Old Pulteney Finalists Go Head-to-Head to become a Record Breaking Arctic Explorer

On Saturday 20th November, Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky put 48 international adventurers to the ultimate test in the Pole Position Live Finals. The unique global completion attracted entries from all over the world, with applicants eager to win a place on Old Pulteney Row to the Pole – a world first arctic adventure.

The Old Pulteney Pole Position competition was launched in September to put global thrill seekers to the ultimate test. Sponsored by Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the competition offers one extraordinary person the once in a lifetime opportunity to become an active crew member in a record breaking expedition.

In August 2011, adventurer and sportsman Jock Wishart will lead a six strong crew through some of the harshest conditions on earth in an attempt to row to the magnetic North Pole. In a specially designed ‘ice boat’, Jock and his crew will set off from Canada on a 450 mile route across the arctic and are searching for one determined person to join them. The voyage will require extreme physical and mental endurance and if successful, will make history.

To enter Old Pulteney Pole Position, applicants were asked to apply online and state why they have what it takes to become Jock’s 6th crew member.  Hundreds of international entrants applied and a shortlist of forty five finalists competed head-to-head in the Pole Position Challenge Day on Saturday 20th November at Eton Rowing Centre, the Olympic rowing centre for 2012.  To test their physical and mental abilities, contestants battled it out in a two and a half hour endurance row, group interviews and psychometric tests. The winner will be announced at the London Boat Show in January and will receive personal training from Jock before embarking on the life changing expedition in August 2011.

Jock Wishart says:

“The competition has attracted a huge volume of international entries, all of an incredibly high standard. When you’re planning an Arctic expedition, the most important thing is your crew, we are confident that we will find an extraordinary person amongst the fantastic group of finalists to join our expedition team.”

The Old Pulteney Row to the Pole is of global significance as both a pioneering maritime adventure and an environmental expedition. The voyage has never been undertaken before and is only now possible due to the increase in seasonal ice melt of the Arctic landscape. The attempt will be captured on camera for UK and international audiences and will follow Jock’s preparations and the 4-6 week long row where his team will face dramatic ice-bound coastlines and shifting sea-ice barriers. His background as an expedition leader and his long track record of organising successful record attempts will stand him in good stead as he faces his biggest challenge to date.

Notes

• The certified position (1996) of the North Magnetic Pole is 78 degrees, 35.724 minutes North, 104 degrees, 11.915 minutes West.
• See Jock Wishart’s biography attached for more information on his previous feats as an oarsman, polar explorer and navigator.

Jock Wishart

Jock, is a descendant of Scotland’s national bard Robert Burns, with a successful background in polar exploration, rowing and extreme navigational feat, He is firmly established as one of the UK’s leading adventurers and explorers. He led the team which established fifteen new world speed records for powered circumnavigation and captained the team that broke the London to Paris rowing record in 1999. He has a lifetime interest in polar exploration and in 1992 journey he was part of the first team to walk unsupported to the Geomagnetic North Pole.

Old Pulteney Single Malt Whisky

Old Pulteney Single Malt Whisky, is diligently crafted at Pulteney Distillery in Wick. It is the most northerly distillery on the UK Mainland and was founded in 1826 by James Henderson at the height of Wick’s herring boom.  The distillery lies in the heart of ‘Pulteneytown’, which was created for all the fishermen at the time, and is embedded in the deep rooting history of this coastal town, which used to be one of the most important and biggest herring fishing ports in Europe.

Old Pulteney Single Malt whisky has a long standing association with the sea and is also known as the ‘Maritime Malt’. Its carefully crafted taste carries the windswept and rugged character of the North, the salty and fresh air of the North Sea and the distillery’s rich maritime heritage runs through every drop of this fine malt.