THE FAMILY WHO KNOW NO FEAR
Conquering deadly peaks and icy waves, how heroic pair made history 90 years after Scots aristocrat was f irst to f ly over Everest, his grandson keeps spirit of adventure alive on the high seas
You want to do something out of the ordinary. Life is short
HIS bedtime stories were of a grandparent who scaled the roof of the world and paved the way for the greatest explorations of all time. From the moment he heard about his heroic grandfather Douglas making the first flight over Mount Everest, Jamie Douglas-Hamilton was determined to live up to the spirit of adventure that was in his blood. Now the 39-year-old entrepreneur, descended from one of Scotland’s most influential aristocratic families, has matched the prized aviator’s amazing feats, by being part of the first team to row across the notorious Drake’s Passage to Antarctica.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton and his crewmates completed that incredible journey last Christmas and are sharing their exploits with the world in a Discovery Channel series. It documents their perilous encounters with 40ft waves, fast-moving icebergs and hungry killer whales heading right for their tiny boat.
The Scot, who had already set records rowing across the Indian Ocean, admits the moment he stepped onto Antarctic soil for the first time was the most amazing day of his life – and he was proud to be able to honour the legacy of Squadron Leader Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, who made history in his tiny Westland-Wallace biplane 87 years ago.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton said: ‘We grew up in awe of him and what he had done. As well as that flight, he was a champion boxer and all four brothers in his family were squadron commanders in the Second World War, so we’d hear stories which were so uplifting and inspiring. I’d like to think he’d think this was something in the same league as his own adventure.’
Mr Douglas-Hamilton’s grandfather, the 14th Duke of Hamilton and the Unionist Party MP for Renfrewshire Eastern, was a skilled RAF pilot and a keen adventurer.
He was the chief pilot, accompanied by photographer Colonel Stewart Blacker, while David McIntyre flew a second plane in the Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, which skimmed the top of the mountain and captured incredible images.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton, whose father is former Conservative MP, Minister and MSP James Douglas-Hamilton – Lord Selkirk of Douglas – said: ‘It was a very risky thing to do. If you ran out of oxygen or something went wrong with the supply, you had 30 seconds of consciousness, then that was it.
‘They hit pretty turbulent weather and their oxygen was damaged, but he managed to tie a little rag around it and just had enough to get out of it. They also got taken by downdrafts before they reached it, and only cleared the summit by 80ft. The photos they took is what [Sir Edmund] Hillary worked with to summit Mount Everest 20 years later, on the back of that footage.
‘[My grandfather] had more than 20 grandchildren, but I’m the only one doing this kind of stuff.
‘You want to do something out of the ordinary. Life is short, don’t let it pass you by.’
In 2014, Mr Douglas-Hamilton and another small crew raced across 5,000 miles of Indian Ocean, from Australia to Africa.
But even that triple record-setting expedition paled in comparison to the challenge he took on last year in a 26ft rowing boat, Ohana. The mission was to become the first to row through the Drake Passage, a treacherous stretch between Cape Horn, Chile, at the foot of South America, and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.
It is named after British sailor Sir Francis Drake, who discovered the passage in 1578 but did not cross it. The stretch was first sailed in 1616 by Dutchman Willem Schouten.
As a key trade route before the Panama Canal opened in 1914, the passage was feared by sailors due to the ferocious winds and unforgiving waters.
With captain Fiann Paul and crewmates Colin O’Brady, Cameron Bellamy, Andrew Towne and John Petersen, Mr Douglas-Hamilton set off from Cape Horn, Chile, hil on December 13. The whole adventure was captured on camera for the series The Impossible Row, one of the launch titles for the Discovery Channel’s new streaming service, discovery+, and is available now.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton said: ‘As well as my grandfather’s stories, I loved reading about Scott and Shackleton, and was drawn in by what they did, and that’s why this expedition was so exciting – going into an era where the oceans are the last frontier.’
The team planned to become the first to row the 655.2 nautical mile stretch, and wanted to achieve this at pace.
Their gruelling shifts would involve rowing for 90 minutes then taking 90 minutes of rest, eating and sleeping if possible, before it was back to their oars.
