History of the Blackburn Challenge
The Blackburn Challenge was conceived in 1986 by a group of local rowing enthusiasts to celebrate Howard Blackburn’s desperate, heroic mid-winter 1883 rowing of a Banks fishing dory from the Burgeo Bank fishing grounds to refuge on the south coast of Newfoundland. Though Blackburn survived he ultimately suffered the loss of most of his fingers and toes due to frostbite. In spite of his handicap, he later went on to twice sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean, earning himself the title “The Fingerless Navigator”. His story is told in Joseph E. Garland’s outstanding book, Lone Voyager.
Over the years the annual Blackburn Challenge has grown in scale and stature from a small local competition between a group of Gloucester-based Banks dory rowers to an international-caliber event with classes covering all forms of seaworthy human-powered watercraft. Similar to the Boston Marathon, challengers travel from as far away as Africa and Australia to participate each year. some with course record-breaking ambitions, and some to simply test their mettle in one of the most grueling open water endurance competitions on the planet.
Lone Voyager Book Information
The Extraordinary Adventures of Howard Blackburn, Hero Fisherman of Gloucester by Joseph E. Garland Paperback - 320 pages Rev Ed edition (July 2000) Simon & Schuster (Paper); ISBN: 0684872633
The “Hero Fisherman” of Gloucester
From the Back Cover of Lone Voyager:
Like countless Gloucester fisherman before and since, Howard Blackburn and Tom Welch were trawling for halibut on the Newfoundland banks in an open dory in 1883 when a sudden blizzard separated them from their mother ship. Alone on the North Atlantic, they battled towering waves and frozen spray to stay afloat. Welch soon succumbed to exposure, and Blackburn did the only thing he could: He rowed for shore. He rowed five days without food or water, with his hands frozen to the oars, until he spied the coast of Newfoundland. Yet his test had only begun.
So begins Joe Garland's extraordinary account of the hero fisherman of Gloucester. Incredibly, though Blackburn lost his fingers to his icy misadventure, he went on to set a record for swiftest solo voyage across the Atlantic that stood for decades. Lone Voyager is a Homeric sage of survival at sea and a thrilling portrait of the world's most fabled fishing port in the age of sail.
