The Early Years of Ocean Rowing
The first ocean to be deliberately rowed across was the Atlantic by Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo, two Norwegians, in June 1896. The pair left Battery Park, Manhattan on 6 June 1896 arriving on the Isles of Scilly, 55 days and 13 hours later having covered 3,250 miles (5,230 km). They continued to row to Le Havre, France.
The first solo crossing of an ocean was completed by John Fairfax of Britain on 19 July 1969. He rowed from Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands to Hollywood Beach, Florida in 180 days. In the same year Tom McClean, also of Britain, rowed from Newfoundland, Canada arriving in Blacksod Bay, Ireland on 27 July 1969. Despite having left almost four months after Fairfax he came within 8 days of beating Fairfax to the title of first solo rower of any ocean.
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