The brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean from Edinburgh, Scotland have been known to the world since January 16, 2020, when they set 3 world records at once: being the first brother team to row any ocean as well as the youngest team of three, and the fastest team of three to row the Atlantic in 35 days, 9 hours, 9 minutes.
Now the Scottish trio has designed an ultra lightweight boat and wants to become the fastest to row across the Pacific Ocean.
More info: The Maclean Brothers
Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan MacLean are planning to row 9,000 miles from Peru to Australia (14,400 km) and break the record as being fastest to do so
Image credits: The MacLean Brothers
The brothers from Scotland are planning to row all the way across the Pacific Ocean, non-stop and unsupported, in May 2025. Their journey should take 9,000 miles (14,400km) from Peru to Australia in a custom designed boat. The ultra light 280kg (44 stone) carbon fibre vessel was built using technology commonly seen in Formula 1 cars.
“Our new boat is out of this world. Mark Slats is a legend of the ocean rowing world – amongst many other things. He holds the speed records for the Atlantic as a solo and pair, the former at a staggering 30 days (it took us 35). He’s responsible for our new full carbon ocean rowing boat, custom built for the challenge at hand,” the MacLean brothers shared on their social media.
“What’s special about our ocean rowing boat? She’s full carbon and custom built for a 9,000 mile crossing of the Pacific Ocean. It means she is incredibly strong and very, very light. Our last boat was built in a more traditional method using fibre glass and gel coat, resulting in an unladen weight of around 900kg. Our new one weighs in at 280kg. 620kg less weight over 9,000 miles = a much faster crossing,” the trio explained.
“We are going to be able to average between 0.5 and one knot [one nautical mile per hour] faster all the time,” Jamie added and mentioned that their average speed for the Atlantic was 3.3 knots.
This time, the brothers were involved in the entire process of the boat: from design through to construction, sanding and painting.
“So much can go wrong when you’re at sea, so it was important for us to understand every single inch of the boat. We already feel like we’re at one with the boat, and we’ll have plenty more time to get to know it,” shared 32-year-old Ewan, who is also a design engineer for Dyson.
The trio from Scotland wants to row across the Pacific Ocean in a custom-made boat
Besides a well-designed boat, Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan have to be in perfect physical and mental shape. Therefore, to prepare for a long rowing challenge, the MacLeans have been spending 1-3 hours each day at the gym working with a coach who specializes in injury prevention.
“We’ll have limited sleep – we’ll rest at night, but someone will need to be on the oars to keep the boat moving 24/7. It takes its toll on you, physically and mentally, so we started training in earnest about a month ago,” the MacLeans explained.
The history of ocean rowing goes back to 1896 when two Norwegian-born Americans, George Harbo and Frank Samuelson, crossed the Atlantic. The fast-growing, extreme adventure sport challenges every single system of the body at the same time. Averagely, an ocean rower burns about 5,000 calories a day (!).
“Ocean rowing is a growing sport, but it’s a relatively new one so a lot of what we’ll face is hard to predict. Unlike our last row, this will be completely unsupported, so of course there are different challenges. What if one of us goes overboard? All three of us have a history of sleepwalking so we’ll all be on high alert. We might need to install seat belts!” Jamie shared.
“But we’re more excited than we are scared. We have the opportunity to do something nobody has ever done before while helping the many people who are in a position nobody should be in. And we get to do that,” he added.
The upcoming challenge is called ‘The Rare Whisky 101 Pacific Row’ because it’s partly sponsored by the men’s father, Charlie MacLean, one of the world’s leading whisky experts
Image credits: @themacleanbrothers
The upcoming journey will be partly sponsored by the men’s father, Charlie MacLean, one of the world’s leading whisky experts, and will be focused on raising £1 million to provide at least 30,000 people in developing countries with clean water.
During the previous ocean crossing, the Scottish brothers raised money for digging 4 clean water wells that would serve 800 people in rural Madagascar.
“Clean water is the most basic human necessity on the planet, yet 10% of people worldwide don’t have access to it. We’re doing something to change that. The more we talked uninterrupted with the clarity of being on the ocean, the more we realized this is what we wanted to do,” the youngest brother, 26-year-old Lachlan, said.
“It’s incredibly inspiring to go out and see how the money raised is converted into the provision of clean water to people that don’t have it,” Jamie added.
The trio from Scotland are still looking for sponsors. Anyone who wants to support their charity efforts can do it here and by visiting www.themacleanfoundation.org to find out more about the charity.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that if we want to change the world, we should start with ourselves and that’s exactly what Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean have been doing all these recent years.
This time a small row boat, unassisted and alone, will be crossing the biggest ocean of planet Earth to raise money and create a positive change through compassion and the spirit of adventure.
People on the internet shared their excitement and supportive messages for the Scottish trio
