Rowing into the Son: Four Young Men Crossing the North Atlantic - Softcover

Hanssen, Jordan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594856354 ISBN 13: 9781594856358

Publisher: Mountaineers Books, 2012

Synopsis

"Truly an epic of adventure and perseverance, this is great inspiration for anyone who thinks of someday tackling the impossible" -- New York Times best-selling author Clive Cussler
* Traces the struggle of the only American team competing in the first ocean rowing race from New York to England

* The four young rowers spent 72 days pulling across the ocean

* Author leaves for another cross-Atlantic adventure in December 2012

On June 10, 2006, college friends Dylan LeValley, Greg Spooner, Brad Vickers, and Jordan Hanssen stepped into a 29-foot rowboat as the only American competitors in the first North Atlantic Rowing Race, pulling across the northern ocean.

From the first dreams of race planning to heaving through ocean waves, Rowing Into the Son: Four Young Men Crossing the North Atlantic takes the reader along with team Outdoor Adventure Racing (OAR) Northwest as they head out from New York Harbor, catch the Gulf Stream current, and make the final dramatic push for the finish line, a narrow 50-mile wide “gate” at Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall. Hurricane-level winds, giant eddies, passing freighters, flying fish, and sharks are all elements of the journey, and the race comes to a tense head on day 17 -- with another 55 days to go -- as the crew realizes their food supplies are running out and they must drastically restrict their eating.

This is lead rower Jordan Hanssen’s intimate account of team OAR Northwest’s journey, set against the backdrop of Hanssen’s reflections on the teachings of both his stepfather and his biological father, who passed away many years previously. How Hanssen and his teammates cope within the confines of their tiny ocean rowing boat and their determination to push their limits will keep readers enthralled in this remarkable true tale of coming-of-age and adventure.

About this title

About the Author

JORDAN HANSSEN graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in history in 2005. Since then, he has supported his dual passions for travel and writing by working small jobs: landlord, hardware store clerk, construction, pub crawl guide, and rowing coach. He has had two feature articles published in regional media, about his trip to Australia and a journey around the Olympic Peninsula.

Hanssen has lived in England and Ireland, traveled most of Western Europe, some of Eastern Europe, Thailand, and studied abroad in Australia. In an effort to travel without the benefit of aluminum, steel, or glass-both as a point of conservation and as a way to feel closer to the environments through which he moves -- he has biked Europe, rowed the North Atlantic Ocean, cycled across Australia, and circumnavigated the Olympic Peninsula in an open dory. In addition to the forthcoming mid-Atlantic race, Hanssen also is planning to row from New York to Nome, Alaska, via the Hudson River, Great Lakes, and other inland bodies of water-a journey of about 7,000 miles.

Review

A beautiful sense of place and a compelling portrait of four men locked in an epic struggle with the ocean and, occasionally, with themselves. Gripping. ---Roz Savage, first woman to row three oceans and author of Rowing the Atlantic

Truly an epic of adventure and perseverance, this is great inspiration for anyone who thinks of someday tackling the impossible. ---Clive Cussler

About this edition

• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1594856354
• ISBN 13: 9781594856358
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256