When not on a rowing shift, the three off-duty crewmen would be confined to tiny hatches at either end of the boat, which Mr Douglas-Hamilton said were wet and smelly
kennels by the end of the trip. In the cabins, they would have to eat, rest, change and try to get some sleep – in an uncomfortable, contorted position.
The mission required a year of training and preparation – initially all about building endurance, strength and fitness, but then centred around sleep deprivation, with alarms going off through the night to herald a series of rowing machine sessions at all hours.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton would fit in his training around working for his business start-up, Actiph, a super-hydrating water inspired by his first row.
He soon realised the row was all about survival – and the first days of the journey were the toughest.
He said: ‘Cape Horn is one of the toughest places in the world because you’ve got a very shallow continental shelf which comes out for 70 miles.
‘Deep water is good because you get the big swells, but in the shallow water, you get very steep waves and for
the first two days you’re just battling seasickness and nausea, so it’s hard to eat and keep your energy up.’
In an example of laughing at adversity that would make his grandfather proud, Mr Douglas-Hamilton said he loved the stormy days the most.
He told how he and fellow crew member Mr Bellamy – another veteran of the Indian Ocean voyage – were praying for massive swells so they could beat their top speed of 14.4 knots.
He said: ‘A few of the others thought we were mad and the Americans were definitely a little surprised by us.
‘But once you get used to it, it’s the most fun you could have – even though it’s so cold, with the wind and howling noise.’
Their carbon-fibre boat nearly capsized several times – and at one point Mr Douglas-Hamilton nearly went overboard. He said: ‘We had life jackets with GPS built in but the reality is that if you go over, then you’ve probably got two to five minutes before you reach the level of hypothermia from which you can’t recover.
‘The number one rule is don’t get detached from the boat and stay onboard whatever happens.’
The biggest threat were the giants of the ocean.
He said: ‘The icebergs were incredibly scary – they move so quickly and we came close to hitting one by about five metres (16ft) and the sheer power of it would mean probably some of us would get injured if not all.
‘We also had killer whales that came right for us. They’re much bigger than great white sharks but it was like something out of Jaws – one was circling the boat and then came right for us. He went under, just ten metres (33ft) away f from us. We’re lucky he didn’t a attack us, but he and two others d did keep circling us for ages.’
Nature became much friendlier when they approached their final destination.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton said: ‘The landscape of Antarctica is so dramatic, with sheer cliff faces coming right out of the sea like the Himalayas and there was so much wildlife.
‘We were followed by hundreds and hundreds of penguins swimming right up to the boat, and albatrosses, whales... Antarctica was beauty like I’d never seen before.’
After cutting himself off from his loved ones – including his family and girlfriend Carina McLaughlin – during the journey, Mr Douglas-Hamilton made a very special call home when the crew landed on terra firma on Christmas Day last year, after 12 days at sea.
AND it was a special moment of relief for his father. Mr Douglas-Hamilton said: ‘My father was very much against the whole thing. He’d always been told how the tip of Cape Horn was the worst water in the world, so when his son said he’s going to row from there to the Antarctic, he was like, ‘‘You’re doing what?’’.
‘When I spoke to him at the very end, my dad turned round and slouched back in his chair and just said, ‘Thank God”.’
After celebrations and tears of relief and joy, the crew filmed footage for the Discovery team, took a million photographs, visited with a curious leopard seal and then sailed home in a much more comfortable fashion.
His peer father treated the crew to a special reception dinner at the House of Lords.
They also addressed a Commons committee and received five records from Guinness.
Now, they are looking forward to watching themselves on television – until the next adventure beckons, of course.
Mr Douglas-Hamilton cannot reveal details yet but he hinted that there may be another ‘very cold’ expedition next year.
He said: ‘I was wondering if what we’ve done here could inspire other people to hopefully do their own challenges.
‘Three of our records were firsts, so it was about exploration rather than adventure.
‘It’s amazing what some people do in their lifetimes which inspire people generations later. I was hugely inspired by my grandfather. So the pressure will be on my grandchildren – you’re running out of things to do.
‘The oceans are the last frontier but most of the big things have been done. They’ll just have to be more creative.’
The Impossible Row is available now on discovery+.
Killer whales came right for us... it was like Jaws