Cal Major ~ Scotland: Ocean Nation
Lorna Evans is raising money for Seaful
Story
In 2021, Cal Major, intrepid world-record adventurer, veterinarian and passionate ocean advocate, will stand up paddleboard the 1000 miles around mainland Scotland.
2021 is an important year for Scottish Seas - the Year of Coast and Waters and COP26 in Glasgow.
Scotland, renowned for its wild seas and marine life, has more coastline than the rest of the UK together. An Ocean Nation, this is a vital place for us to explore the human connection to our ocean, and there has never been a more pressing time to do so.
Our ocean covers 70% of our planet. Ocean plankton produces the oxygen in every second breath we breathe. A thriving, biodiverse ocean is absolutely vital for our health, and the health of our planet. Not only this, but the ocean plays a huge role in our race against climate change.
And yet, out of sight, out of mind, our ocean ecosystems are threatened by ecosystem destruction, climate change and plastic.
Could the ocean hold a key to the biodiversity and climate crises? How is our interaction with, or lack of connection to, the ocean affecting our own lives, and the health of the sea and its inhabitants?
Cal will circumnavigate Scotland's dramatic, wild, rugged and remote coastline by SUP, the world's fastest-growing watersport, braving wind, weather and tides ripping around the coast. She will visit islands and explore the incredible underwater world by scuba and free diving, delving into the importance of these precious ecosystems which support everything from worms to whales.
Cal will engage with the communities and individuals around the coast - the children, scientists, conservationists, fishermen, divers and surfers - Scotland's Ocean People, and explore how their connection drives them to protect these awe- inspiring places.
We see the water in unique way as we discover the animals places and people, the threats they face, and how we can all play a role in their survival.
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Cal is a world-record stand up paddleboard adventurer, in 2018 becoming the first person to SUP the entire length of the UK, from Land's End to John O'Groats.
She is a vet and ocean advocate, passionate about reconnecting people to the ocean. In 2020, she founded the charity, Seaful, to help more people find that connection, for the mental health benefits it brings, and to nurture stewards of our blue spaces. Cal is a presenter and public speaker, scuba dive master, qualified freediver and surfer.
James is a multiple award-winning photographer, videographer and film-maker. His adventurous spirit and dedication to outstanding videography has taken him from erupting volcanoes in Iceland to the reefs of the Indian Ocean.
Cal and James are a couple, hence in the same Covid bubble. They have worked on many award-winning films together, and projects for TV, including with the BBC Natural History Unit, most recently Autumnwatch 2020. James will join Cal on the water in a kayak to B document this adventure.
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