Atlanterhavsroerne 2018
- July 23, 2018
Rune Malterud and Stian Aker are no strangers to a challenge. In 2009 they won a gruelling race to the South Pole, the first one since the expeditions by Norwegian explorer Roald Amudsen’s in 1911 and British Royal Navy officer Robert Falcon Scott’s in 1912.
The years following Rune and Stian’s first place finish found them hard at work running Storm Adventures, a company specializing in television production and expedition/adventure organisation. Though affording them no shortage of experiences throughout the globe, the duo decided to pay homage to Norway’s heritage of adventurers once more.
In mid May, Rune and Stian set off from Battery Park in Manhattan, New York in the footsteps (or rather, the wake) of two other Norwegian adventurers, George Harbo and Gabriel Samuelsen. Way back in 1896, Harbo and Samuelsen rowed from New York to the Scilly Islands south of Cornwall, England - in an 18 foot oak rowboat. This time, Rune and Stian are going even further with their ocean rowing boat, past the Scilly Islands and straight on to Farsund, Norway - a never-rowed-before total of 7,778 km (4,200 Nm).
The first leg of Rune and Stian’s rowing feat to the Scilly Islands is now successfully behind them - up ahead is an English channel crossing, and a row up the North Sea to Farsund. Their goal is to cover the entire distance in approximately 80 days, while documenting their epic rowing adventure for a future documentary.
You can follow them as they start off from the Scilly islands on the YB Race Viewer of their Atlanterhavsroerne website.
We wish Rune and Stian safe travels - YB Tracking is with them every step of the way!
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All photos (c) Atlanterhavsroerne
