Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo were Norwegian-Americans who in 1896 became the first people ever to row across an ocean. Their time record for rowing the North Atlantic Ocean was not broken for 114 years, and then by four rowers instead of two.
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. Some ocean rowing boats can hold as many as fourteen rowers; however, the most common ocean rowboats are designed for singles, doubles, and fours.
The Atlantic Rowing Race is an ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm. The race was founded in 1997 by Sir Chay Blyth with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge Business Ltd. until the race was bought by Woodvale Events Ltd., managed by Simon Chalk, in October 2003. In May 2012, Atlantic Campaigns SL, managed by Carsten Heron Olsen bought the rights to the Atlantic Rowing Race, now called The "Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge" – The World's Toughest Row. Since 2015, the race has been held annually starting each December.
Peter Bird was a British ocean rower who, in 1983, became the first person ever to row non-stop and solo across the Pacific from east to west when he completed his journey from America to Australia.
Janice "Jan" Meek FRGS is a British adventurer and ocean rower. In 1997 she took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race, the Port St. Charles Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race. Meek successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean unsupported in a 23-foot (7.0 m) wooden rowing boat in 101 days with her son Daniel Byles. She currently holds four Guinness World Records.
Erden Eruç is a Turkish-American adventurer who became the first person in history to complete an entirely solo and entirely human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth on 21 July 2012 in Bodega Bay, California, United States. The journey had started from Bodega Bay a little more than five years earlier on 10 July 2007. The modes of transport included a rowboat to cross the oceans, a sea kayak for shorelines, a bicycle on the roads and hiking on trails, along with canoes for a few river crossings. The route he followed was 66,299 km (41,196 mi) long, crossed the equator twice and all lines of longitude, and passed over twelve pairs of antipodal points, meeting all the requirements for a true circumnavigation of the globe. Guinness World Records has officially recognized Eruç for the "First solo circumnavigation of the globe using human power" on a journey that lasted 5 years 11 days 12 hours and 22 minutes.
Jock Wishart is a maritime and polar adventurer, sportsman and explorer. Until his successful 2011 Old Pulteney Row to the Pole, he was best known for his circumnavigation of the globe in a powered vessel, setting a new world record in the Cable & Wireless Adventurer and for organising and leading the Polar Race.
Ray Carroll is an Irish rower.
The Sara G is an ocean rowing boat which holds multiple world records.
Chris Martin is a British rower.
Livar Nysted is an ocean rower and an artist, a painter. He grew up in the small village of Hvannasund in the Faroe Islands. Nysted has achieved five world records in ocean rowing. In 2010 he – together with three other rowers – successfully crossed the North Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat, breaking a 114-year-old record. In January 2013 he went on another journey, this time the plan was to cross the South Atlantic Ocean with a boat called Avalon. The crew was eight men, they started on 18 January from Puerto de Mogán, Gran Canaria, and their plan was to row to Port Saint Charles, Barbados. They made it all the way to Barbados on 22 February 2013 after rowing for 32 days, 12 hours and 41 minutes. Later the same year Nysted went on another expedition together with two other men. Their journey started in Australia on 9 June 2013. They crossed the Indian Ocean by rowing. They arrived at Mauritius on 5 August 2013 after rowing for 57 days, 15 hours and 49 minutes, which was a new world record. Livar sat three world records after completing this journey: he and the two others were the first crew of three to cross the Indian Ocean, they were also the fastest rowing crew to row this distance, and Livar sat a new world record for having crossed two oceans in a rowing boat within the same year.
Ian McKeever was an Irish mountaineer, broadcaster, and motivational speaker. He once held the world record for the fastest completion of the Seven Summits challenge, completing the Messner and Bass lists in a record 156 days. He was killed by a lightning strike on Mount Kilimanjaro.
Don Lennox is a Guinness World Record holding Scottish ocean rower. Born in Lanark, Scotland, Lennox worked as an architectural model-maker before returning to school at the age of 30 to qualify in Sports Therapy at the City of Glasgow College. Since then, he has worked in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, professional sports team therapist/trainer, and gym owner/manager. Lennox is an ultra runner and ocean rower.
Mick Dawson is a former Royal Marine Commando, film maker, professional sailor and adventurer. He is best known for rowing the Pacific Ocean with friend and fellow ocean rower Chris Martin in a new state of the art vessel, Bojangles, which Mick built. In 2009, they completed their 7,000 mi (11,000 km) voyage in 189 days 10 hours and 55 minutes; a world first and earning a place in the Guinness Book of records.
Jamie Sparks, is a British ocean rower and adventurer. On 27 January 2014 he, alongside fellow Briton Luke Birch, became the Guinness world record holders for the youngest pair to row across any ocean. In 2014, Sparks skippered the first ever unsupported row from Exmouth, Australia to the Seychelles. Sparks and his crew, consisting of Angus Collins, Hamish Khayat and Alex Simpson, were at sea for 71 days.
Fiann Paul is a Polish-Icelandic explorer known for his exploits in ocean rowing.
Michael "Mike" Matson is an American ocean rower and author who holds 2 Guinness World Records.
The 2007 race left San Sebastián de la Gomera on Sunday 2 December 2007 with the finish in English Harbour, Antigua, on the same course as the 2005 race. 2 singles, 15 pairs and 5 fours started the race, with a six-crew boat starting slightly later. One pair "Titanic Challenge" and one Four "Move Ahead II" retired early on.
Row2Recovery is a British unincorporated association of volunteers which assists military adaptive-rowing. The Association has completed four Atlantic adaptive-rowing crossings and, when a charity, supported a national adaptive-rowing programme for the British military wounded, injured and sick in partnership with British Rowing and Help for Heroes. Row2Recovery was founded in 2010 by former Army-Captains Edward Janvrin and Alexander Mackenzie.
Aurelia Ditton, known as Lia Ditton, is a professional sailor, ocean rower, motivational speaker and conceptual artist, now based in San Francisco, California.
