Scottish brothers begin 14,000km Pacific rowing record attempt
Three Scottish brothers have set off across the Pacific Ocean on a 14,000km rowing record attempt. The Maclean brothers - Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan - are aiming to complete the fastest ever non-stop and unsupported row from Peru to Sydney in Australia.They were cheered by supporters, a flotilla of boats and the Peruvian Navy brass band when they departed from Lima in their custom boat on Saturday.The Edinburgh brothers expect to spend more than 120 days at sea, rowing in two-hour shifts around the clock with no resupplies or safety boat.
The Macleans previously broke three world records rowing across the Atlantic in 2020.Their latest attempt aims to raise £1m for clean water projects in Madagascar.
Lachlan Maclean, 26, said: "It's definitely daunting, but we've prepared so long that we're desperate to get going. "In many ways we're a bit weird – I'm probably happier on the water. I've never been good at replying to emails, and now I have the best excuse in the world."The evening before departure Lachlan was vacuum-packing loo roll to save cabin space while eldest brother Ewan was fixing a broken watermaker.Ewan, 33, a former Dyson engineer, said: "We usually forget things when we're going away for the weekend, so preparing for 120 plus days at sea has not been without its challenges."When the watermaker broke I thought the game was up – we couldn't find another part, but thankfully I managed to fix it. "All those years working as an engineer have come in handy."
The brothers' 280kg vessel was built to be one of the lightest and strongest ocean rowing boats ever made.It is named Rose Emily in memory of their unborn sister, with her name hand-painted on the hull by their mother.On board are 500kg of freeze-dried food, including 75kg of oats and a menu of high-calorie comfort meals prepared by Jamie.Meals include beef chilli, Thai red curry, and haggis, neeps and tatties - with the hope of adding fresh fish caught at sea.Jamie Maclean, 31, added: "We know this will be hard for Mum and Dad, having all three of us isolated at sea. "But they've been incredibly supportive. They've worked just as hard as we have to prepare and we can't wait to see them when we row into Sydney Harbour."The route spans about 14,000km (8,700 miles) depending on conditions.The Macleans aim to arrive in Australia by 2 August.
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