mainly junk food. “I was supposed to eat freeze-dried food as my main energy source, but I had a hard time getting it down, so I lived off of Pringles and candy for a long time.” Arriving in Antigua Sunday morning in the dark of night, Crane was greeted by a pack of friends and family on shore.
* I don’t know… you just rowed across the Atlantic and there’s, like, 8 people there, and half of them are your family. Kind of a letdown.
* Pringles and candy for 44 days? Sounds like me at 19. Except for the rowing across the Atlantic part.
* He had two satellite phones so wouldn’t have to talk to a volleyball the whole time.
* 3,000 miles divided by 44 days is 68 miles a day rowed. I think there was an ocean current involved.
* “Well, that’s done! Back to my smartphone!”