Fierce Antarctic storms force adventurer to head home

ADVENTURER Hannah McKeand (pictured), who was raised in Watchet, where her mother still lives, has told how she was forced to abandon her most recent Antarctic exploits.
Hannah, aged 33, who now lives in Newbury, was attempting to sail from Hobart, Tasmania, to Commonwealth Bay and Cape Denison, an isolated spot on the coast of King George V Land, which is known as the windiest place in the world.
On the way, she would have passed the Magnetic South Pole, currently located on the ocean.
The journey was being made on a 20-metre, schooner-rigged, aluminium, expedition sailing yacht Blizzard owned by Hannah and partner David Pryce, who is a master mariner. They had a crew of 10.
But almost from the start of the five-week adventure they were hit by terrific storms peaking with 100-knot waves smashing into their yacht.
One of the crew was knocked overboard after the force of the storm broke the three steel lifelines.
He was quickly rescued from the sea, the temperature of which was just 2.6 degrees C, but suffered hypothermia.
Then, the prop shaft pulled out of the hull, damage which could only be repaired by taking the boat out of the water.
Without the ability to manoeuvre through pack ice and into and out of anchorage, Hannah was forced to turn the boat around and head back to Tasmania just 24 days into the adventure.
“We have had some rotten luck on this trip,” said Hannah in her log. “We know and accept that this is an incredibly hard journey to be trying to make.
“Strangely however, since we turned for home the weather has become calm and benign.”
Hannah and David have founded a new high latitude sailing company called Blizzard Expeditions which up to 10 people can join as an integral member of the team, sleeping in shared cabins and sharing responsibility for all aspects of sailing and logistics, and being rewarded with a truly intimate experience with the landscape and wildlife of the deep south.
More information is available from the website www.blizzardexpeditions.com.

In December, Hannah became the fastest person to walk alone and unsupported to the geographic South Pole, making the 690-mile trek in 39 days, nine hours, and 33 minutes - almost two days faster than the previous record, also held by a British woman.

• Photos of Hannah McKeand (top) and her aborted sailing expedition to the Antarctic courtesy of her websites.

From the slopes of the Quantocks to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

WEST Somerset publican Pam Middlemast (pictured) is in training to become fit enough for the biggest challenge of her life, travelling from the Quantock Hills to climb the world’s highest free-standing mountain, the 5,685m Mount Kilimanjaro.
Pam, who runs the Bicknoller Inn, will travel to Tanzania in June to join 30 other people taking part in the hike to raise money for Scope, the charity for people with cerebral palsy.
To ensure she is fit enough for the adventure, Pam is running three times a week, practising yoga, and has invested in a cross-trainer to help build her strength and stamina.
She said: “I look forward to the trek with some sense of trepidation, but also with much excitement. I am sure this promises to be an experience of a lifetime.”
Pam’s first challenge, however, is to raise sponsorship money, which she has been doing through a number of events at the Bicknoller Inn, including a sponsored head shave, a table top sale, and a jazz night with ‘Gentle Jazz’.
Her husband, Paul, has agreed to have his legs waxed in public, and her yoga teacher, Tria, will be running a yoga lesson in Bicknoller Village Hall and giving all the proceeds to the cause.
Pam will also be giving a talk on Friday, March 23, in the village hall, on her experience of conservation in the Seychelles, which will be accompanied by a finger buffet and drinks.
She said: “I would like to thank everybody who has given me their help and support in raising money, and welcome any new ideas as we still have some way to go, as I have pledged to raise £3,000 for Scope.”
The trek to the summit Mount Kilimanjaro will take six days, with the route taking in cultivated farmland, lush jungle, alpine meadow, and, finally, barren lunar landscape.
Pam said: “An average day’s walking will be about seven hours, with the most challenging day being the day we will reach the summit. This day will start shortly after midnight and entail 14 hours’ walking.
“I am taking this challenge very seriously and know that I will have to be very fit if I am to succeed.”
Pam would like to hear from anybody willing to make a donation or help in organising a fund-raising event.
Readers of The Crier can sponsor Pam by visiting her fund-raising website at www.justgiving.com/pamm and clicking on ‘sponsor me now’, or contact her via her email at pam@bicknollerinn.co.uk, or by telephone on 01984 656234.
More information on events run by Scope is available on 0800 019 1200 or from www.scope.org.uk/adventures/.

Photo submitted.