Shark-dodging charity mission raises the bar
Going through life as the younger sibling to one of the world’s biggest musical superstars might have deterred some from a career in music.
But not Chris Jagger. The 69-year-old singer-songwriter is preparing for his first tour to New Zealand, and he’s planning on making the most of his time here.
‘‘I want to sail around like Captain Cook and see everything,’’ says Jagger.
For good measure, he is teaming up with a trio that includes two Rolling Stones backing band members Tim Ries (sax and keyboard) and Bernard Fowler (vocals) to play three intimate shows at shows in Akaroa, Arrowtown and Wellington next month.
Jagger will perform backing vocals and play guitar
He says that he has a book full of ‘‘10,000 things to do’’ while he’s in New Zealand.
‘‘I’m a bit of a volcanologist, I want to see a few cracks, falling down buildings in Christchurch... shake, rattle and roll.’’
Outdoorsy Jagger – who is about five years younger than his bother - hopes any spare time will be spent sailing. He plans to head ‘‘down the bottom of the South Island’’.
Jagger, an actor, journalist and guitar manufacturer, among many other things, laughs as he says people are always surprised to hear that he and Mick didn’t grow up in a musical family.
His father was the PE teacher at the school he, Mick and Keith Richards attended and came close to getting into the British Olympic team as a kayaker.
Jagger, who has previously recorded his albums in the barn on his farm, cites a singing teacher in India as his only formal musical training.
‘‘Years ago I stayed in Almora, up in the hills above Delhi, for six months and I went to the local singing teacher once a week for lessons.’’
However, one musical relative did inspire one of Jagger’s original songs, Concertina Jack.
Jagger’s mother was born in Sydney but returned to Britain as a baby.
‘‘I wrote a song about Concertina Jack, an Australian relative who left 12 children behind and scarpered back to England.’’ Alex Asher’s 1200-km coastal odyssey for charity took a scary twist when it required him to become the first swimmer to cross the treacherous Kaipara Harbour.
It wasn’t the Northland waterway’s treacherous tides keeping Asher awake at night, it was the knowledge he’d be swimming through a breeding ground for great white sharks.
The Auckland-based tech entrepreneur had the theme from Jaws at the back of his mind as he prepared for the hours-long swim from South Head to Pouto Peninsula.
The Kaipara mission was part of Asher’s North Island west coast run, raising more than $3500 for Sustainable Coastlines through his Givealittle page.
The January 28 swim was one of the last major hurdles arrived at North Cape.
The notorious Kaipara bar made international headlines last year when it claimed eight lives. The skipper of the charter fishing boat Francie tried to cross the bar in rough weather and they capsized.
Asher, who set out from Wellington on January 2, was taking on the Kaipara challenge despite a lack of swimming ability.
‘‘I hadn’t even been in a swimming pool for five years until February last year,’’ he said. ‘‘I had to learn to swim again. ‘‘The Kaipara is the scariest harbour in New Zealand, it’s known for its great white sharks, it’s got many shipwrecks because of the tides and it’s got about eight to nine kilometres of water [to cross].’’
Asher and his support team had timed his dash for the afternoon before he I want to sail around like Captain Cook and see everything. I hadn’t even been in a swimming pool for five years until February last year. slack tide, and his training had turned him into a ‘‘capable swimmer’’.
But there was bad news the day before when Asher arrived at South Head, having completed a 63km run up from Muriwai Beach.
His friend’s support boat broken down.
However, Kaipara locals stepped in at the last minute with a replacement.
Their kind gesture reflected the generosity Asher experienced travelling had up the west coast.
‘‘The people factor, connecting with communities, it was pretty amazing, wow!’’
Ninety minutes in, just before the tide started turning, Asher felt he was ‘‘blitzing’’ it.
‘‘But my mate told me I was just halfway’’.
On the other hand, the demands took his mind off sharks.
‘‘I thought about them at times but I just had to keep going’’.
Asher had to use ‘‘every bit of strength’’, swimming for another hour to finally make landfall at Pouto Peninsula.
‘‘I was exhausted as I could possibly be, but secondly I was overwhelmed, so proud of myself – this was the thing that kept me up awake at night during training.’’
The 32-year-old hasn’t got any more adventures planned except working on his latest business.