Three Scottish brothers have set a new world record for the fastest human-powered Pacific Ocean row.
According to Independent, the Edinburgh-born trio rowed from South America to Australia unsupported and non-stop for almost 140 days at sea.
Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan MacLean, who were forced to take a longer route due to a storm on Saturday, August 30, completed their over 9,000-mile journey that began in Peru and became the first team to do so.
The Scottish brothers faced multiple challenges during their journey, including violent storms, seasickness and injuries; they even lost one, Lachlan, after he was swept overboard during a fierce storm. However, they successfully endured all of the challenges and raised over £700,000 out of their £1 million ($1,350,450) target for clean water projects in Madagascar.
The Scots were welcomed at the Australian shore by their more than 50 family and friends from the UK after completing a record-breaking journey.
Middle brother Jamie described the journey as one of the most “incredible, relentless” and “surreal experiences” of his life.
The 31-year-old said, “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,” he added.
Furthermore, previously, the record for the fastest Pacific Ocean row was held by Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov, who completed a 7,393-mile row from Chile to Australia in 159 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes in 2014.
