Scottish stockbroker Leven Brown (pictured) is ditching his office job to embark on a record breaking attempt to row 5000 miles across the Atlantic, while simultaneously managing a £10,000 share portfolio from his laptop.
Brown, who works at Edinburgh-based Stocktrade, will row solo and unsupported, from Cadiz in Spain to Port of Spain, Trinidad - the longest point-to-point crossing from Europe to the Americas.
Brown, who says he is a descendant of Christopher Columbus, aims to follow one of the explorer's routes across the Atlantic.
With good weather the journey is expected to take four months, and Brown hopes to break two world records - the longest point-to-point row from Europe to the Americas and the longest distance covered in 24 hours in an ocean rowing boat.
His employer Stocktrade has given him a sabbatical to complete the expedition along with a share portfolio of £10,000 to manage at sea on a laptop. The company says it will donate any profits made to the two charities that Brown is raising money for - The One City Trust, which helps alleviate poverty in Edinburgh, and The Sportsman's Charity which provides sports opportunities for young people, families and the disabled in Scotland.
Brown has so far sold his car and flat to fund the venture and has secured sponsorship from Stocktrade parent firm Brewin Dolphin Securities, as well as the Securities & Investment Institute, Scottish accountant Ward MacKenzie and PR consultancy Stuart Crawford Associates.