Gales batter Buckie fundraiser as Rockall challenge passes halfway mark
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WHILE Moray has for the most part been basking in glorious summer weather, it has been a very different story for a bold charity fundraiser originally from Buckie.
Chris 'Cam' Cameron is currently perched on Rockall, situated over 200 miles from the coast of Scotland in the Atlantic Ocean, in a bid to raise £50,000 for the Army Benevolent Fund and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
Living in a landpod unit which had to be hauled up 17m of rock face, Mr Cameron's living space consists of a ledge measuring just 4m x 1.5m.
He is also aiming to beat the record for staying on Rockall – 45 days set by Nick Hancock in 2014 – and is currently over the halfway mark.
However, the weather has not been making life easy for the former Gordon Highlander.
"The weather is quite simply atrocious," he said.
"It hasn't stopped blowing a gale for two weeks.
"The swell is currently 5m with the wind speed at 35 knots – it just doesn't give up!
"It's set to continue for the next week without a break, so it seems. I just need one day without this wind. The nights are difficult because whilst it's windy outside it's amplified inside the landpod. Crashing waves 10m below my ledge and howling wind all around doesn't make for a restful sleep.
"The whole pod shakes all the time when the wind is in excess of 25 knots."
With the challenge now over the halfway mark, Mr Cameron said his first priority remained raising as much cash as possible for the military charities he is supporting rather than getting an entry in the record books.
He continued: "I planned this, I wanted to do it and there's certainly no turning back.
"It's never been about the record, it's about raising £50,000 for Armed Forces charities.
"I just want to get home and see my bairns, but if we raise the money we are looking for then it's mission accomplished. If I don't, then the next adventure, I think, is to row out here and back solo."
Mr Cameron originally journeyed to Rockall with two companions, radio operator Adam 'Nobby' Styles and Bulgarian-born mountaineering expert Emil Bergmann. However, as planned, they have now departed, leaving Mr Cameron on his own since June 2.
Based in Wiltshire, Mr Cameron is a lecturer and is also an instructor with the Royal Navy Reserve.
To find out more about the Rockall expedition, and to donate, visit https://www.rockallexped.com/
