Ove Joensen

Ove Joensen (3 December 1948 – 24 November 1987[note 1]) was a Faroese seaman and adventurer, the first to row from the Faroe Islands to Denmark.

In 1984, inspired by Colin Quincey, 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 900 nautical miles (1,700 km) from the Faroes to Copenhagen in Denmark.

On the night of 24 November 1987, returning from Runavik, Joensen drowned in Skálafjørður-inlet after falling overboard, though his body was not found until two days later.

[1] 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.