June 6

June 6th in 1896 was a very big day for a very small boat. No, this has absolutely nothing to do with Gilligan. On that day, Frank Samuelson, a down-at-heels fisherman and, George Harbo, a merchant seaman in similar straits, dropped an 18-foot open rowboat into the water off The Battery in New York with the stated intention of rowing to the aptly named Scilly Isles off the English coast, which they succeeded in doing in 55 days. Their navigation equipment consisted of a compass, a sextant and a copy of the Nautical Almanac. The inspiration for their trip was a $10,000 cash prize being offered by Richard Fox, publisher of the National Police Gazette, to the first intrepid souls to row across the Atlantic. To say that the two men had an eventful crossing would be a serious understatement. On July 6, 31 days into their journey, the pair found themselves in the position of having to bail out the boat 30 times because the persistent gales, which seem to have dogged them throughout their journey, insisted on continually filling their boat with water. Nonetheless, they kept their eyes on the prize and they bailed when necessary and continued, presumably happily, on their way.