Would it surprise you to know that three women, Tori Murden in 1999, Julie Wafaei in 2006, and Katie Spotz in 2010, rowed solo across the Atlantic? In fact, the number of recorded times individuals or small teams have rowed across the Atlantic and even the Pacific Ocean is now in double digits. The first recorded account of a team of two people to row across the Atlantic was in 1896, completed without the help of modern electronics or tools.
The jingle “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” is so ingrained in our thinking that it’s hard to imagine that Columbus wasn’t the leader of the first team ever to row or sail across the Atlantic. But, some compelling evidence indicates that many people traveled across the oceans and mapped the places they visited well before the time of Columbus.