Former professional rugby player Damian Browne is the first man to row from New York to Galway after 112 days at sea.
Back in June, Damian set sail from Chelsea Piers, Manhattan on Tuesday, June 14 at 03:10 am., and has set a world record.
He arrived ashore on rocks at Na Forbacha, County Galway, shortly before 01:00 on Tuesday morning.
Damian spent a rough 112 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and is no stranger to extreme adventures, and will appear on the Late Late Show to discuss his 112-day journey called ‘Project Empower'.
Mr Browne began the journey with his friend Fergus Farrell, as they aimed to break a world record while also raising money for charity.
Damian Browne and Fergus Farrell from team Project Empower were fundraising for four great causes.
The Project Empower initiative has raised €71,188.80 so far, and nearly hit the target of 75k.
The duo hoped to break the world record by rowing the North Atlantic in just 55 days, but unfortunately, Mr Farrell had to call it quits after two weeks at sea.
The journey saw the former Leinster forward travel more than 3,000 nautical miles since June.
Speaking this afternoon on RTÉ’s News At One, Mr Browne said the entire challenge was a “fight” from start to finish and he is glad to have his feet on “solid ground”.
Its not the first time the Irishman has crossed the Atlantic, having rowed from San Sebastian to Antigua in 2018, but surprisingly the Galway native cannot swim, as reported by The Irish Times.
After 113 days at sea, emergency services recovered the Galway man and his boat, Cushlamachree, from ‘precarious circumstances’ on rocks at Furbo Beach, just 12km from his intended end point.
Upon his return, he took to Instagram to share an update with his followers from his parent’s home.
Several friends and followers congratulated Damian on his incredible achievement.
Friend, fellow athlete, and Irish rugby star Fergus McFadden commented: “Welcome home Auld Stock, you legend…what a phenomenal achievement.”
Former Irish rugby player and friend Brian O’Driscoll said: “Welcome ashore man. Glad to hear you’re safe. What an achievement.”
TV presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin, said: “Imagine if it was a few hours earlier you could have got a pint of Porter Tí Padraicíns! What a remarkable thing you have done Damien.”
While French professional extreme adventurer Matthieu Tordeur said: “Bloody well done my friend.”
Mr Browne said that while the ending did not go to plan, he still accomplished what he set out to do.
Who is Damian Browne?
Damian is a former Irish professional rugby player, turned extreme adventurer, peak performance athlete and International keynote speaker.
Born on 17 May 1980, he grew up in Galway, and attended secondary school at St. Joseph's Patrician College.
Adventure has always been flowing through Damian’s veins.
At the age of 12, he crept away from his family trip to Malin Head in order to climb the cliffs, getting as close to the crashing waves as possible, this is Galway reported.
After his achievement on Tuesday, the athlete was reunited with his wife Rozelle Bothma and daughter Elodie.
During a 16-year-career, Brown fulfilled his childhood dream to become a rugby player, and was capped by Ireland at U-21 level, leading his career with Galwegians before earning a contract with Connacht in 2001.
Damian has worn the colours of some of rugby’s European elite, including Northampton Saints & Leinster, where he won club rugby’s biggest prize, The Heineken Cup.
Extreme adventures and achievements
Since his retirement from professional rugby, Damian has become one of the world’s foremost extreme adventurers; undertaking some of the most demanding and death-defying physical and mental challenges on the planet.
For Damian extreme adventure was the perfect fit for what he aspired to do with the next chapter in life.
In 2016 he completed the 6 day, 257km Marathon des Sables, a self supported ultra marathon through the Sahara desert, also known as ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’.
After a short period of reflection Damian committed to rowing solo and unsupported 5,000 kms across the Atlantic ocean.
The titan has climbed 5 of the 7 summits, a renowned mountaineering feat to stand on top of the highest point on each continent with his recent attempt on Mount Everest thwarted dramatically by Covid-19.
Browne’s drive to explore his physical & mental limits is not exclusive to ultra endurance events, as he is a multi-time Irish indoor rowing champion, holding all-time, all-category records for the 500m and 1000m distance.
The driven athlete previously said his goal was to live an extraordinary life, Browne wrote: “My purpose in life is self actualisation and my goal is, "To live an extraordinary life. A life full of challenges, extremes, learning, courage, growth, reality and fulfilment. Driven by responsibility, integrity and discipline. My life will be my masterpiece.”
The Damian Browne method and public speaking
Damian runs courses using what he calls, “The Damian Browne Method”
The 4 Controllable Method is a revolutionary training methodology helping transform the way you think, act and exist.
The training course aims to educate learners on how to understand, train and control their mind, through exposure to their physical edges.
The course is split in three sections, and taught over 12 modules with 53 lessons.
Since starting his journey as a speaker, Damian has spoken using formats as wide ranging from fireside chats, slideshow presentations and keynote speeches.
He has covered topics including: Drive, Responsibility & Perseverance, Extreme Challenges, and High Performance.
He has spoken at companies such as Facebook and EY, and has given a TEDX Talk entitled ‘The hidden values in pushing your body to its limit’.
Browne also had the honour to address the Irish Rugby XV in the build up to their historic victory over the New Zealand All Blacks in Dublin, November 2018.
You can donate to Project Empower here, proceeds will go to Ability West, MADRA Dog Rescue, NRH Foundation, and Galway Simon Community.
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