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Scottish brothers finish mammoth row across Pacific Ocean after 139 days
- ares623 1y agoWhat a disconnected piece of writing. It's like every paragraph is it's own separate topic, with topics alternating between different paragraphs. Super cool achievement, regardless.
- wmichelin 1y agoIncredible achievement. I'd love to read a bit about their communications. I noticed their rowboat had a bunch of solar panels on it.
- gcanyon 1y agoI’ve rowed a marathon ( several, actually) on a concept 2. I’d even say I’m pretty suited to long distance rowing, since I usually don’t drink or eat while doing a marathon. That said, the idea of going much longer than that — like an eight hour shift, or even two four hour shifts in a day, day after day… that’s insane. And that doesn’t even begin to account for the difference between the erg and ocean rowing. Double insane.
- bob1029 1y agoAfter about 45 minutes of rowing on the C2 I don't register that I am exerting myself anymore. I could probably go all day if the boredom wasn't so intense. The danger of the open sea would help a lot with this.
- stavros 1y agoCan you not listen to an audiobook? It's done wonders for my driving boredom.
- gcanyon 1y agoWhen I go longer I set up a laptop beside me and watch something. It does require wireless headphones, or a long cord, since you're going back and forth through 3-5 feet.
- bob1029 1y agoI usually watch cab ride videos of European trains on youtube while I am rowing.
- 3eb7988a1663 1y agoThis is a new one to me. Is there audio of the outdoors or the cabin car? Are these urban trains or more long distance rural vistas?
- bob1029 1y agoE.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92YJ6WipiY4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92YJ6WipiY4
- 3eb7988a1663 1y agoAlright, that was more relaxing than I expected.
- gcanyon 1y agoWow, and I thought I was suited to long distance :-) I definitely tend to row longer -- from 5Ks to an hour -- but I can't say I don't feel it. Sanity-checking: what pace are you setting? Or: what distance are you covering in 45 minutes? The Concept2 has almost no floor, so it's possible you almost aren't exerting yourself.
- bob1029 1y agoI can do 10k in 45 minutes but I wouldn't be able to sustain this all day. If I reduce the intensity by 20~30%, I could go indefinitely.
- gcanyon 1y agoDang! 45 minutes is not slow for a 10K (depending on your age and overall fitness, obviously). My pace for a half marathon is slower than that.
- hydrogen7800 1y ago"You can take all the boys and the girls in the world I wouldn't trade them this morning for my sweet Ocean Cloud I've seen too much of life So the sea is my wife and a sweet Ocean Cloud is a mistress I'm allowed" Ocean Cloud by Marillion, written about a solo rower who crossed the Atlantic.
- fernly 1y ago> three Scottish brothers have set a new world record by completing the first and fastest unsupported row across the Pacific Ocean... > The previous record of 159 days had been set in 2014 by Russian rower Fedor Konyukhov. Um, if they are the first to do it, how can there be a previous record? I guess the Konukhov trip was "supported"? Or not "full"?
- tasn 1y agoI also found it confusing, the way I ended up interpreting it: they are the first unsupported team, and was also unsupported but did it solo.
- alexey-salmin 1y agoKonyukhov did solo unsupported (so not a "team"). https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383779-first-solo-row-non-stop-across-the-pacific-ocean-from-mainland-south-america-to-m https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383779-fi... https://konyukhov.ru/en/project/expedition/fyodor-konyuhov-na-vyoslah-cherez-tihij-okean/ https://konyukhov.ru/en/project/expedition/fyodor-konyuhov-n...
- 3eb7988a1663 1y agoSo many practical questions about how this worked. Sleeping, food/water (cooking the fish, seasonings?, did they have stretches where they failed to catch anything), boredom - did they have a radio/podcast library, how much rowing per day, how are the bowels after five months of hardtack and fish, how does your skin handle constant saltwater exposure without showering, etc Also - I want to see a before photo. They all look pretty slim, but I imagine anyone would after five months of rowing and eating nothing but vitamins and fish.
- jonah 1y agoAt the bottom of the article there are links to two related articles from before they started out and when they were halfway through. They answer many of your questions. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-22/scottish-maclean-brothers-pacific-ocean-rowing-peru-to-sydney/104958884 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-22/scottish-maclean-brot... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-08/scottish-maclean-brothers-world-record-rowing-attempt-halfway/105386944 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-08/scottish-maclean-brot...
- squigz 1y agoPretty interesting stuff. I'm a bit surprised with the food choices, although to be fair they didn't elaborate too much. But just freeze dried and store-bought foods? And they were talking about eating it cold! Someone needs to show them MREs and flameless ration heaters!
- esseph 1y agoThe version of MREs before the current tan bags, the brown bags (Desert Storm era), were freeze dried meals. They also come with a lot of stuff you don't want to eat for an extended period of time, and a lot of trash waste.
- lazide 1y agoIt appears that space was at an extreme premium - and remember, if they rowed, weight matters as well. MREs work in an environment where you have trucks (or planes) dropping off pallets of them on the regular, not where you need to bring 6 months of them along on something you are moving under your own power. Long distance ultra light hikers and expedition type folks tend to bring freeze dried food (either way they can’t carry enough water so need to figure that out). Vitamins to avoid any weird effects from missing nutrients from ‘found food’ was also a good idea.
- rietta 1y agoI am confused. How can they be the first when there is an existing record? So fastest time but not first? An absolutely awe inspiring accomplishment!
- Retric 1y agoI think it’s the first unsupported team. Where someone else did an (unsupported?) solo trip.
- dsp_person 1y agoFirst time they used a mammoth
- highwaylights 1y agoFor a second I read "row" as in argument rather than boat/oars and my brain went straight to this: https://spookyscotland.net/benandonner/ https://spookyscotland.net/benandonner/ Absolutely incredible achievement.
- alex1138 1y ago"No u" "No u" "No u" "No u" For 139 days With probably a lot of drinking involved
- gentooflux 1y agoThey're Scottish, your script is missing the f word
- stavros 1y ago"No, you first"? Now I'm imagining them being too polite to pass through a door for 139 days.
- spauldo 1y agoI envisioned one of those cartoon fight clouds with the occasional fist or foot sticking out of it on the deck of a ship.
- jjensen 1y agoTwo English women are close to accomplishing the same feat. https://www.seasthedayoceanrowing.com/ https://www.seasthedayoceanrowing.com/
- schaefer 1y agoThat’s a strong pun: seas the day.
- FiatLuxDave 1y agoOMG, they made it! My sister knows these guys! They became friends when she was working at an NGO in Madagascar. They also make whiskey.
- jemmyw 1y agoI get angry with my siblings too.
- OJFord 1y agoTheir voices must be very hoarse.