Tom McClean, at 27 years old, set out to achieve what many before him thought impossible. In the summer of ‘69, just as man first set foot on the moon, McClean embarked on his own epic voyage to row solo across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
The starting point was the busy port of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Seventy-one days later, he disembarked in the little fishing village of Blacksod, Ireland, a distance of over 3,000 km. Encountering raging storms and mountainous seas and capsizing numerous times, he never lost sight of his goal, rowing up to 18 hours a day.
The vessel, a tiny 20 ft. open dory boat not designed for transatlantic crossings, had no GPS or radio. With no previous experience of ocean rowing or Atlantic weather systems, forced to tie himself to the little craft for fear he was washed overboard, the rope the only lifeline throughout his perilous expedition, he navigated using his intuition, knowledge of the stars in the sky, and a simple compass.
McClean’s drive and determination is remarkable. He spent 71 days alone in a rowboat, relying on his physical and mental strength to keep going.
Tom McClean faced frostbite, nonstop gales and waves that looked like skyscrapers. A 15-foot shark followed him for days. He named it Bluey.
He was resourceful, with limited supplies of dried food and water, rationing provisions was essential.
Young McClean had a tough upbringing. Born in Dublin in 1941, in a home for ‘fallen women,’ he learned to fight for survival as food was in short supply. He was often involved in fisticuffs with the other boys and was brutally abused by his caregivers, learning early not to cry or show any sign of weakness. This set a teenage McClean up commendably for a career in the British Army.
McClean served for ten years, first in the parachute regiment, then in the elite SAS. During this time, he was shot on active service in Greece, left for dead in the jungles of Borneo, and shipwrecked in the Arabian Sea, an event that earned him the nickname ‘Moby Dick.’ After his commanding officers, Blyth and Ridgeway rowed the Atlantic together in 1966, a cocky McClean announced he would accomplish this alone.
Completing his epic solo voyage, McClean arrived in the Irish village of Blacksod. Pulling his boat safely aground on the sandy shore near Blacksod lighthouse. The Gillette razor company had sponsored the epic journey, and McClean’s contract stipulated he arrived clean-shaven on dry land. Gillette even named his boat ‘super silver’ after their famous blades.
Blacksod lighthouse keeper Ted Sweeney was in bed when a loud banging roused him. Pulling open the green wooden door, he was met by the smooth, smiling face of a clean-shaven McClean. Tom asked Ted to use the lighthouse telephone, one of only two in the village at the time, to report the success of his transatlantic voyage. Ted was visibly confused. How could this young man standing at the door have rowed all the way from Canada alone, a feat never accomplished before? Sweeney dumbfounded by the absurdity of Mc Cleans claim promptly told him to get lost. McClean pleaded, showing his calloused hands bruised after the 71-day ordeal. It was then that Ted knew that this stranger standing before him was telling the truth.
A fascinating character, McClean went on to have many more adventures. In his 40s, he rowed solo across the Atlantic again, this time from west to east, in only 53 days, a world record time that still stands today. In yet another escapade he sailed across the Atlantic in the shortest boat ever to achieve such a feat, measuring only 7ft. 9inch.
He gained most notoriety in 1985, spending 40 days isolated on a tiny, contested rock in the north Atlantic. Two hundred miles northwest of Donegal lies the inhospitable Rockall; McClean was attempting to claim its sovereignty for the UK over rivals Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland, the country of his birth.
He crossed the Atlantic again, this time in a bottle-shaped boat designed by himself, which included a four-poster bed, and in 1996 he circumnavigated Britain in a whale-shaped boat. McClean now runs an adventure centre with his wife and family near Ben Nevis in Scotland.
Tom Mc Cleans’ story is an example of what can be achieved through hard work, dedication, and determination. Many of his records remain unbroken, his name rightfully etched alongside his childhood heroes, ready to inspire a new generation of adventurers and explorers in feats of epic endurance.
Tom McClean had a really great time in Blacksod Village, you can too on a really great tour!
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