Two Norwegians Rowed Across the Atlantic Ocean

More than seventy years ago, two Norwegians rowed—really rowed—across the Atlantic.

They were in New York. The weather was fine. They planned to row home to see how their people were getting on. For this purpose, they had built a very good rowing boat, 18 feet long, which they named “Fox.”

They started from New York at five o’clock in the afternoon on June 6, 1896.

For more than a month, the life of the rowers was rather calm. The sun shone. The ocean was still. The men rowed in turn: one rowed while the other ate, one rowed while the other sang, one rowed while the other slept.

But then the weather changed, and the remainder of their trip became a nightmare.

However, sixty-two days after leaving New York, they landed at the port of Le Havre, France.