Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo
Encyclopedia
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
was not broken for 114 years, though by four rowers instead of two.
George Harbo
George Harbo was from SandefjordSandefjord
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838...
in Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, on September 14, 1864. He was baptized Gottleb Harbo Ragnhildrød and born in the community of Sandar
Sandar
Sandar is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway.Sandar was established as a municipality January 1, 1838...
. He was the older of the two men and the instigator of the idea to row across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. George had been in the merchant marine, a surf fisherman and a part time pilot before clamming in his own boat, of his own building, off the Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore is a term used to refer to both the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities. . The New Jersey State Department of Tourism considers the Shore Region, Greater Atlantic City, and the Southern Shore to be distinct, each having...
with his younger friend Frank Samuelsen. By 1886 he was settled in the United States with his wife, Anine Brynhildsen.
Frank Samuelsson
Frank Samuelsson was born Gabriel Samuelsen in a seacoast town, FarsundFarsund
is a town and municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 , although already recognized as a trading center in 1795...
in Vest-Agder, Norway on February 26, 1870 and went to sea at age 17, spending six years in the merchant marine. Samuelsen was quickly promoted up the ships chain-of-command to boson's mate. After six years at sea covering many of the worlds oceans Frank decided to make New York a permanent port. He headed for the fishing villages along the Jersey coast where his brother lived and there he would meet up with George Harbo. They became friends and clammed together.
Voyage
FOX surf boat
The Fox was a specially built surf boat to be rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. It was custom built in 1896 by Seaman Sea Skiffs of Branch Port, New Jersey by William A...
was built with water-resistant cedar sheathing with a couple of watertight flotation compartments and two rowing benches. The boat was fitted with rails to help them right it if capsized, a feature that saved their lives in mid-ocean. The boat was carrying American flags and was named "Fox" in honor of the editor. With a compass, a sextant, a copy of the Nautical Almanac
Nautical Almanac
Nautical Almanac can refer to:* Nautical almanac - a publication describing the positions and movements of celestial bodies* American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac - first published in 1852* U.S...
, oilskins and three sets of oars lashed safely in place, they set out from The Battery
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
in New York City June 6, 1896, and arrived 55 days later in the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Richard Fox came to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and at a dinner held in honor of the Atlantic voyagers, he handed over to each the two rowers a gold medal. They never received the fame and fortune on the lecture circuit nor even their prize money from Fox, who was photographed giving them gold medals nevertheless. The only honor they received, in addition to the gold medals, was 10 Swedish krona
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
from King Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
.
The partners loaded their boat on a steamer for the return journey. The steamer ran out of coal off the coast of Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, and when the Captain ordered all wooden objects aboard broken up and stoked to make steam for the remainder of the trip, Samuelsen and Harbo relaunched their boat Fox over the side and rowed back to New York.
Though they soon faded again into obscurity, their time record for rowing the North Atlantic was not broken for another 114 years. Single oarsmen have since made the crossing and ocean rowing
Ocean rowing
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. The sport is as much a psychological as it is a physical challenge. Rowers often have to endure long periods at sea without help often many days if not weeks away. The challenge is especially acute for solo rowers who are held in especially high...
has developed into a kind of extreme sport
Extreme sport
An extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger...
.
Legacy
Their logbook and a journal dictated by Harbo survive to document their feat, which was worked into a dramatic account by freelance writer David W. Shaw in 1998. In 1985 folk singer Jerry BryantJerry Bryant (songwriter)
Jerry Bryant is a professional folk music performer specializing in maritime music. In addition to performing traditional songs, he also has written songs in a traditional style...
wrote The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelsen which has since been recorded by many other artists including William Pint and Felicia Dale
William Pint and Felicia Dale
William Pint and Felicia Dale , are folk musicians based in Seattle. Known primarily for nautical music and sea chanties, they are among the best-known performers in that genre in the United States. Their albums have been favorably reviewed in Dirty Linen magazine, Sing Out! Magazine, and Folk...
.
In the summer of 2010, four rowers - skipper Leven Brown
Leven Brown
Leven Brown is a British Ocean Rower who has held 3 Guinness World Records. He along with his crew Don Lennox, Livar Nysted and Ray Carroll also hold the world record for 'longest distance rowed in 24h in an ocean rowing boat" at 118miles Born on the 14th of August 1972 he was brought up on a...
(37), Ray Carroll
Ray Carroll
Ray Carroll, Irish sportsperson, born 1977.A native of Salthill, Galway city, Carroll was part of a four-man crew that set a new record for trans-Atlantic rowing in August 2010. His crewmates were skipper Leven Brown , Don Lennox , and Livar Nysted , their ship the Artemis Investments...
(33), Don Lennox
Don Lennox
Don Lennox was a fictional character in the soap opera Shortland Street. He was the soap's local mechanic and hitman. He appeared in both 2008 and 2009 and was portrayed by Chris Easly. Though Don only appeared in the show a few times, he featured in two prominent storylines and another similarly...
(41), and Livar Nysted (39), on the Artemis Investments - bested the record set by Samuelsen and Harbo by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 43 days, 21 hours and 26 minutes. But the record for two people rowing across the Atlantic still belongs to Harbo and Samuelson.
Additional sources
- Shaw, David W. Daring the Sea : The True Story of the First Men to Row Across the Atlantic Ocean (Citadel Pr. 1998)
- Longyard, William H. A Speck on the Sea (Chapter 4, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press. 2003)
- Anthony, Irvin Voyagers Unafraid, 'Row Sailor Row, Harbo and Samuelsen (A. L. Burt Company, New York and Chicago: 1930)