Three Scottish brothers have set a new world record for the fastest human-powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean. Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan Maclean arrived in Cairns, Australia, on Saturday 30 August 2025 at about 01:52 BST, completing the voyage in 139 days, five hours and 52 minutes. The Edinburgh-born trio are the first crew to row from South America to Australia.

The roughly 9,000-mile crossing beat the previous record held by Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov, who rowed 7,393 miles from Chile to Australia in 159 days, 16 hours and 58 minutes in 2014. The team sailed on the custom-built carbon‑fibre vessel Rose Emily, launched from Yacht Club Peruano, and rowed in two-hour shifts with no resupply or safety support. The boat weighed about 280kg and carried around 500kg of food, including 75kg of oats. The start was marked by cheering crowds and a Peruvian Navy brass band as Jamie played the bagpipes. The voyage was undertaken to raise funds for The Maclean Foundation, the clean-water charity founded by the brothers and their father. The fund-raising drive has exceeded £790,000 so far, and organisers hope to reach £1 million.

On arrival, Jamie, 31, said all he wanted was a pizza, describing the journey as the most ‘incredible, relentless and often surreal experience’ of his life. His brother Ewan, 33, called the endeavour the ‘hardest’ thing he had ever done. ‘There have been countless setbacks to overcome, some leaving us lost, but we’ve always lifted each other up,’ he added. ‘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.’