Maclean Brothers
Adventurers
Maclean Brothers
Adventurers
Biography
Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan Maclean are three Scottish brothers who grew up with a shared love of adventure. In 2019, they rowed over 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean - from the Canary Islands to Antigua - completing the crossing in 35 days. It was enough to break the previous speed record by nearly six days.
The experience left a mark. Rather than move on, the brothers wanted to find ways to keep working together on something that mattered. They set up a small family charity, The Maclean Foundation, with the aim of supporting causes they believe in. In 2022, a trip to Madagascar to visit water projects they'd helped fund gave them fresh perspectives and a renewed sense of purpose.
That purpose found its expression in 2025, when the brothers spent 139 days rowing 9,750 miles across the Pacific Ocean, from Lima, Peru to Cairns, Australia. The journey was rarely straightforward. Tropical storms, seasickness, dwindling food supplies, and a man-overboard incident all tested them along the way. They arrived having broken the previous record by over 20 days, becoming the first team to row unsupported and non-stop from South America to Australia. Through the challenge, they raised over £1 million for clean water projects in Madagascar - enough to bring access to safe drinking water to more than 40,000 people.
Away from the water, the brothers speak to audiences about what they've learned - in corporate settings, schools, universities, and beyond. Their message is a straightforward one: that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, and that you can help yourself in life by helping others. Having returned from the Pacific, they're now working on a book, keen to reflect more deeply on what these journeys have taught them.
For the Macleans, the rowing has always been a means to an end - a way of creating impact while doing something they love.
Speaker Videos
Journey Summary
Speech Topics
Brotherhood/Teamwork
Drawing on 139 days and 9,750 miles at sea - rowing non-stop and unsupported from Peru to Australia - Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean share what kept them moving when conditions turned, morale dipped, and turning back wasn't an option: how to find a mindset that holds under pressure, the small habits that keep a team together, and what happens when you anchor what you love to something bigger than yourself.
Action Over Hesitation
You will always find reasons not to do something if you think about it for long enough. There was no step-by-step guide to rowing the Pacific. It required us to dream big, using intuition as our guide. The Pacific has taught us lessons in taking that first scary step, the leap of faith, to embrace the road less traveled. Once we took the step, we learned to be good beginners. Whether it was for boatbuilding, physical and mental preparation or fundraising and PR, we surrounded ourselves with the best possible mentors and started learning, never pretending to have the answers ourselves.
Getting out of our bunks on the ocean didn’t become easy at any point. There was no corner-cutting or a cheat code to use. The only way to get closer to our destination was putting in the shifts, eating frogs (i.e. tackling the hardest jobs first), and accepting that motivation is an action not a feeling. Our drive to keep going came through doing, not thinking about it.
True Fulfilment
We learned many lessons in helping ourselves by helping others. This journey was about far more than going from points A to B. It wasn’t about ‘the glory’ or breaking records. It was about combining our shared passion with a clear purpose. As we rode the waves, enduring all manner of trials and tribulations, we kept the ocean in view: raising £1 million for clean water projects. The more challenging the experience was for us, the more money we would likely raise.
Doing hard stuff is good for you. Through blood, sweat and tears, we learned to appreciate how adversity is often part of fulfillment. The biggest challenges in life strip away the fluff, clarifying what is truly important.
Positive Mindset
No matter how bleak or challenging experiences might seem, we can always work on changing our perception. Looking for positives was our bread and butter, keeping us cheery as we crawled, millimeter by millimeter, across the chart.Every week, we got into the water and cleaned the hull, a job that we initially dreaded. 9,000 miles later, we’d done the thing that scared us until it no longer did. Fears of what lurked in the miles of ocean below us had been forgotten, replaced by a longing for a much needed wash – the ultimate reset.
When the going did get tough, we learned to see the broader picture. The lows framed the highs, and the charitable mission kept the fires burning. Even the darkest Pacific night was followed by a morning light.
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