Ahoy, young adventurers! This record will send you on an epic journey of pirate play across the Caribbean sea. ⛵
Do you think a little toy ship can survive for months in the open sea?
It sounds impossible, and yet it's true!
That's the incredible story of Adventure 2 (also called A2), a remarkable Playmobil toy boat that embarked on a daring adventure back in 2020.
The record-breaking quest was completed by the amazing Lewis brothers Fynn, Jax and Kai (aged 3, 7 and 10 years old), in collaboration with Ollie and Harry Ferguson (14 and 12).
On 8 March 2024, Adventure 2 was officially recognized as the most travelled toy ship EVER! 😮
"You've done something truly inspiring, your story was everywhere," said Craig Glenday, Editor in Chief of Guinness World Records, about the epic journey. "It's such a grand idea."
Adventure 2's adventure began after the world lost contact with the previous record-breaking ship, Adventure, built by Ollie and Harry in 2017.
But what happened?
The live tracker on the ship went silent in May 2019 and, as the weeks went by, it seemed impossible to rescue it... 😥
However, determined to not let them give up on their dream, a family from Trinidad contacted the Ferguson brothers during lockdown to kick off a "2nd phase"!
So Harry and Ollie sent the Lewis family another Playmobil ship - the same model as Adventure - and set up multiple video calls to show them how to modify the boat so it could face the daunting open sea.
In September 2020, Adventure 2 was officially launched.
The vessel also carried a message in a bottle instructing whoever found it to snap a picture, contact the families and return it to the sea. 😎
What message would you place in a bottle for someone far away to discover?
Favoured by the current, the pirate ship sailed on as expected through the Caribbean Sea and was propelled by the current through the waves of the Gulf of Mexico...
The ship was found again in Miami, Florida, by young Ellie Alvarez and her father Ulises in March 2021!
Thanks to the live-tracking website, it was possible to follow the progress made by the ship as it drifted down the east coast of the USA, and then out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Technology is so amazing! 🤓
We have to rely on the currents, so we have to choose the best places to release the boat into the water to take advantage of those - Mac Ferguson
Constant GPS coordinates and collaboration ensured the expedition's success - and, along the journey, Adventure 2 was also modified to improve its chances of survival.
The pirate ship was welcomed in Captain Shark's boatyard in San Pedro, Belize, for a quick maintenance stop before heading to Belize City. 🔧
At the boatyard, the Playmobil boat was repaired and modified with a brand-new, heavy-duty keel: the upgrade would allow the currents to set the vessel's course rather than it just drifting away from place to place.
From September 2020 to 19 November 2021, Adventure 2 travelled an incredible 15,439 km (9,593.34 mi) before the battery ran out.
To put that into perspective, 15,439 km is roughly the distance between New York City, USA, and Sydney, Australia, when measured in a straight line! 🤯
In 2018, Ollie and Harry's Adventure set the first record for the most travelled toy ship.
The 1st version of the Playmobil boat covered a whopping 6,072.47 km (3,773.26 miles) after sailing from Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Adventure followed the currents and proudly floated away to Scandinavia and then, drifting toward the coast of Mauritania, it continued across the southern Atlantic and finally finished its record-breaking journey in 2018.
In May 2019, the ship's signal was lost somewhere close to Barbados...
The Adventure's epic travels lasted almost an entire year!
The first record was shocking, and the second one was very unexpected - Ollie
However, the Ferguson brothers are always hungry for new challenges. 💪
In fact, they are working their way through an ambitious list of 500 quests that they want to complete before they turn 18, and are currently in the middle of another epic adventure!
"We have finished about 450," the boys say. "One of the highlights was flying a plane."
So here's an idea for you: grab a friend or sibling and make a list of things you want to achieve before you turn 18!
And hey, if one of them is to break a world record, here's where you can start: click here to attempt a record TODAY.
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