Two daredevil brothers who set out on a perilous journey from Bermuda to the US in a tiny open fishing boat have set a new world record.

Ralph and Bob Brown found out this week that the Guinness Book of World Records has certified their 774-mile trip from St. George's to New York Harbour in May as the longest non-stop ocean voyage in a flats boat.

The pair, from Florida, are the first to hold the record as the category has been newly created following their voyage. Father-of-three Ralph, 48, told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "I am glad that they have given us the record. I'm sure someone will break it and then I'm going to have to break theirs!"

The brothers originally set out for the Island in Intruder 21 — a small shallow fishing vessel with no keel or cabin — on April 30 from Atlantic Beach in North Carolina. They arrived here safely two days later in the self-built 21-foot motorboat but were warned by Bermudian marine authorities and the US Coast Guard not to make the dangerous return trip.

The brothers were not deterred and set sail for the States on May 9, chugging into New York Harbour on May 11 — and landing themselves with a $75 fine for breaking security rules in place around the Statue of Liberty.

Ralph said he and Robert, 50, had not heard of anybody else taking a flats boat on such a long journey. "A lot of people in sail boats have done it but they have a keel.

"A keel keeps the boat from flipping over and if it did flip over the keel would fix it. The flats boat has no keel and no cabin and you have to carry your own fuel. We carried 288 gallons on the way over and 338 gallons on the way back.

"We were also unescorted. We wanted that in the title but Guinness wouldn't put that in for fear of somebody else trying to break it."

The boat designer, who embarked on the stunt to prove his boat was capable of handling high seas, added: "It was never about a world record. But the fact that we set a world record will help build the reputation of the company."

Robert, who agreed to the trip at the last minute after the original first mate bailed out, has since written a book about the experience called the Bermuda Suicide Challenge.

A video of the trip — during which he and Ralph endured nine foot high waves and winds in excess of 30 mph — can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=907xddcPTo4. Ralph's blog is at http://dreamboatsbermuda.blogspot.com.