Jock Wishart
Jock Wishart is a maritime and polar adventurer, sportsman and explorer. He is best known for his circumnavigation of the globe in a powered vessel, setting a new world record in the [1] and for organising and leading the Polar Race.
In 2010 he announced his latest expediton: his intention to take a rowing boat to the certified 1996 position of the Geomagnetic North Pole (The position is 78°35.7N 104°11.9W / 78.595°N 104.1983°W. Wishart describes how it has only become possible to consider an attempt like this in recent years due to the increase in seasonal ice melt and the much-documented deterioration of the Arctic landscape.
His expedition, The Old Pulteney Row To The Pole voyage, set out on July 28th 2011 from Resolute Bay, Nunaviut, Canada, to travel 450 miles. At the [2], Wishart described the timing as being of the essence because the final section of the journey is only navigable for a few weeks of the year before refreezing. Daily Telelgraph: Explorers begin attempt to row to North-Pole
Wishart said this expedition: "It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century there are still parts of our oceans that have never been explored. This is truly a voyage into the unknown - within 60 nautical miles of the start of our voyage; we will be taking The Old Pulteney through waters that have never been navigated by any surface vessel."
Early years
Jock Wishart was educated in Dumfries in south west Scotland at the academy there and at the University of Durham (Bede College).
Americas cup
Jock Wishart sailed as a grinder on Lionheart, the 1980 British challenger for the America's Cup.
North pole expeditions
Jock Wishart has twice trekked to the North Pole in record-setting expeditions.
Transatlantic row boating
In 1997 Wishart and team mate Duncan Nicoll placed 10th in a trans-Atlantic rowboat race from the Canary Islands to Barbados.
Record breaking circumnavigation of the globe in a powered vessel
Wishart and his crew on the Cable & Wireless Adventurer, left Gibraltar on 19 April 1998 on their 26,000-mile worldwide journey. The journey encompassed 15 ports in 10 countries, and the intention was to complete the journey inside 80 days. The team ultimately broke the powered world record, previously held by the nuclear submarine USS Triton, by completing the circumnavigation in 74 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes.[3] This beat the previous record by more than seven days.
The U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world in 60 days 21 minutes, between February 24 and April 25, 1960, covering 26,723 nautical miles (49,491 km; 30,752 mi) at the average speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) non-stop.[4]
The Polar Race
In 1996, Wishart and David Hempleman-Adams organised The Ultimate Challenge, in which they chose 10 arctic novices from over 500 applicants and successfully led them to the Magnetic North Pole.
Following the success of this expedition, which proved that novices could be trained and equipped for a Polar expedition, the two men established The Polar Race. As of May 2007, three races have been run with 40 out of 41 competitors successfully reaching the Pole.
References
- ^ Cable And Wireless Adventurer Trimaran Diesel Powered Jock Wishart Jules Verne Trophy Record Nigel Irens Boat Design
- ^ Press Release Thursday April 15th 2010 announcing Wishart's voyage
- ^ British Boat Smashes Record BBC News web-site, 3 July 1998; extracted 16 December 2009
- ^ Around the World Submerged: The Voyage of the Triton by Captain Edward L. Beach, USN (1962), data sheet appendix