niall iain wants to raise awareness of mental health issues after he suffered from depression
Isles radio presenter plans solo row across the Minch
Published:
A Stornoway radio presenter is preparing to row solo across the Minch to raise money for charity. Niall Iain Macdonald, 34, will tackle the 43-mile journey from Ullapool to Stornoway on Monday July 14,
He will be using CrazyBrave, a 23ft wooden rowing boat that has survived a trip across the Atlantic.
He reckons the feat, over a notoriously challenging stretch of water, will take around 30 hours.
Mr Macdonald who works at BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, hopes to raise money for two local charities, Royal National Lifeboat Institute and Western Isles Association For Mental Health.
As well as adding to the respective charity’s funds, he also hopes that the project will raise people’s awareness about mental health issues in general and encourage people to talk more openly about the very common illness.
He said that he had experienced depression, and a year ago he dealt with it by disappearing for several days. He said: “It all came to a head and it was the way I dealt with it, something I regret now.”
He said: “Rowing the Minch is something that I have been thinking about doing for quite a while but I always managed to find excuses not to – too risky, too far, too hard, too much hassle. Now, I realise that life is too short and that the only thing stopping me from doing it is myself.”
During the attempt Mr Macdonald will be alone in the boat and will be completely self-sufficient. There will be a safety yacht shadowing him during his time at sea but he will not be assisted other than in an emergency.
He said: “I have virtually no previous experience of rowing, apart from the training that I have been doing in the gym and some trips to the local boating pond as a young boy when I lived in Inverness, more than a few years ago.”
As the crossing will take more than a day to complete he will have to spend a night at sea, something he is particularly looking forward to.
He said: “I think that it will be a special experience to be bobbing around the Minch in the middle of the night surrounded by nothing except sea and stars. I might not be of the same opinion if it’s blowing a Force 9 though.”
Donations can be made through www.rowtheminch.com, where people can also track his progress during the challenge.
