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.”
Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan set off from Peru’s capital Lima in mid-April, with the initial goal of reaching Sydney by August 2.
But they rerouted to Cairns due to bad weather.
“The last couple of weeks have been really hard,” Jamie told ABC. “Our expectations being crushed when we thought we were going to arrive and then getting hit by storm after storm, just getting knocked back, getting thrown north.”
It followed Lachlan’s terrifying man-overboard incident during a night shift when Ewan managed to rescue him.
“A side-on wave came in out of nowhere. I had like a couple of seconds to react and it just hit me,” Lachlan told ABC. “Took me right off my feet. I kind of hit the life lines on the starboard side, basically did like a backwards somersault into the water.”
Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan believe their familial bond was pivotal in their mission.
Despite the extreme challenges, they were able to stay positive, often finding moments of joy in the harshest of times.
“We are able to speak very directly to one another,” Jamie said previously. “Good communication has been key to this journey.”
Their boat, named Rose Emily in honor of their sister who was lost during pregnancy, is believed to be the fastest and lightest ocean rowing boat ever built, created with ocean rowing legend Mark Slats.
The Macleans embarked on the ocean crossing in pursuit of both a world record and the goal of raising £1m to fund clean water projects in Madagascar.
In 2020, they looked for a way to support charities fighting for clean drinking water around the world and thought of the potential impact of undertaking a big physical challenge.
They made the bold decision to row across the Atlantic Ocean, achieving three world records in the process. They completed the 3,000-mile journey in just 35 days, becoming the first trio of brothers to row any ocean together and the youngest and fastest trio to cross from the Canary Islands to Antigua.
Once back on dry land, they realized their mission for clean water was not over and concluded that the best way to promote the cause was to go one step further and “take on the biggest body of water on the planet,” they told to CNN Sports on their 101st day at sea.
Their family-run, non-profit organization, The Maclean Foundation, works to secure clean water for communities through pairing up with partner organizations in Madagascar to build boreholes.
The Pacific challenge aims to raise awareness and funding to build boreholes for the whole of the Ambohimanarina municipality in Madagascar, where currently only 14% of the population has access to safe, clean drinking water. The aim for the brothers is to provide clean water for over 40,000 people.
“We want to have a positive impact on other people, that is ultimately what this journey is about,” Ewan previously told CNN. “Seeing the donations come in and the messages of support have really helped us through some pretty bleak times.”
The Maclean’s mission continues, so far having raised £850,859 ($1.15 million) of their £1 million ($1.35 million) target for their latest ocean crossing.
