Tom McClean

Tom McClean
Tom McClean - Sea Trials - Mallaig, 1985
Born	12 February 1942
Residence	Ardintigh Bay / Mallaig
Occupation	Adventure Center Owner / Motivational Speaker
Spouse(s)	Jill McClean
Children	James and Ryan McClean
Website	http://www.motivationspeaker.co.uk

Tom McClean is a veteran of both the Parachute Regiment and the SAS and is a survival expert who lived on the island of Rockall from 26 May to 4 July 1985 to affirm Britain's claim to it; this is the third longest human occupancy of the island, surpassed in 1997 by a team from Greenpeace which spent 42 days on the island and in 2014 by Nick Hancock [1] who spent 45 days on the island.

Having been abandoned as a baby, McClean started life as an orphan. He spent much of his teenage years working on a farm until he was bored and enlisted in the British Army. After Blyth and Ridgeway rowed the Atlantic in 1966, McClean announced to both that he was going to complete this alone.

McClean started his military career in the Parachute Regiment and then progressed into the SAS for a total of nine years.

Following his retirement from military service, McClean gained fame for numerous feats of endurance. He holds the world record as the first man to row across the Atlantic Ocean from west to east solo which he did in 1969. In 1982 he sailed across the Atlantic in the smallest boat to accomplish that crossing. The self-built boat measured 9 feet and 9 inches, and because of the weight of the food took seven weeks to cross. His record was broken three weeks later by a sailor manning 9 feet and 1 inch long boat. In response McClean, used a chainsaw to cut two feet off his own vessel - making it 7 feet and 9 inches long. During the return trip he lost his mast and the journey took even longer than his first attempt but he regained the record.

In 1985 McClean lived on Rockall from 26 May to 4 July and thereby reaffirmed the United Kingdom's claim to the island. Two years later, the then 44-year-old McClean set about regaining his transatlantic rowing record and achieved his goal crossing the Atlantic in 54 days; a record still held.