Kintyre tribute to Argyll adventurer
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to bring a surfer’s ashes back to the Kintyre seashore where his love of adventure began.
Ben Letham, 26, who was brought up in Lochgilphead, died after a ‘devastating’ accident, last Saturday, while paragliding in New Zealand.
A fund-raising page has been set up to help give Ben the send-off that he deserves, with a celebration of his life in Queenstown, where he lived, and in Kintyre, where he learned to surf.
According to the JustGiving page, after his cremation in New Zealand, some of his ashes will be released into the ‘wind he so loves’.
The rest of his ashes will be brought home, with some to be scattered at Tangy beach, in Kintyre, where Ben spent a lot of his time in Scotland.
Ben’s sister Katherine Letham, 29, said: ‘Ben was heavy into surfing with Jimi McCallum and the boys in Kintyre. Tangy is where he learned to surf, where he took his first stand up wave; it’s where he grew up, essentially.’
Fellow surfer and friend for more than 15 years Jimi MacCallum said: ‘I first met Ben when he was about 10, a grom, as us surfers would say.
‘He was such a live wire. His surfing progressed so quickly, everyone who met him was amazed by him.’
Ben first travelled to New Zealand on holiday when he was 17, returning there to live when he was 21.
Katherine said: ‘He was also into mountain climbing, he climbed at Glencoe, the Rest and Be Thankful... New Zealand was the whole package.
‘When he was a wee boy, he always wanted to fly.’
He soon took up paragliding, and became an experienced pilot, working for GForce Paragliding.
He was on a solo recreational flight after taking off from Queenstown’s Skyline Gondola when the disaster took place.
Ben, who was a member of the region’s Alpine Cliff Rescue crew, will be remembered by his dad Al, sisters Katherine, Vicky, Jessica and Rebecca, and his girlfriend Andra.
There will be a memorial before Ben’s ashes are scattered at Tangy.
As is surfers’ tradition, there will be a paddle out, with the participants forming a circle in the ocean and throwing flowers in the centre of the ring.
Jimi said: ‘It’s amazing, I’ve been contacted by surfers who didn’t even know Ben who want to get involved.
‘It’s the same with the fund-raising page. All credit to the people of Campbeltown, I’ve been contacted by a lot of people who, again, didn’t know him but want to donate.’
A plaque will be placed at the beach in memory of Ben, inscribed with one of his favourite quotes by Mark Twain: ‘Explore. Dream. Discover.’
Jimi added: ‘I’m stoked that part of him is coming back to Tangy. New Zealand was a new chapter in his life, but Kintyre is where his passion for extreme sports began.’
To donate, visit www. justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Live-lifelove?utm_id=65