A RECORD-breaking Herefordshire adventurer wants to assemble a powerful new crew for two epic rowing challenges.

Leven Brown skippered the 14-man La Mondiale crew which shattered the world record in January for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.

The 35-year-old, who lives at Staunton-on-Wye, also holds a Guinness World Record for rowing solo across the Atlantic.

Now Brown is planning a second Atlantic Ocean Expedition which will start in December.

There are also plans for a North Atlantic Ocean Expedition next summer, which would see the crew row from New York to Falmouth.

He said: “I am recruiting for a new crew, of between 12 and 16 people, with two new record attempts lined up. Perhaps readers from the Hereford Times would like to get involved? The first attempt is in December when the crew will be aiming to complete the first sub-one month Ocean Rowing crossing. Everybody is saying that it’s impossible, but I think we have the boat to achieve it.”

Brown is looking for people who are quietly confident and says previous rowing experience is not essential.

“We want strong individuals and rowing experience is not necessary,” he said. “We don’t want anyone who is arrogant. We want people who will just get on with the job without much drama. The ocean has enough drama of its own. It’s great for each crew member to have great support and backing from their families.”

Brown, who is married to designer and fashion guru Yvette Jelfs, took up rowing as a hobby when he was child.

But when he was 15-years-old, he met British sailor John Ridgway MBE, which proved a life-changing experience.

Ridgway, together with Chay Blyth, were the first men to row the Atlantic in the 20th Century.

They completed the task in 92 days aboard a rowing boat, called English Rose III, in 1966.

“It was a miracle that John and Chay came out the other side,” said Brown. “They had a set of oars and just about enough food and water to keep them going. You could say that I have John Ridgway and his tales to thank for getting me interested in record attempts.”

Brown gave up his job in Edinburgh and sold his flat and car in 2005 to fund a challenge in which he rowed solo from Cadiz in Spain to Trinidad & Tobago.

He was also the first man to row solo from mainland Spain to the West Indies, spending 123 days, seven hours and one minute at sea.

Brown, who is from Edinburgh, achieved his latest record, the Atlantic crossing, in a time of 33 days, seven hours and 30 minutes.

Brown had hand-picked his British and Irish crew after buying La Mondiale from the French and making it lighter and faster.

The crew set off from Gran Canaria on December 15 last year and managed to beat the record set by a French team, on board the same boat, in 1992 by more than two days. There had been more than 60 attempts made at breaking the French record of 35 days, eight hours and 30 minutes.

La Mondiale covered up to 117 miles a day and arrived at the destination – Barbados – on January 17.

Brown said: “The record that the French set 16 years earlier had stood the test of time.

“More than 60 attempts had been made to beat it, but the 12 Legionnaires had been too strong and none of the previous attempts came close.

“We trained hard and we functioned well as a team but this was a voyage that tested each man to the limits and beyond.

“The wild weather brought us to a halt for three days but, with bits falling off our bodies, we worked hard, dug deep and emerged victorious.

“We beat a smaller, faster and technologically superior American boat who set out at the same time as us.”

He also recalled the final moments of the gruelling journey.

“When we finished, we were shadows of our former selves due to massive weight loss with blistered, gnarled hands and sunburnt faces.

“We smiled to each other as we crossed the finishing line, knowing our duty was done. In Ocean Rowing, at least, Britannia once more ruled the waves.”

The North Atlantic Ocean Expedition is pencilled in for June 8, 2009, and would be 10% longer than the Atlantic Ocean attempt.

Brown’s crew will be looking to cross the North Atlantic in less than 55 days, the current record for the challenge.

Anyone interested in taking part in the second Atlantic Ocean Expedition and the North Atlantic Ocean Expedition, should contact Leven Brown on: leven@oceanrowevents.com or 01981 500761. More information is also available from www.oceanrowevents.com