Three Scottish brothers have made history by completing the fastest unsupported non-stop row across the Pacific Ocean – the world’s largest ocean – with 139 days at sea.
Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean rowed 9 000 miles from Peru to Australia, also becoming the first team on record to successfully row across from South America.
Surviving on freshly caught fish and freeze-dried meals, they overcame seasickness, dwindling food supplies and tropical storms, including one incident in which Lachlan was swept overboard by a towering wave in the night.
On Saturday, the Edinburgh trio triumphantly stepped back onto land after four-and-a-half months of continuous rowing aboard their self-built, F1-inspired carbon fiber boat.
In doing so, they surpassed the previous time record crossing set by Russian Fedor Konyukhov, who rowed solo from Chile to Australia in 2014.
Arriving just before midday, the brothers celebrated by playing the bagpipes and waving Scottish, Australian and UK flags as they were greeted by friends and family including their mother Sheila.
“We’ve still got our sea legs, so yeah, wobbling all over the place to be honest, but very happy to be ashore,” Ewan told Australia’s public broadcaster ABC, describing the experience as “pretty overwhelming.”
Hours before, Ewan had uploaded a video on Instagram sending a message to the marina.
“Do you have pizza and beer? I repeat, do you have pizza and beer? Over.” (CNN)
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