The Maclean brothers have successfully completed an unsupported row across the Pacific to Australia breaking the record as they did so, despite bad weather holding them back in the final days.
At noon in Cairns Australia the Maclean brothers rowed the Rose Emily into harbour and all three stepped ashore simultaneously, hugging waiting girlfriends and relatives. Sadly their father Charlie could not travel to meet them for his home in Edinburgh’s New Town.
Lachlan, Ewan and Jamie have raised £792,061 at the time of ending their 140 day adventure, but continue in their quest to raise £1 million for clean water projects in Madagascar.
The threesome have rowed continuously since April this year and achieved their goal of rowing the 9,000 miles across the Pacific boosted along the way by chats on their livestream with people such as movie stars Ewan Macgregor and Mark Wahlberg.
There have been ups and downs on the journey captured on their Instagram account and storms meant they had to divert from Brisbane to Cairns at the end of the journey.
The Edinburgh-born trio are the first team ever recorded to row from South America to Australia. Prior to today, the fastest time to cross the full Pacific Ocean was 159 days 16 hr 58 mins, achieved by Fedor Konyukhov (Russia), who rowed 7,393 miles (6,424 nautical miles; 11,897.9 km) from Chile, to Australia in 2014.
The Scots were reunited with more than 50 friends and family who made the trip from the UK – including their mum, Sheila – as well as hundreds of fans at Cairns Marlin Marina on Saturday, 30 August 30. They’re all set for a weekend of rest and relaxation before heading to Sydney with their boat for an event at the Maritime Museum next week.
But for middle brother Jamie, first things first. The 31-year-old adventurer said: “This won’t surprise anybody – but all I want is a pizza.
“Things got tough towards the end and we seriously thought we might run out of food. Despite how exhausted we were, we had to step up a gear and make it before supplies ran out, but now we get to eat proper food. Ocean rowing has given us newfound appreciation for things we used to take for granted – like going for a shower, lying in bed, or simply leaning on something stationary.
“It was the most incredible, relentless and often surreal experience of my life. While I might miss the routine, the solitude, the sunsets, and sunrises and so much more, right now I’m just very glad to be back on land with my friends and family who I’ve missed so much. The whole thing will take a while to sink in.”
Youngest brother Lachlan, who celebrated his 27th birthday during the five-month voyage, was inspired to support clean water projects in Madagascar after visiting the country following university.
He said: “We’ve completed the row but the journey isn’t over. We have a charity target of £1 million ($2.06m AUD) which will provide clean water for life to 40,000 people living in Madagascar, and we won’t stop until we get there. Clean water is the most basic of needs, and it’s too often taken for granted.
“While we’re looking forward to getting back to Scotland to see our dad, and to enjoy life back at our croft in Nedd in the Highlands, we’re also very excited to get back out to Madagascar as it’s a very special place for us.”
Ewan (33), left his job as an engineer at Dyson to take on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. He said: “The days have been long and yet the weeks have flown past, it’s strange to think of the time that we’ve spent out here.
“This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I couldn’t have even contemplated it without my brothers. There have been countless setbacks to overcome, some leaving us lost, but we’ve always lifted each other up. We’ve shed tears of joy and laughed till our cheeks hurt. And at times we’ve cried with sadness and with fear, but our spirits have been lifted, time and time again, by the support of so many rallying behind us.”
