NORWEGIAN AMERICAN WEEKLY
On open waters: The Norwegian-American voyage of the FOX made the impossible a reality
This year marks the 115th anniversary of the voyage of the FOX, the first transatlantic crossing by oar, in an open 18-foot rowboat named FOX. The nearly impossible feat was accomplished by two young Norwegian-American seamen who left New York June 6, 1896, and arrived in Le Havre, France on Aug. 7, 1896.
By Bill Osmundsen
Norwegian American Weekly
Around the time that Nansen was lauded for his polar achievement, two
other Norwegians by birth – George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen – rowed
more than 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in an 18-foot surfboat
called FOX. They didn’t discover anything, but they did prove that
through endurance and careful planning, two men in an open boat could
actually achieve what was in 1896 believed impossible. If we look at
their modest effort, compared to the mounting of the great expeditions
of the Fram – Nansen, north and Amundsen south, they also exhibited
great courage and fortitude and should join the ranks of explorers who
have pushed the human limits. Harbo and Samuelsen were the first to
successfully cross the Atlantic in an open rowboat.
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