A veteran British explorer is offering to pay 80K for ten people from inner city backgrounds like him to join his latest expedition – to the Arctic.
Jim McNeill, 62, grew up on a council estate and went on the become an internationally renowned 30-year veteran polar explorer.
He now wants to help people with a similar start in life to him and is looking for then to join his latest £Resolute Expedition – for free.
The lucky group of ten will join 134 other voyagers as part of the Ocean Warrior Project, which intends to travel to Resolute Bay in high arctic Canada to gauge the health of the Earth’s oceans.
Jim McNeill, 62, from London, is offering to pay £80,000 for ten people from inner city backgrounds like him to join his latest expedition – to the Arctic
The ten, who will be hand-selected and personally funded by Jim, will join the broader Ocean Warrior Project crew.
It will be made up of individuals who will either self-fund or fundraise to secure their place on the ‘scientifically significant’ expedition.
The trip will leave Plymouth, Devon, in June, travelling for 31 days on a 10,000 nautical mile journey aboard Europe’s largest three-masted wooden schooner, the SV Linden – modelled on a 1920’s vessel of the same name.
The magnificent white 49.5-meter sailboat built in 1993 was picked in order to give explorers a minimal impact on the environment during their journey.
Raised on a Barnet council estate in North London, Jim is ‘determined to help those from unprivileged backgrounds achieve the extraordinary’
He now wants to help others who had a similar start in life to him and is looking for then to join his latest £Resolute Expedition – for free
Applicants – at least 18 – need no experience, instead being tested on their initiative, resilience, tenacity, and good humour during a series of challenges at a pre-selection weekend held in February.
Voyagers will get to travel to Svalbard, known for its thousands of glaciers, before sailing to Greenland, Baffin Island and then finally Resolute Bay before returning home.
Raised on a Barnet council estate in North London, Jim is ‘determined to help those from unprivileged backgrounds achieve the extraordinary, by pushing perceived boundaries, and challenging themselves to go far beyond their comfort zones’
Voyagers will get to travel to Svalbard, known for its thousands of glaciers, before sailing to Greenland, Baffin Island and then finally Resolute Bay before returning home (pictured, a polar bear)
He said: ‘Through a combination of luck, determination and drive, I was fortunate enough to discover exploration as my passion, and eventually as a career.
‘It was a long and hard path, but I always say if I can do it, then most people can.
‘My goal is to share the gift of exploration with individuals from all backgrounds, but especially so with people who don’t have the opportunity; those that have big dreams, but no clear path to making them a reality.
The trip will leave Plymouth, Devon, in June, travelling for 31 days on a 10,000 nautical mile journey aboard Europe’s largest three-masted wooden schooner, the SV Linden – modelled on a 1920’s vessel of the same name
Jim said he found his career ‘through a combination of luck, determination and drive’ and feels it is his ‘passion’
‘This is all about citizen science and shouldn’t be limited by a background that might make it harder for individuals to raise the necessary funds to pay for a place on this historic trip.’
The trip hopes to use a technique called ‘ground truthing’ to help agencies like NASA build a better understanding of the conditions in polar regions, described by Jim as the ‘holy grail’ of oceanography.
It also hopes to gain additional research on what kind of major weather occurrences and irreversible environmental damage we should expect due to climate change and human impact on the planet.
The ten, who will be hand-selected and personally funded by Jim, will join the broader Ocean Warrior Project crew
The ten successful applicants will be given training and fundraising for the trip, learning how to sail, to use scientific equipment and developing skills in maritime safety
The ten successful applicants will be given training and fundraising for the trip, learning how to sail, to use scientific equipment and developing skills in maritime safety – securing a certificate in Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping required to crew a commercial vessel larger than 24 meters.
To find out more information about Ocean Warrior Project, the £Resolute Expedition, its selection process, and how to join as a bursarial, self-funded or fundraised participant, visit https://www.warrior-ocean.com/ or https://www.ice-warrior.com/.
The trip hopes to use a technique called ‘ground truthing’ to help agencies like NASA build a better understanding of the conditions in polar regions
Jim described the polar regions as the ‘holy grail’ of oceanography (pictured, a polar landscape where Jim is inviting children to travel)