Three brothers. 10,000 miles. One Boat… Read the extraordinary story of how the Maclean

Two weeks into their attempt to row unsupported across the Pacific Ocean in 2025, the Maclean brothers (Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan, in their late 20s and early 30s) realise they have neglected to bring the industrial quantity of Sudocrem on their list.

The rowing is taking its toll on the lads’ backsides. And so, not for the first or last time, they have to compromise – ‘the single tub of chamois cream was doled out like wartime butter’.

In fairness, this lapse was an exception to their meticulous preparation. The idea to conquer the ocean came after a team event saw them rowing across the Atlantic.

In sync: The Macleans at the oars

That trip schooled them in practicalities, such as taking individual sachets of Nescafé rather three large tubs: ‘Faced with an average wind speed of 17 miles per hour, an open teaspoon of powdered coffee doesn’t stand a chance.’

But it also inspired them – and as challenges go, the Pacific is right up there. Nearly 10,000 miles, three times the width of the Atlantic and four times that of the Moon. The Macleans would need to pull an estimated two million strokes each, averaging 65 nautical miles a day to reach Australia from Peru.

No team had ever done it unsupported (though some had done it with stops, including an all-female group called the Coxless Crew). Aiming to raise £1million for freshwater projects in Madagascar, the Macleans got busy. They had a boat built, named Rose Emily after their sister who had died in the womb.

Thirty feet by six, it boasted a cabin at each end where those not rowing could sleep. But with every spare inch of space needed to store supplies, ‘once you slither into position you are effectively pinned onto your front or back. So you just lie there, like a soggy corpse’.

For speed, they kept the boat as light as possible – it weighed not much more than the three of them combined.

Six months out they stopped drinking alcohol. Unimpressed by commercially available freeze-dried meals, they made their own. They took a guitar, an accordion and a set of bagpipes (all mini-versions), with ‘the romantic idea of reaching Australia having written an album . . . The reality soon sank in that an extra bag of freeze-dried rations may have been more appropriate’.

Morale boost: The trio kept themselves entertained throughout their voyage

Life onboard was not what you’d call comfortable. The toilet was a bottle or a bucket. When not in the cabins they were attached to the boat at all times – a pain when you have to declip and reattach to get round each other, but they remembered the story of another expedition in which an unattached crew member went overboard at night: ‘They’d rowed as hard as they could [into the wind] but it wasn’t enough . . . [they] stared, utterly helpless, as they watched the small light [of a headtorch] bobbing further and further towards the horizon.’

The brothers had to perform hand exercises to prevent a rower’s condition known as ‘claw grip’. A wave soaked a bunk (because they’d left the cabin door open), then another ruined a computer.

There was a storm so bad they couldn’t hear each other yelling from a metre away, and after some peanut butter went overboard Lachlan yelled at the ocean: ‘We’d only just opened that f***ing tub, goddamn you!’ He literally punched the next wave.

A flying fish hit Ewan in the ear, ‘playful and curious’ dolphins approached them, and a 50lb fish they managed to catch provided extra food (though only for a day – it soon started going off and had to be thrown).

As Jamie got into the water to clean molluscs and algae off the hull, he tried not to think about the shark they’d seen two days previously. Later, a huge marlin approached the boat. Sometimes these creatures attack, though thankfully not on this occasion. Ewan daydreamed about hooking it with their rod: ‘If it swam the right way we’d be in Australia in no time.’

Sea travel has changed hugely due to modern technology. The solar panels that powered the boat’s electronic navigation system and desalination unit (providing fresh water) also gave the brothers high-speed satellite internet, allowing them to send footage to their social media team, and conduct live interviews with TV presenters like Lorraine Kelly. Plus they got morale-boosting video calls from celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg.

Motivated: The brothers aimed to raise £1million for freshwater projects in Madagascar and named their boat, Rose Emily, after their sister who had died in the womb

For all the physical achievement, books like this depend entirely on how much you like the protagonists. Fortunately, the brothers are intelligent, thoughtful and charming characters.

And it wasn’t just themselves they changed. During the trip they received an email from an Australian woman saying that their daily reports had inspired her hitherto-depressed husband. They all had the same reaction to her message: ‘Just three brothers in a boat,’ said Lachlan, ‘out in the Pacific, having a wee cry.’

On day 138 they saw a dark cloud hugging the horizon. They were confused – no rain had been forecast. Then they realised. ‘That’s Australia,’ said Lachlan. ‘We’ve done it, boys.’

On the shore in Cairns were several of their friends who’d flown from Scotland to greet them, bagpipes at the ready for a rendition of O Flower Of Scotland. The first few moments on land were strange: ‘We swayed . . . muscles compensating for an imagined swell that no longer lay beneath our feet. . . The body arrives before the mind does.’

For Ewan, the lesson was all the more powerful for being so simple. ‘We kept moving forward by breaking everything down into the next rowing stroke. . . Big changes rarely come from one grand gesture. It’s usually lots of small actions, repeated, supported and sustained.’