Bulgarian father-and-son duo, Stefan and Maxim Ivanov, have successfully completed their Atlantic row from Portugal to Barbados. They covered 8,230km in 105 days. In the process, they set multiple world firsts.
Maxim Ivanov has become the youngest person to successfully row an ocean. When he started the journey, he was 16 years and 293 days old, and celebrated his 17th birthday at sea. The pair are also the first ocean-rowing expedition from Bulgaria, and the first to row across the Atlantic during hurricane season.
Photo: @Neverest Ocean Row
Their journey has not been easy. They had to change their route and endpoint — initially Brazil — because of COVID-19 restrictions. They battled the waves and winds brought by multiple tropical storms and Hurricane Teddy, spent days with their sea anchor deployed and needed nine days in Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands off West Africa, to make repairs to their boat before turning west into the open sea. When their rations ran low at the end of the journey, they fished.
The pair were overjoyed when they pulled into Barbados. “It was unforgettable,” said Maxim.
Photo: @Neverest Ocean Row
