Stockbroker takes Atlantic gamble

Leven Brown plans to row 5,000 miles and make £100,000

A Scottish stockbroker is set to row solo across the Atlantic and still make waves with his day job by raising £100,000 for charity along the way.

Leven Brown, from Edinburgh, plans to travel 5,000 miles from Cadiz in Spain to Port of Spain in Trinidad.

Along the way he plans to gamble £10,000 on the markets via a laptop and raise 10 times as much for two Scottish charities in the process.

The One City Trust and The Sportsman's Charity will benefit from his efforts.

The 32-year-old adventurer has sold his car and flat in the capital to fund his epic attempt which is due to begin on his birthday on 14 August.

Leven, who is a member of the Securities and Investment Institute, has been working in stocks and shares in Edinburgh for the past six years and been given a six-month sabbatical and a £10,000 share portfolio to gamble by his employers Stocktrade.

Family ties

Mr Brown has been told any profits he makes with the money while he is at sea can be handed on to his chosen charities on his return, with £100,000 his target.

He has named his expedition the Columbus Run after his most famous relative Christopher Columbus, to whom he is related via his great grandmother, Mary-Jane Sinclair.

As a member of the Atornish Sinclair family, both are direct descendents of the great adventurer through Prince Henry.

Unlike his long-lost descendant, his 23ft long vessel, the Atlantic Wholff, is equipped with all the latest technology, from a fresh water maker to a satellite phone and emergency beacons.

Leven Brown plans to make his trip in the Atlantic Wholff

He hopes to complete the journey within five months and possibly four if the weather holds out.

However, Mr Brown is under no illusions as to the dangers it poses and said: "The weather is usually all right on this route, seldom going above force nine but it is, more or less, exactly the same path as Hurricane Ivan took last year at about the same time I am planning to row.

"If anything happens to the boat or to me I can activate a beacon which will send my position back to Falmouth coastguard who will then ask the nearest ship to divert to my position."

People who are interested in his journey will be able to follow Mr Brown's progress via his website.

The One City Trust, which he will be helping through his Atlantic attempt, helps alleviate poverty and provides advance education and social welfare in Edinburgh.

The Sportsman's Charity supports young people, families and disabled sport across Scotland.