‘Chamberlain Carehome Rows the Pacific’
This startling headline appeared in several newspapers last summer, sometimes accompanied by an equally surprising photograph of two or three elderly ladies seeming to be paddling a paper canoe. The event was even filmed by Scottish TV and the story was widely covered by the press as being a magnificent gesture of support for a worthy cause…
The cause was my three boys – Ewan (ae. 34), Jamie (ae. 32) and Lachlan MacLean (ae. 27) – who were rowing the Pacific Ocean to raise money to provide clean drinking water for people who do not have access to this essential - specifically, to drill bore holes in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. Their goal was to raise £1 million, which would provide clean water for life for over 40,000 people.
The row was ‘unsupported and continuous’ – there was no accompanying vessel and no stopping off at islands in passage. 9,750 miles, rowing day and night, often under extremely arduous conditions. On one occasion, Lachlan was swept overboard by a monster wave. Mercifully, he was attached by his harness and hauled back aboard by his brothers.
The passage was from Lima in Peru to Cairns in Australia. It took them 139 days and they broke three world records, including the Fastest Known Time to cross the Pacific and the furthest ever human-powered ocean voyage on record. Within days of arrival, they heard that they had achieved their goal of raising £1 million.
A significant contribution to this astonishing achievement was made by the good people at Chamberlain, who followed their adventure every day, thanks to the staff posting the boys’ daily ‘Ship’s Log’ on the home’s noticeboard.
My boys and I are familiar with the carehome, where my mother spent her last years of life, and where the boys visited her most days on their way home from school. But the person responsible for drawing the attention of the staff and ‘Residents’ is Dr. Sheila Burtles (ae.96).
Sheila was the leading sensory chemist in Scotland. She specialised in Scotch whisky and was known in that industry as ‘The Nose of Noses’ on account of her experience and ability to describe aromas and train others within the whisky trade in ‘sensory evaluation’.
I was the beneficiary of one of her courses in 1992 and it changed my life. I am a writer and during the 1980s wrote a lot about whisky for agencies and brand-owners, and also published a book on the subject, which I had to adjust substantially after meeting Sheila! I have now published twenty books on the subject and been awarded an M.B.E. for my services to the industry. Sheila is my Mentor and I owe her a huge debt.
My boys and I are so grateful for what she and her colleagues at Chamberlain have done for our charity.
Charles Maclean, M.B.E.
