Superyacht crew complete transatlantic cycling challenge for charity

The crew of AMELS' 55m Gene Machine have completed a charity cycling challenge across the Atlantic Ocean.

Riding on a stationary bike, the team of 12 cycled over 4,700nm (over 8,700km) across the Atlantic Ocean, having set off two weeks ago from AMELS’ shipyard in Holland. In order to keep up with the 13-knot cruising speed of M/Y Gene Machine, the crew needed to cycle an average of 516km per day.

An announcement was posted on the group's Facebook page in the early hours of yesterday morning reading, "It was a tough one but we made it! Thank you to the crew of S/Y Minerva for all their help during the second half of our crossing. We'd also like to thank all of our sponsors and everyone else who donated towards the two great charities we were pedalling for! For those who wanted to wait till we finished and achieved our goal you can still donate - we would sincerely appreciate it!”

The crew managed to raise over £11,000 for charities The Heart Research Institute and Ducks & Drakes Cancer Trust, after crew member Hannah Wallner’s father passed away following a heart attack.

Speaking to CNN earlier in the month, Gene Machine captain Fraser Gow commented, “To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard of anyone else attempting to cycle across [the Atlantic Ocean]. However, after sitting down and crunching some of the numbers, we realised that it actually wasn’t impossible, though it certainly was going to be quite a challenge!

“So far we have found it quite similar to the story of The Tortoise and Hare. The yacht just trundles away at a steady unstoppable pace whilst the crew are having their good and bag days. At this stage it’s too early to tell who will win!

“We’ve had a few lumpy days that make riding a bike quite challenging. We do try our best to avoid bad weather as much as possible, but sometimes it’s impossible to outrun. A few of the crew have had to ride with a bucket in close proximity!”

For more information and to donate to the crew’s cause, visit their donation page.