Daring The Sea: The True Story of the First Men to Row Across the Atlantic Ocean

Daring The Sea: The True Story of the First Men to Row Across the Atlantic Ocean by David W. Shaw. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780806525273.

In 1896, two Norwegian immigrants from the New Jersey coast set out to attain their piece of the American Dream by risking their lives to achieve the seemingly impossible. Convinced that they had no bright future as clam diggers supplying the Fulton Fish Market in New York City, they conceived a plan to set a world record by becoming the first men to row across the Atlantic Ocean. To family, friends, and those intimate with the sea, the plan appeared suicidal; but to the two men, George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen, the crossing represented a way out of lives offering little promise. Their hope was to attract world wide attention and lucrative lecture and exhibition fees if they succeeded. Daring the Sea chronicles their incredible--and nearly fatal--row across the Atlantic in a tiny, eighteen-foot boat with no sail, no steam engine, not even a rudder to aid them as they struggled with storms, a capsize, hunger, relentless fatigue, great mental hardship, and near collisions with ships, whales, and an iceberg. Despite these obstacles, Harbo and Samuelsen rowed the 3,000 miles from New York to England in an amazing fifty-five days. Although there have been numerous attempts to better their time, no team has ever succeeded, and at least two men have died trying. Sadly, their dream of fame and fortune eluded them, and for more than one hundred years--until the publication of this book--they remained unsung and unknown heroes. Daring the Sea tells their unforgettable story for the first time. It is a tale of deep friendship and great courage--of two men new to America who dared to believe in each other as they tested themselves against the majesty of nature. Daring the Sea also brings to lifethe ocean itself, a vast presence that is at once menacing and soothing, monotonous and exhilarating--as unpredictable as life itself. The authors firsthand experience as a sailor who is familiar with the influence of tides and weather on the ocean contributes greatly to the readers appreciation of this stirring tale.