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A blog about my second home. Pictures and stories.
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Livar Nysted (1 von 1).jpg

Ocean rower Livar Nysted: „No time for babysitting out there“

Mazuhn June 29, 2016

No one to help. Nowhere to stop. Only the other side. Ocean rowing. One of the hardest sports in the world. Many say: the hardest of all. Pure torture rhythm. Two hours of rowing, two hours of sleeping. Row, sleep. Row, sleep. On and on. More people have been to space than have rowed the Atlantic Ocean. I’m just about to meet up with one of them. Livar Nysted (45). Faroese ocean rower and painter. Married to Svanna Sigmarsdóttir Nysted. Four daughters. Living in Hvannasund, a village on the island Viðoy. 

Over there, on the other side of the sound, that’s his car, and his house. The sound. That’s where his uncle drowned. And Livar, himself, almost, too. Being out on a boat, together with his brother, his cousin and a friend. Livar’s mother Jóhanna stood by the window and watched. Watched the boys’ struggle for breath, after the floor of the speeding boat had been ripped apart. „We hit something“, Livar says. At the age of seven, he couldn’t swim. His cousin saved his life. His brother had to be resuscitated. 



Livar and the ocean: Those two didn’t have an auspicious start. The same goes for Livar and rowing boats. I get to know all that while we are sitting in his atelier, walls covered with paintings. Livar actually wasn't even interested in rowing until he was 29 years old. Some colleagues asked him to join in. Livar rowed for the very first time, in Klaksvík – and was hooked right away. It beggars belief: A coincidence leads up to a perfect match. In the years to follow, Livar wins several Faroese championships. But the world of fiords and sounds is not enough. 

A feeling arises from the subconscious, taking space, claiming its rights. This feeling: I can do more. Looking: out to the open sea. Longing: I have to be there. In 2009, Livar contacts ocean rower Leven Brown. They meet. They talk. They drink whiskey. Leven sends Livar to a boot camp in Scotland, run by former SAS soldiers. Livar passes all the physical and psychological tests. Ever since then, he has been part of Leven Brown’s winning team.


Action! All rowing pictures (5): Livar Nysted

Action! All rowing pictures (5): Livar Nysted


Jeans, T-shirt, upper arm tattoo, bright blue eyes. Weight: almost 220 pounds, Livar tells me. Phrase written down in my notebook: „No idea where he hides those 100 kilos. Proof: Muscles weigh more than body fat. Smiley icon.“ In the meantime, Livar, pouring coffee, confesses a dilemma: „Being home, I miss the ocean. Being on the ocean, I miss home.“ 

There is absolutely no use in explaining why Livar does what he does. He knows what he is driven by. He knows what he wants. And, unlike other people, he is actually doing it. Painting, wide range of colors, subjects and styles. As well: rowing across the oceans. 

Five world records. 163 days out on the ocean. 3.5 million strokes. 20.000 kilometers. That’s Livar. North Atlantic. South Atlantic. Indian Ocean. „You are wet, cold, tired and hungry all the time. This might sound strange. But you learn to enjoy it. You feel miserable all along. But you push it aside.“ 


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Row, sleep. Row, sleep. Row, sleep … eat? „We take freeze-dried foods along. Meat, rice, fish, chicken. And tons of candy bars.“ Communication? Satellite phone. „We can also write and receive emails.“ What about going to the toilet? Livar (grinning): „We use a plastic container and a bucket. And we try to make it as private as possible.“ 

In good weather, the rowers experience beautiful sunsets and watch fish, birds, turtles and dolphins passing by. Nevertheless, the torture rhythm keeps hammering bodies and souls. Fear. Exhaustion. Danger. The rowers wear life vests, being attached to the boat by safety lines. Out of the blue, a change in conditions. Increasing headwinds. It’s time to cast the parachute anchor. Storm? Get ready for the boat to capsize. The ballast tanks under deck have been filled up with water, strictly to rule? The boat will right itself – following the grave have-a-close-look-at-vicious-waves-part.

No one to help. Nowhere to stop. No panic button available. „I have seen many big and strong men who have not managed the emotional stress“, Livar says. This much is certain: „There is no time for babysitting out there.“ He is still smiling. But his atelier is also filled with rigor, boldness and self discipline – the skills of an ocean rower, always looking for adventures.


