Bulgarian father and son row across Arctic Ocean for endangered species

SOFIA (Reuters) - Stefan Ivanov, a 52-year-old banker from Bulgaria, and his son Maxim, 21, celebrated their birthdays in August rowing across the Arctic Ocean with his son to appeal for protection of endangered ocean species.

After 33 days, the boat crossed the Arctic Ocean on Sept. 8, hoping to claim the record of being the first rowing boat to have accomplished the feat.

"We wanted to be the first rowing expedition across the entire Arctic Ocean and we started from Haugesund (Norway), which is south of the southern border of the ocean," Stefan told Reuters. "I think we will be able to claim the record."

The footage from the sailing trip showed waves and heavy winds, with the little boat swinging in the ocean. Stefan spent 33 days on the boat, while Maxim, a Stanford University student, joined later after finishing his internship in New York.

"It's been a huge fight with (the) Arctic Ocean. It was not very collaborative, it was sending side winds, headwinds currents pushing us one way or the other," Stefan said.

"Almost feels like being in a washing machine for weeks."

Stefan and Maxim began building their own boat in 2019 to cross the ocean. They named it Neverest. "It is a play of words 'Never rest until you reach Everest'," Stefan said.

In 2020 Maxim at the age of 16 became the youngest rower to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean with his father.

"This is a hobby of ours, but we didn't want to just let it be an end to it itself. We wanted to have some positive repercussions on the world if we can," Stefan said, adding that they did it to promote a petition to designate new protected areas in the Southern Ocean to designate new protected areas in the Southern Ocean to conserve marine biodiversity.

"Journeys like this are reminder that even the small victories are victories and when the time gets tough every single step is a step forward no matter how small," Maxim said.

"But sometimes those steps are very limited."

(Reporting Stpyan Nenov; Writing by by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Sandra Maler)