Antony pictured with “Plympton Rotary Club”:http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=1055 President, Christine Carmichael

“Antony, just want to say what a truly inspirational talk you gave the Plympton Rotary Club last night. You have set the bar very high for the remaining speakers in our programme this year and I am sure that as a result of your talk, we, the Plympton Rotary Club will look to help support your future endeavours. In a short space of time you managed to inform, educate and entertain us in what was one of the (if not THE) best talks we have had at our Rotary club.”

Darren Hands
Press Officer
Plympton Rotary Club

The 2010/11 Speaker programme for the “Rotary Club of Plympton”:http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=1055 has kicked off in fantastic style with the bar being set very high for the speakers coming during the next 12 months. Antony Jinman, from Wembury needs no introduction to many Plymouthians, having recently returned from an expedition to the Geographic North Pole. As the club were told, this expedition saw Antony and his two team mates ski and snow shoe (and sometimes swim) over 500 miles from Cape Discovery to the Geographic North Pole in just 51 days, collecting valuable scientific data for the “University of Plymouth”:http://www.plymouth.ac.uk. He explained about his beliefs for his trips – Education, Inspiration, Community and Global Citizenship – ideals not too dissimilar to Rotary and how he gets schools to interact whilst he is away – often linking up with schools via his satellite phone to answer questions such as “what does the arctic smell like?”

Antony has set up a non-profit organsiation – “Education through Expeditions”:http://www.educationthroughexpeditions.org/ – to help make science fun for schoolchildren.

Showing some absolutely fantastic and breath-taking photos, Antony was able to show the terrain and conditions they encountered on their way to the pole. Imagine pulling a tyre over ground off the beaten track on Dartmoor and you start to imagine the terrain they trekked. Antony went on to explain some of the dangers on his expeditons – such as how to avoid frostbite, how to tell if a polar bears tracks are fresh – and if they are, what to do if you encounter a polar bear. Such was the response to Antony’s talk, he was asked to carry on beyond his allotted time and used this to explain about his forthcoming trip to Baffin Island where he will lead a team to the Auyuittuq National Park – The Land that Never Melts – which past trips have shown is melting at an alarming rate.

He also told the club how in January 2012 he will lead the “International Scott Centenary Expedition to Antarctica”:www.isce2012.co.uk. This trip is to celebrate the centenary of Captain Scott’s last expedition, commemorate the deaths of the Polar Party and to support the continuation of their work through the Scott Polar Research Institute.

Antony showed that although “nothing in life is easy, with hard work and determination, anything is possible”. “Dare to dream, believe and you will succeed”.

He left the club wanting more and we, the Plympton Rotary Club hope Antony will come back in the near future to tell more of his exploits and travels

Article written for “Plymouth Post”:http://www.plymouthpost.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1648:plympton-rotary-polar-explorer-kicks-off-new-year-speaker-programme&catid=34:news&Itemid=64