Translation of pluscuamperfecto

I grabbed a burger from an American fast food chain and swallowed it immediately, as I had not eaten for a while. I boarded the machine and could feel a slight stomachache but decided to ignore.
A good friend of mine. He works currently in NY but is a Swiss lawyer, excellent and very intelligent. Shall I ask him? OK, sounds great. Maybe we can add his words and expressions (from the law field) as well.
We had to be careful of not falling into the water. We rowed for about an hour and we got tired pretty easily. Especially the other man and woman looked devastated, at the limit of their physical capabilities.