George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen onboard The Fox
preliminary drawing: (c) Wm Barth Osmundsen Aug. 7, 2007
FOX SCULPTURE
The FOX arrived in the port of Le Havre, France on August 7th, 1896. This would not be noteworthy for a small boat other than it had been rowed by two men who left New York Harbor 55 days earlier.
The FOX was a surf boat, 18 feet in length, designed for fishing along the New Jersey Shore. It had no engine and no sail. It was powered by two oarsmen who were Norwegian Emigrants;- sailors and fishermen, who came to America, for the promise of a better life.
To put the event in perspective; Tall Ships were all around New York Harbor, Steam was replacing Sail and the Statue of Liberty, which was dedicated 10 years earlier, in 1886, was witnessed by many including George Harbo, one of the men who rowed across the Atlantic.
George Harbo and his friend Frank Samuelsen were taken by the greatness and wealth of the United States. Everything was bigger, faster;- the most of this and the most of that and they too, had the heart, talent and skill to be part of that dream. Samuelsen and Harbo would be the first men ever to row across the Atlantic Ocean in an Open Row Boat. Think about it! No 'Bathroom Room' onboard, no Kitchen, no Bed to retire to every and any night. In fact, someone had to row all the time, at night when the other slept. 40 foot waves, Icy rain, capsized once, passed Ice Bergs and they were nearly run down by larger ships. Just a little burner for a stove to make a little coffee, not everyday. They wore wet oilskins all of the time, one pare of mittens between them, their hands raw and calloused from rowing.
Everyday they sat, facing west, rowing east, and keeping their collective spirits up;-
can you imagine, day after day, night after night. They couldn’t stand up because the boat would tip, they rarely could face each other for a conversation. They weathered harsh storms that threatened larger vessels; a hammerhead shark joined them for days but George Harbo navigated a straight and steady course over 3,000 miles of Northern Atlantic Ocean. It was a great feat.
To put it in perspective, in modern times;- A replica of the Boat was built and rowed from the boat yard in Shrewsbury River (Highland, NJ) bound for the lower Battery and the Statue of Liberty. It took ten rowing teams who turned back ( not reaching the Statue of Liberty) at the Verrazano Bridge because of foul weather. That is a distance of about 30 miles one way.
At that rate it would have taken 1,000 rowing teams or 2,000 men to accomplish the 3,000 mile trip in 55 days or what two humble Norwegian-American seamen did with grace, humor and tenacity quite alone.
Bill Osmundsen