Livar Nysted


Livar Nysted who grew up in the small village Hvannasund in the Faroe Islands is an ocean rower and an artist, a painter. He has achieved five world records in ocean rowing. In 2010 he - together with three other rowers successfully crossed the North Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat, breaking a 114-year-old record. In January 2013 he went on another journey, this time the plan was to cross the South Atlantic Ocean with a boat called Avalon, the crew was eight men, they started on 18 January from Puerto de Mogán, Grand Canaria, their plan was to row to Port Saint Charles, Barbados. They made it all the way to Barbados on 22 February 2013 after rowing for 32 days, 12 hours and 41 minutes. Later the same year Nysted went on another expedition together with two other men. Their journey started in Australia on 9 June 2013. They crossed the Indian Ocean by rowing. They arrived at Mauritius on 5 August 2013 after rowing for 57 days, 15 hours and 49 minutes, which was a new world record. Livar sat three world records after completing this journey: he and the two others were the first crew of three to cross the Indian Ocean, they were also the fastest rowing crew to row this distance and Livar sat a new world record for having crossed two oceans in a rowing boat within the same year.

Livar Nysted's rowing career

Growing up next to the North Atlantic Ocean in the small fishing village Hvannasund in the island Viðoy, which is one of the Northern Islands in the Faroe Islands the ocean was a natural part of daily life. The national sport of the Faroe Islands is Kappróður, which means boat race in wooden Faroese boats. There are different types of boats and Nysted has tried all of them. He has won several Faroese Championships in these boat races, which are held during the summertime from late May to late July, the final race is the one at the national holiday at Ólavsøka in Tórshavn on 28 July.

Faroese Champion in Ocean Rowing in Fjords and Sounds (Kappróður)

Livar Nysted has won the Faroese Championship in outdoor rowing three times: in 2001, 2004 and 2007. There are six events held around the islands every summer, the winner gets 7 points, number two gets 5 points, number three gets 4 points etc. The boat which gets most points after all six boat races wins the Faroese Championship.
In 2003 Livar Nysted and nine other Faroese men made an attempt to row from the Faroe Islands to the Shetland Islands in a Faroese rowing boat, just like the Faroese ocean rower Ove Joensen did all by himself in 1986. The boat was called Norðoyingur, which means a person who comes from the Northern Islands in the Faroes. They got bad weather and had to give up after 24 hours. Two years later in 2005 he tried again this time with another crew and another boat, which was called Havrenningur. They almost made it, they saw the coast of the Shetland Islands, but they were more or less ordered to give up, because of bad weather, and so they did. Their trip ended after 6 days, and they were only 18 miles from the shore. A boat from the Shetland Coast Guard dragged them to land.

La Mondiale in 2009

In 2009 Livar Nysted was one of the crew members of La Mondiale, which made an attempt to cross the South Atlantic Ocean, it was a speed record attempt. The boat was cut short by the irreparable damage to the rudder after a collision with an unknown submerged object. The 14 crew were evacuated safely onto a passing ship 'Island Ranger' but the boat was lost presumed sunk some 1000 miles from the Canary Islands.

Crossing the North Atlantic in 2010 - Two World Records were broken

Livar Nysted along with captain Leven Brown and two other crew members of the rowing boat Artemis Investments, Don Lennox and Ray Carroll holds two Guinness World Records, both were sat on their adventurous trip from New York City to the Scilly Isles in the UK in 2010. First they sat the world record for longest distance rowed in 24h in an ocean rowing boat at 118miles
When they decided to make the trip, it was in order to try to beat the long-standing North Atlantic speed record set in 1896 by Norwegians Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo which had stood at 55 days 7 hours for some 114 years. Their boat 'Artemis Investments' left New York City on 17 June 2010 and arrived in St Mary's on 31 July 2010 in a time of 43 days 21 hours 26 mins and 48 seconds. Which remains the record to date for the North Atlantic. During their voyage they were capsized twice in storms.

Crossing the South Atlantic with Avalon in 2013

Eight men left Puerto de Mogán, Grand Canaria on 17 January 2013 in order to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat. Another boat, Titan, left two days before them. The crew of Avalon aims to reach Port Saint Charles in Barbados in less than 30 days in order to set a new world record. Captain on this trip is Leven Brown, the same man who was captain on Artemis in 2010, when four rowers broke a 114 old record. Leven has once before sat a world record on this distance, it was in 2008 with La Mondiale. In 2011 another boat, Sara G., sat took La Mondiale's record. The crew of Avalon: Leven Brown, Livar Nysted, Tim Spiteri, Calum McNicol, Benno Rawlinson, Peter Fleck, James Cowan, Jan Øner.

Crossing the Indian Ocean with tRio in 2013

In the summer of 2013 Nysted went on another expedition together with two other men: Maxime Chaya from Lebanon and the British Stuart Kershaw. Their journey started in Perth, Australia on 9 June 2013. They crossed the Indian Ocean by rowing. They arrived at Mauritius on 5 August 2013 after rowing for 57 days, 15 hours and 49 minutes, which was new world record. Livar sat three world records after completing this journey: he and the two others were the first crew of three to cross the Indian Ocean, they were also the fastest rowing crew to row this distance and Livar sat a new world record for having crossed two oceans in a rowing boat within the same year.