We did it! Brothers row Atlantic to win £5 bet with Dad… two decades after telling him they could achieve the feat in faster time than he managed
- Three brothers won a five pound bet with their father after rowing 3,000 miles
- The trio smashed their father’s record of reaching Barbados after 59 days at sea
- The youngsters raised £23,000 for charity after crossing the Atlantic in 36 days
- Father Hugo met the young men on the other side with a five pound note
Three brothers rowed 3,000 miles for over a month across the Atlantic – to win a £5 bet with their Dad.
As youngsters, Louis, 27, Felix, 26, and Finn Ambrose, 23, watched father Hugo arrive in Barbados after 59 days at sea and vowed they could do it quicker.
Two decades on, they made it to Antigua this week as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge and Dad met them with a £5 note.
The trio, from Lymington, Hampshire, made the journey from the Canary Islands in 36 days.
As youngsters, (from left) Louis, 27, Felix, 26, and Finn Ambrose, 23, watched father Hugo arrive in Barbados after 59 days at sea and vowed they could do it quicker
They rowed 80 miles a day in their boat Ambrosia and raised £23,000 for charity.
Finn said: ‘We made the bet as a bit of a joke and it all got rather out of control.’
They had been planning to take part in the challenge for two years, having plotted it through Covid lockdowns at home in the New Forest.
The three achieved the feat despite having had no experience in rowing or sailing. They left La Gomero in the Canary Islands on December 12 and arrived in Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, on Tuesday.
Pictured: Hugo Ambrose when he rowed across the Atlantic almost 20 years ago
Two decades on, they made it to Antigua this week as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge and Dad met them with a £5 note
Highs included seeing a pod of whales and catching and eating a fish as their father had also done on his journey.
But there were also lows, they admitted, including when far from land, Felix admitted he had failed to download audiobooks to keep them going as promised.
And Felix added: ‘The waves would break on you and it was pretty terrifying. You’d get soaked, and you wouldn’t ever get dry. That was also when the bottom sores began; just sitting down is uncomfortable.’
On the size of the wager placed, Louis, who works in software consultancy, told The Times: ‘There’s been quite a reduction over 20 years in purchasing power. Maybe we will get half a pint?’
Before the voyage, Hugo said: ‘When it seemed as if they were serious, I got behind them and have given them all the advice I can. The race really will test them, both physically and mentally, but they’ll never forget it.’
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