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Livar’s next challenge will probably be a focused speed record attempt: „I have been asked to be the skipper aboard the ocean rowing boat Avalon. If everything works out, it will be a sub 30 day record attempt on the Trade Winds Route of the Atlantic Ocean in late January 2017. 8 man crew, from Canary Islands to Barbados.“ 

Two hours of rowing, two hours of sleeping. Row, sleep. Row, sleep. On and on, for all eternity?  Don’t you ever fell like retiring, Livar? Head-shaking, frowning, one more smile. „I won’t quit until I am 70 or 71 years old. And I am going to be the oldest ocean rower in the world“, he predicts. Another world record for Livar – I sort of expected it.


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Livar's records: 2002 - 2007. Winning several Faroese rowing championships

2010. North Atlantic. Boat: Artemis Investments. Along with captain Leven Brown and two other crew members. Route: New York - Isles of Scilly, UK. Two world records broken. 1. World record for longest distance rowed in 24h in an ocean rowing boat at 118 miles. 2. North Atlantic speed record: 43 days, 21 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds

2013. Indian Ocean. Boat: tRio. Together with Maxime Chaya and Stuart Kershaw. Route: Perth - Mauritius. Three world records for Livar. 1. First crew of three to cross the Indian Ocean. 2. Fastest rowing crew to row this distance (57 days, 15 hours and 49 minutes). 3. World record for having crossed two oceans in a rowing boat within the same year


On Facebook: Livar Nysted, Viking Row Events and LivArt

In Sports, Arts, Faroese & Their Stories, Ships & Seafaring Tags Rowing, Ocean, Wind
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My book about my Faroe Islands life and adventures!

Hear, hear! All of my adventures - many of which are not on my blog - are available as a book, with great drawings, maps and bonus materials. Publishing company: Piper Malik. 😊 Click here for my bookpage.



Anja 1 © My Faroe Islands, Anja Mazuhn  (1 von 1).jpg

Anja Mazuhn, journalist, writer. German philology, political science and theater studies (Freie Universität Berlin). Axel Springer School of Journalism. 

Having worked as a journalist for more than 20 years (i.a. DIE WELT), Anja wrote reports, travelogues and did interviews with the celebrities of Hollywood.

Together with her husband, she deeply fell in love with the Faroe Islands, and they bought a house on Eysturoy more than seven years ago – Anja’s second home. Urge to explore. In love with adventures, both on the large and small scale.



Our wool project! Jackets, hoodies …

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Together with some island farmer friends, we have set up a project, the Nordic Wool Factory. Beautiful things made of Faroese sheep’s wool and made for eternity. Jackets, hoodies, blankets, bags and such like.

Faroese sheep’s wool: a precious, renewable, sustainable and natural product, living up to former glory. Check out the German or English version of our Nordic Wool Factory website.

Community, philosophy, resources, design, pictures, sheep, videos, web shop, story. It’s all there. And we ship worldwide.

Nordic Wool Factory



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Staying on top of things: Categories 

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Anja's map of the Faroe Islands 

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Increase the size of the image and find out about the geographical situation and the names of the 18 islands.



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Wanted poster for a remote beauty  

Location: The Faroe Islands comprise 18 Islands in the North Atlantic. The Islands are separated by sounds and fjords.

On the map: 62º latitude North and 7º longitude West. Or one can say: North-west from Scotland, south-east of Iceland and west of Norway. 

Official language: Faroese. The second language is Danish. Almost everyone also speaks English.

Politics: A self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark. Faroe Islands has its own parliament and its own flag. Capital: Tórshavn.

Population: Approximately 52,500. The Faroe Islands are also home to about 70,000 sheep.

Climate: The Gulf Stream rules. Average temperature in summer: 13°C. The average temperature in the wintertime is 3°C.



Ready, set, go: How to get here   

By air: Direct flights with Atlantic Airways from i.a. Denmark, Island, Norway and England. Also: SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

By sea: Smyril Line. There is a direct ferry connection to Denmark, Hirtshals. The ferry Norröna also sails to Iceland.

Paperwork in advance? Maybe, maybe not. Read about passport & visa rules before you book your trip.

Tourist information: Phone and internet services, accommodation and so on. Visit Faroe Islands.



Current, official travel guideline

Latest policies and news: Travel to the Faroe Islands.



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Once you arrive: Help and advice

Weather, driving conditions: www.landsverk.fo

Helicopter service: www.atlantic.fo

Ferries and busses: www.ssl.fo

Airport Vágar: www.floghavn.fo

Pharmacies: www.apotek.fo

In emergencies: dial 112. Hospitals in Tórshavn, Klaksvík and Tvøroyri.



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Studying in the Faroe Islands

University: www.setur.fo. Another useful page: Study in the Faroes.



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