Ove Joensen (3 December 1948 – 24 November 1987November 26th was the date of the recovery of his body, and as is the date shown on his grave marker) was a Faroese seaman and adventurer, the first to row from the Faroe Islands to Denmark.

Early life

Ove Joensen, born in 1948 in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, was the son of a fisherman and after moving to the Island of

Nólsoy Nólsoy (, previously also ''Nölsoy''; ; ) is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, 4km east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. Description Nólsoy is the lowest of the Faroes; the highest point is Eggjarklettur (372 m) on the moun ...

had a seafaring career.

Ocean crossing

In 1984, inspired by

Colin Quincey Colin Quincey (8 May 1945 – 9 July 2018) was the first person to row across the Tasman Sea. Early life Quincey was born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, Yorkshire, England, in 1945. As a young man, he travelled frequently, and crewed on the Ge ...

, the first man to row across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, he built his 30-foot boat ''Diana Victoria'' at Nólsoy, to row the from the Faroes to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On his first attempt later that year the boat was damaged when visiting a ship. Diverting to the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

, he was towed in from

Eshaness Esha Ness, also written Eshaness, is a peninsula on the west coast of Northmavine, on the island of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Esha Ness Lighthouse is located on the west coast of the peninsula, just south of Calder's Geo. The lighthouse was ...

by the

Aith Aith, ( Shetland dialect: Eid, Old Norse: ''Eið'', meaning Isthmus, cf Eday), is a village on the Northern coast of the West Shetland Mainland, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some west of Lerwick. Aith lies on the B9071 that runs s ...

lifeboat. The following year Joensen's attempt was defeated by adverse winds after he had again reached Aith. Joensen finally succeeded in 1986, when he arrived in Copenhagen on 11 August 1986 after 41 days rowing alone. Thousands of people greeted him, both in the Danish capital and on his return to Nólsoy. The Danes called him ''Ro-Ove'' (Row-Ove).

Death

On the night of 24 November 1987, returning from Runavik, Joensen drowned in

Skálafjørður Skálafjørður () is a fjord in Eysturoy and the longest in the Faroe Islands. Name Skála is a town situated on the western shore of the fjord. Its name (''Skáli'', genitive case ''skála'') means 'hall', 'assembly hall' or 'isolated hut' i ...

-inlet after falling overboard, though his body was not found until two days later. The civic festival Ovastevna is held each August on Nólsoy to commemorate Ove Joensen. His boat ''Diana Victoria'' is preserved in Nólsoy in the basement of the café and Tourist Information Centre, near the ferry port.VisitNolsoy.fo, Diana Victoria – Ove´s Boat
There is also a monument to him next to the whale bones that form an ornamental entrance to the village, and another in the village of Aith, Shetland Isles. Joensen is buried in the cemetery of Nólsoy, overlooking the sea.

Personal life

Joenson had 3 children, Christina, Sharlotte Rose, and Bo.

Literature

* Kirstin Didriksen, Ragnhild Joensen: ''Ove'', Egið forlag, 1989

References

“The Rooftops of Copenhagen” - song by Tom Russell

Notes

1948 births 1987 deaths People from Tórshavn Ocean rowers Faroese male rowers 20th-century Danish sportsmen {{Faroes-bio-stub