Leven Brown
Encyclopedia
Leven Brown is a British Ocean Rower who has held 3 Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

. He along with his crew Don Lennox, Livar Nysted and 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...

 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 landlocked farm in his native Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

 but was introduced to the ocean at an early age where he discovered 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...

. After a career with Brewin Dolphin Securities that spanned 17 years he did his first Ocean Row in 2005.

The First Expedition 2005

On the first expedition Brown set off solo on the 14th of August 2005 on a journey. He spent a total of 123 days at sea and covered 4278 miles. There were 4 named Storms on Brown's first voyage: Vince, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. 2005 was the busiest hurricane season
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,913 deaths and record damage of about $159.2 billion...

 on record. Brown received a Guinness World record for being the first person to Row from Mainland Spain to the West Indies.

The Second Expedition 2007/8- Speed Record Attempt

2007/8 - Brown's second voyage was as skipper with a 14 man crew on a 50 ft Ocean Rowing boat called 'La Mondiale'. He and his crew rowed 3000 miles from Gran Canaria to Barbados in 33 days 7 hours 30 mins beating the record of that time. The previous record was set by a French team in 1992 of 35 days 8 hours 30 mins in the same boat.

The Third Expedition 2009- Speed Record Attempt

2009 - The third voyage in La Mondiale was cut short by the irreparable damage to the rudder after a collision with an unknown submerged object. The 14 crew were evacuated safely onto a passing ship 'Island Ranger' but the boat was lost presumed sunk some 1000 miles from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

.

The Fourth Expedition 2010 - Speed Record Attempt

2010 - The North Atlantic, Brown's fourth voyage. As skipper he picked his crew, all of which he had rowed oceans with before, Don Lennox (Scotland), Livar Nysted (Faroe Islands), 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...

 (Ireland). They were attempting to beat the long standing North Atlantic speed record set in 1896 by Norwegians Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo
Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo
Franky Samuelsen and George Harbo were Norwegian-born 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, though by four rowers instead of two.-George Harbo:George Harbo was from...

 which had stood at 55 days 7 hours for some 114 years. Their boat 'Artemis Investments' left New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on 17 June 2010 and arrived in St Mary's on the 31st of July 2010 in a time of 43 days 21 hours 26 mins and 48 seconds. Which remains the record to date for the North Atlantic. During their voyage they were capsized twice in storms.

Other Information

Brown is a fully qualified RYA/MCA Yachtmaster
Yachtmaster
A Yachtmaster qualification is a certificate of competence of the ability to handle either a sailing boat or motor boat in certain prescribed conditions...

and runs his own expedition and rowing services company as well as undertaking yacht deliveries throughout the world. Leven was nominated for the National Geographic Adventurer Awards and was nominated for the Scottish 'Glenfiddich Awards'
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK