Return to Rockall beckons for bold Buckie fund-raiser
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A BUCKIE ex-pat who attempted to set an endurance record on Rockall is set to return to the remote island later this month.
Chris ‘Cam’ Cameron, who lives in Wiltshire, spent a month last summer perched on a ledge measuring just 4m x 1.5m some 17m up a cliff face with the primary aim of raising cash for ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. In addition, the former Gordon Highlanders soldier wanted to smash the 45-day endurance record set by Nick Hancock in 2014.
He was joined in the initial phase his endeavour by Emil Bergmann and Adam 'Nobby' Styles before toughing it out alone.
However, freak foul weather brought an end to the endurance record bid, with Cam being evacuated by a Coastguard helicopter on Wednesday, June 28 after making a Mayday call.
Weather permitting, Cam is hoping to return to the island, which is situated some 200 miles off the coast of Scotland, between April 19-30 in order to see what can be salvaged of the kit he was forced to leave behind when he was winched to safety.
He said: “I won’t be staying on Rockall this time, I’m going to see how much of my kit is left, what state it’s in and how much can be salvaged.
“I’ve got a photo taken of Rockall by fisherman Peter Harcus on Valentine’s Day and from what I can see it looks like the ropes are still there along with some other stuff. The landpod, which we lived in, may still be there but I’m not expecting a whole lot of stuff to be there.
“While I’m there I’ll also be checking to see if Megan’s steps [a memorial made from rocks epoxied together in memory of a Buckie girl who died from cancer] are still intact and installing a plaque.
“When I leave I’ll put a GPS with a 180-day life in a buoyant canister and throw it in the sea. This will allow me to track the currents and hopefully work out where the kit that was washed off Rockall went.
“I’m excited to be going back, it’s such a beautiful place, and my ultimate goal is to have another crack at the record, though that won’t be this year.
“I’m being accompanied by Al Baker, from Inverness, who went to Rockall back in ‘96 for Greenpeace. It’s a bit of an unlikely partnership in many ways, me being an ex-soldier and a Royal Naval Reserve officer and him a Greenpeace activist, but he’s just brilliant, he jumped at the chance of coming and he’ll help me with the climb up the rock. The climb can either be a doddle or impossible, the weather can make it very dangerous.”
To date Cam’s fundraising efforts have netted an impressive £21,000 for his named charities. It is hoped to raise further funds through the release of a book on his exploits on Rockall and a documentary on the expedition is due to hit the screens at some point later this year.
Learn more about the expedition at https://www.rockallexped.com/
