Rockall man rescued ending record attempt
A man is recovering after his record attempt on the remote island to raise funds for the charity was cut short by a coastguard rescue.
Cam Cameron was attempting to break the record for the longest time spent on Rockall, which is located around 230 miles west of North Uist.
The army veteran had landed on the small islet in the North Atlantic Ocean on May 30 2023, with the aim of inhabiting the island for 60 days.
The attempt was part of an attempt to raise £50,000 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
However, the decision was made by Mr Cameron and his team to evacuate after conditions became increasingly dangerous during the night of Tuesday June 27.
The Moray resident and teacher was evacuated the next day by the Stornoway Coastguard helicopter after 32 days on Rockall.
Mr Cameron said: “Many thanks for your kind sentiments and best wishes. I would not be here were it not for the courageous efforts of HM Coastguard in particular, Stornoway Coastguard and The pilots and crew of Rescue 22, and SAR Stornoway.
“A big thank you also, to the captain and crew of MV Nassau Borg, who maintained a sector screen around Rockall whilst I waited for the helicopter. I owe them all my life.”
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: “The man who sent a distress alert on Rockall was winched to safety by the coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway on Wednesday June 28.
“The helicopter returned to Stornoway with the man, who is safe and well.”
The expedition is still calling for donations, which can be made to the Rockall Expedition JustGiving page and the adventure will also feature in a documentary. At the time of writing Mr Cameron’s efforts had raised £13,672 of his £50,000 target for the army charities.
Commenting last week, his team, Rockall Expedition’s communications and shoreside manager, Harry Brayford, said: “It was apparent Cam had suffered a really rough night, and we needed to make a quick decision on whether to abort the expedition or push on.
“We looked at a number of options to safely extract Cam if required, but it quickly became apparent the most appropriate option was for him to issue a ‘Mayday’ call, which was picked up by HM Coastguard at Stornoway.
Mr Brayford added: “Our heartfelt thanks go to the crews of the HM Coastguard aircraft and all the vessels in the area that assisted.
“It’s disappointing to have to abort such an immense expedition, and whilst it was not an easy decision to make, it was the right one without question.”
In a statement, Mr Cameron’s family added: “We are hugely proud of all his achievements, but also that he had the courage to make what must have been a very difficult decision in the face of such dreadful weather.