Oban’s inspirational community hub The Rockfield Centre brings adventurer and world record rower Jamie Douglas-Hamilton to town this month.
The 15 times Guiness World record holder and first person in history to row across the Drake Passage from South America to Antarctica will be here for St Andrew’s Day, November 30, re-telling how he made the first human powered roughest-sea crossing of the Southern Ocean and the first to row to Antarctica.
Photograph: Ewan Harvey
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Admission to Jamie’stalk and presentation is free but donations from the night will be split between the British Heart Foundation and The Rockfield Centre.
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This not-to-be-missed opportunity is close to the heart, quite literally, to Gordon McNab, the man who spearheaded the Rockfield vision, and is chairperson of Oban Communities Trust.
Gordon himself was recovering from heart surgery when a photograph in the media caught his eye.
“It was a photograph of a young man in a hospital bed, with a surgeon next to him. I recognised the scar from heart surgery and I read on,” said Gordon.
From that point, a link was formed between the two men, culminating in Gordon inviting Jamie to bring his story to Oban.
“An inspirational character coming to tell his story in an inspirational building. The two are made for each other. It will be a fascinating evening, an opportunity not to be missed. How often do we get to meet people who have rowed the roughest seas and faced waves as big as buildings,” added Gordon.
Less than five months after having open heart surgery for a life-threatening leaking aortic valve, Jamie – who also rowed from Australia to Africa in 2014 – was part of a six-man team crossing from Antarctica to South Orkney islands. It took 13 days and more than 700 miles in a boat that was just 29 feet long.
Jamie dedicated that mission in honour of unsung hero Harry McNish who was shunned and denied the polar medal by Shackleton, yet was the real hero that saved all the crew of the doomed Imperial Trans Antarctica Expedition.
McNish, who died in 1930 and was nickname Chippy, was the expedition’s carpenter. When The Endurance became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea and was destroyed, it was Chippy who modified a small boat that allowed Shackleton and five men, including himself, to make a voyage of hundreds of miles to fetch help for the rest of the crew.
The relationship between Shackleton and the outspoken McNish was described as “difficult” and Shackleton awarded almost all of his team the Polar Medal, excluding McNish.
Jamie wants “to put that right” says Mr McNab. He dedicated his Drake Passage expedition towards McNish receiving a posthumous Polar Medal. He believes none of the crew would have survived if it had not been for Chippy.
As well as making a name for himself as an adventurer, Jamie is also an entrepreneur. His experiences at sea led him to start up the the UK’s first alkaline ionised bottled water brand – ACTiPH. During his 2014 Australia to Africa voyage, he found that freshwater mixed with seawater was more hydrating than freshwater alone – increasing power, energy levels and reducing hallucinations.
Book in advance to hear more from Jamie when he presents Overcoming Adversity – Rowing Drake Passage & Scotia Sea in honour of Harry McNish on November 30 in The oak Room, starting at 7pm and suitable for all ages.
The Rockfield Centre is also serving up a St Andrew’s celebration dinner that night, you can reserve a table space by calling 01631 701921 or visit the website at https://www.therockfieldcentre.org.uk/