3 Scottish brothers complete record-setting row across the Pacific Ocean

Three Scottish brothers set a world record Saturday for completing the fastest unsupported row across the full Pacific Ocean.

Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan Maclean completed the journey in 139 days, arriving in Cairns, Australia. They rowed over 9,000 miles non-stop from Peru, becoming the first team to achieve the full crossing from South America to Australia.

The trio from Edinburgh endured storms, seasickness, injuries and violent storms, including one that swept Lachlan overboard, while raising over £700,000 ($945,690) toward a £1 million ($1,350,450) target for clean water projects.

PBS News Weekend’s John Yang spoke with the brothers when they were about 500 miles from Australia. Watch the interview in the player above.

The three rowed into the Cairns Marlin Marina playing the bagpipes and waving the Scottish, Australian and United Kingdom flags. More than 50 family members, supporters and fans, including their mother Sheila, greeted the brothers.

In the hours before their arrival, the eldest brother, Ewan, uploaded a video calling the marina ahead of their approach.

“Do you have pizza and beer? I repeat, do you have pizza and beer? Over.”

The 33-year-old said the journey was the hardest thing he had ever done, one he would have never contemplated without his siblings.

“We’ve shed tears of joy and laughed till our cheeks hurt,” he said.

Middle brother Jamie, 31, said things began to look dire towards the end.

“We seriously thought we might run out of food,” he said.

The Macleans said the experience gave them a new perspective on life. They plan to continue fundraising as they aim to fund projects that provide clean water to 40,000 people living in Madagascar through the brothers’ charity, the Maclean Foundation.

The previous record for the fastest full, unassisted, nonstop Pacific row was 160 days, set by Russian solo rower Fyodor Konyukhov in 2014.