Doddie inspired me to sail Atlantic
After Doddie Weir’s words of encouragement gave his son the self-belief to play rugby, former soldier John Davidson decided to give something back to the star, writes JODY HARRISON
AS a former member of the elite SAS, John Davidson has seen more adventure than most in his life.
But now the father of four is gearing up for what he calls his greatest challenge yet with a plan to row across the Atlantic single-handed at the age of 57.
He is embarking on the mammoth voyage for the cause of raising £1 million for rugby legend Doddie Weir’s Motor Neurone Disease (MND) foundation My Name’5 Doddie.
The trip will see him at sea, alone in a 25ft boat for two months or more, propelling himself across one of the planet’s great oceans using the strength of his body alone.
Mr Davidson said that he felt he owed the big man, who revealed his own MND diagnosis last year, after he inspired his son Hamish to keep playing rugby when others told him he couldn’t.
The voyage will be Mr Davidson’s first time braving the waves, although he is no stranger to the dangers of the natural world. In his day job as a consultant and mentor to young people, he leads trips to base camp and Everest and into tropical jungles, drawing on his experiences of army life for survival skills.
He said: “I’m someone that’s always loved a challenge and adventure, so when I decided to raise money for the foundation, people said I should go running or ride a bike. But I looked around and saw the Atlantic challenge, and decided that this would be the thing for me.”
Mr Davidson, who was raised in
Dundee but now lives in Worcestershire, is taking part in the Talisker Atlantic Challenge, an event billed as the world’s toughest row.
Each year, around 30 Talisker competitors battle the elements and fight with 20ft waves to cross the 3,000 miles between La Gomera in the Canary Islands and Antigua in the West Indies.
Rowing the distance can see teams and solo boats at sea for more than 100 days, but the typical voyage takes eight or nine weeks.
Mr Davidson plans to train for 18 months and set his hands to the oars next December when the 2019 race begins. He hopes to raise £1 for every stroke he makes through the water, with the challenge said to take one million to complete.
The My Name’5 Doddie foundation was launched by Doddie Weir last year, and aims to provide grants to people living with MND, and to also fund research for a cure.
Mr Davidson, who played rugby in the army, said that he had met the former Scotland international on several occasions and told how he had been pivotal in restoring his son Hamish’s confidence to play the game after he was told he was too little.
He said: “Doddie Weir is a great, inspirational guy and we spoke after a Scotland-england game when I was with my son Hamish.
“He took him under his arm and gave a truly inspirational speech about how we shouldn’t let anything hold us back. He said you’re never too little to play rugby.
“That was two years ago and Hamish is still playing. It was a great thing that Doddie did for us.”
Mr Davidson said that he was deeply saddened by Doddie’s MNS diagnosis, and that the sportsman’s struggle with the incurable condition, which causes muscles to irrevocably deteriorate, had inspired him to face the
worst of the Atlantic Challenge.
He named his boat the Mad Giraffe, a reference to Doddie’s playing style famously made by the commentator Bill Mclaren.
Mr Davidson said: “Doddie is always very upbeat and jovial, and he’s not letting his condition get him down.
“But you can see in his eyes when he speaks about it that he knows what’s coming down the line.
“I wanted to do something harder than your typical fundraising effort, and on the challenge I’ll be on my own, in the dark a lot of the time, not knowing what’s coming next, feeling some
of the things that Doddie will be feeling.”
He added: “I’m not scared of anything on the journey, but the most dangerous time will be at night when I have to sleep.
“I’m doing this on my own and most attempts have crews of people so one person can be on watch while the others row or are asleep.
“But I’ll just be in the boat on my own, and it’s so small that a lot of ships might not even see it. The trip is not without its dangers.”
Only 85 people have completed the challenge solo, and more people have climbed Everest than have rowed the Atlantic Ocean alone.
Even teams can come unstuck, as the adventurer Mark Beaumont found to his cost when his attempt to make the crossing in under 30 days in 2012 came unstuck when their boat capsized.
Mr Davidson will be rowing 18 hours a day and consuming 8,000 calories. He expects to lose around 15 to 20kg in body weight.
As well as training in the gym, he has spent 10 days on Loch Ness, rowing into the worst the Highland wind could throw at him.
He said: “I want to show people that you can still achieve great things when you’re over 50 and I want to inspire people.”