How would you describe Scottish people?
“Hospitable, generous and entertaining.”
Best piece of advice you’ve been given?
“Our trainer Chloe Lambtheer always used to say, ‘Motivation is an action, not a feeling.’ I really like that idea because it suggests that motivation comes from doing something rather than waiting for it to arrive. The more you do, the more motivated you become.
“Our boat builder Mark Slats also had a brilliant motto. He’s a legend in the ocean rowing world and he writes ‘Be stronger than your excuses’ inside the cabins of his boats. When you wake up in the middle of the ocean and you’re trying to find reasons not to get back on the oars, you look up and imagine Mark telling you to get on with it.”
Best Scottish export?
“If I don’t say whisky I think my dad might disown me. He’s a whisky expert.”
What shaped your love of adventure?
“A lot of it goes back to our childhood trips to Assynt. Every summer and Easter we’d go to a cottage by the shore that our mum’s family had visited for generations. There was no Wi-Fi, no phone signal and no television, so our parents would tell us to go outside and entertain ourselves.
“We spent our time exploring the coast and nearby hills, and sometimes heading out in a tiny fishing boat with an outboard engine that almost always failed. When it did we’d end up rowing it back ourselves. We’d usually only go a couple of hundred metres offshore to try to catch mackerel, but we were always fascinated by the idea that if we just kept going we could reach another continent.”
How did the idea of rowing an ocean begin?
“For a long time the three of us weren’t working towards anything together. Then in 2017 Lachlan discovered the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and he persuaded me to do it with him. Ewan then heard about it and decided he couldn’t miss out. I think he was worried about relatives asking him about the row for years afterwards and him having to say it wasn’t him.”
Why take on the Pacific next?
“After the Atlantic we’d raised about £200,000 for clean water projects, which was incredible, but visiting Madagascar after the pandemic really changed things for us. Seeing first-hand the impact those projects have on communities made us want to do something big enough to make an even greater difference.”
What was the toughest part of the crossing?
“The first ten days were pretty miserable because all three of us were seasick. When you’re rowing constantly but can’t keep food down you become dehydrated and exhausted very quickly. It probably took a couple of weeks to get physically into the rhythm of things and about a month to mentally adjust to the scale of what we were doing.”
What was the scariest moment at sea?
“The most frightening moment was when Lachlan got thrown overboard by a huge wave about two-thirds of the way across. We’re always attached to the boat with safety lines, which is absolutely critical, and that’s what saved him.
“I was asleep in the cabin when it happened and woke up with water flooding in and everything falling on top of me. When I looked out I saw Ewan sprinting across the deck and hauling Lachlan back on board.”
What kept the three of you going?
“Food, music and each other. We didn’t have a captain and all our decisions were democratic. Living on a boat about the size of a big dining table with your siblings for five months might sound like a nightmare, but it actually made us closer.”
What are you most looking forward to this year?
“Right now we’re looking forward to building our own cabins on the croft because at the moment we’re still sharing a house. It’ll be nice to have our own space. I’m also quite excited about growing vegetables.”
Three Brothers in a Boat: A True Story of Brotherhood, Endurance, and Purpose on the Pacific is an upcoming book by Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan Maclean, scheduled for release in autumn 2026
