Brothers build model boats to sail around Antarctica

Ollie and Harry built the boats which are replica's for HMS Erebus and HMS Terror which discovered the largest ice shelf of Antarctica

Model ships built by two young brothers have been launched on a mission to sail or travel all the way around Antarctica.

Ollie 13, and Harry 11, from Turriff in Aberdeenshire are hoping to be the first people ever to do this, anywhere in the world.

After waiting for official approval for the project for two years, the boys were delighted when the boats were finally launched last week.

The metre long boats will go on a journey of more than 12,500 miles, which could take up to two years.

They took inspiration from the Ross scientific expedition of 1839-43 where the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror discovered the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf of Antarctica which is several hundred metres thick.

They decided to build replicas of the two vessels from elm wood, which have been fitted with bespoke tracking and monitoring devices, and have a battery life of more than six years.

During the journey, the boats will transmit back scientific data including air temperature, ocean temperature and ocean pH which can be markers of climate change.

They are also fitted with cameras which will be able to send around one image a month.

How has the journey been going so far?

The hulls of replica boats have been fitted with trackers

After the boats were completed, they were shipped to family friends in the Falkland Islands until the family received official approval from authorities that they could be launched into the Southern Ocean.

The Pharos SG, a South Georgia fisheries patrol vessel, then transported them out and launched them on 11 July into the circumpolar current, the strongest current system in the world oceans and the only ocean current linking all major oceans

They were quickly attacked by seabirds - a pair of petrels - which seemed to think the boats were food but fortunately they soon lost interest and flew away.

The boys hopefully haven't got too attached to their boat creations, as Harry has admitted he doesn't think they will ever be able to be returned.

He said: "We're interested to collect data about climate change and also just trying to see what happens to the boats and the end result - though there is a very low chance - to see if we will ever see them again."

The boys are no strangers to such challenges as they have undertaken many adventures, previously setting the world record for the longest distance travelled at sea by a toy boat.

They sailed their Playmobil pirate ship Adventure more than 3,700 miles across the Atlantic to the Caribbean as part of a list of 500 adventures.

But Ollie has said that this is "probably one of our most challenging and ambitious adventures yet" and is delighted that the boats have not set off on their journey.