After Dinner Speaker - Biography
As an after dinner and motivation speaker Tom has a fascinating background that adds real strength to his Presentations and Speeches.
Tom is happily married to Jill, and they have two sons, James and Ryan. However, he still finds it hard to resist the call of the oceans, so his family have become part of the crew, providing the logistical and moral support that is so critical to his safety and success.
A Life of Adventure
Tom has a resilience bred into him from a childhood in a tough orphanage and nine years serving with both the Parachute and the ubiquitous S.A.S Regiment. Attempting the impossible, achieving the incredible; he continues to make world news with his extraordinary feats of daring and endurance. Watch a video of Tom's Adventures.
1969 First man to row Atlantic solo
Never deterred by challenges, which would cause others to pale, Tom was the first man ever to row the North Atlantic Ocean single-handed. Using his experience as a survivor and with no previous knowledge of sea conditions, he completed this record-breaking ordeal in just 70 hard days.
1970 Built up Ardintigh Adventure Centre
In a rugged and wilderness location of the West Highlands on the shores of Loch Nevis lies Tom's Adventure Centre. Over the years the centre has served as a place where hundreds of visitors have experienced their first taste of adventure.
1982 3,000m voyage in world's smallest yacht
Giltspur a mere 9ft 9in long, Tom was battling his way across the Atlantic through ferocious conditions for 54 gruelling days. He took the world record which was snatched away from him after just three weeks when an American sailor arrived in a boat 9ft 1in, only 8inches shorter
1983 Reclaim 1982 record for Britain
Cut 2ft off world's smallest yacht with a chainsaw, was the response from Tom, making his boat Giltspur just 7ft 9in long and he crossed the Atlantic all over again, losing his mast and steerage in the Bay of Biscay during an electric thunderstorm. He landed in Oporto , Portugal to re-capture the World Record once more!
1985 Reclaim Rockall for Britain
He lived on Rockall for 40 days in order to re-affirm Britain 's mineral and oil rights to the rock. He spent the time on a ledge in a survival unit 5ft x 4ft x 3ft for 40 days against all that the wild Atlantic could throw at him.
1987 The ultimate challenge at age 44
Rowing the Atlantic alone to re-capture the rowing record from France in his 20ft dory Skol 1080. Tom heaved his way from Canada to the Bishop's Rock Lighthouse and survived his rowing boat turning upside down in the middle of the night in 50ft waves emptying essential equipment into the ocean. He re-captured the Transatlantic rowing record for Britain after 54 hard days at sea and still holds this world record today.
1990 Sailed the Atlantic in a bottle
Tom's wackiest adventure was to design a 37ft long Bottle shaped boat, the Typhoo Atlantic Challenger that he sailed from New York to Falmouth England . With his usual panache, he equipped it with a four poster bed, sophisticated navigational equipment to ensure a secure passage for one of the strangest vessels ever to ply the open seas.
1996 'MOBY' (Prince of Whales) launched
- Tom McClean,
- Invermorar House,
- Morar,
- Highlands,
- Scotland,
- PH40 4PA
- Tel: 01687 462274
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