A BROTHER and sister have made history rowing the Atlantic Ocean to promote gender equality.
Anna and Cameron McLean, known as the ‘Seablings’ are the world’s first ever brother and sister team to row any ocean. The Cotswolds duo who are passionate about gender equality, achieved this by rowing 3,000 miles in a trip that took 43 days 15 hours and 22 minutes.
Mr McLean said: “This is a moment for all families, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons and all brothers and sisters as we have just proven that the seemingly impossible can be achieved when men and women come together as equal parts.”
“This epic challenge has changed me in so many positive ways. One being, I now have a much greater appreciation for our forefathers and grandparents who during the war had to ration everything they had. Realising our society today is way too disposable I will now make every effort back on land to reduce waste and to live a resourceful lifestyle”
Starting in La Gomera, Canary Islands they endured many weeks of isolation, overcame seasickness, were stalked by a shark, experienced storms, dehydration, extreme fatigue and technical difficulties such as their water maker leaking, to eventually reach Antigua in a record time for the fastest mixed pair to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They beat the previous record of 53 days by 10 days.
Miss McLean said: “Absolutely nothing can prepare you for the extremity of the Atlantic Ocean and just what it can bring. It is completely unpredictable. Our goal initially was to simply survive on our 24ft rowing boat, but as soon as the waves grew larger so did our confidence to overcome them and before we knew it, our competitiveness to start racing.”
“For me the toughest part was battling seasickness. It was totally incapacitating, as soon as I stopped rowing, I was being sick. This meant I had to sleep on deck through the freezing nights as in the claustrophobic cabin sloshing around in the waves made the sickness even worse. Our crossing was successful breaking a world record and a world first for two reasons. First, our utter indomitable will to persevere through the hardest of times. Secondly, a clean boat is a happy boat and a happy boat is a fast boat. I couldn’t have asked for a better crew mate, best friend, and brother. Some of the highlights of the trip were when we were rowing together, laughing, singing at the top of our lungs and embracing being at one with nature.”
From the tiny village of Icomb, Gloucestershire, the McLeans completed the row as part of the 2019 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
Their #sameboat campaign has so far raised over £25,000 but they hope to raise £100,000 for their chosen charity, UN Women UK.
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