Dom Mee



Top secrecy at Exmouth yard over Dom's trip
14 April 2005
BOATBUILDERS at an Exmouth boatyard have been handed a top-secret mission to create a revolutionary exploration boat for one of Britain's most courageous adventurers. Experts at Rowsell and Adkins in The Gut behind Camperdown Terrace have been selected to build a state-of-the-art ocean-rowing vessel for maritime pioneer Dom Mee's next daring expedition. Dom, 34, from Exmouth, is gearing up for another global adventure later this year after returning from a daring assault on the North Pole earlier this year. But staff at the Exmouth boatyard are keeping details of their friend's journey under wraps while project bosses fine tune Dom's daring schedule.
	Dom Mee
Details of Dom's finished boat are also being closely guarded as boatbuilders Justin Adkins and Jamie Fabrizio get to work on the design. The 14-feet long vessel has already been under construction for a week at the company's workshop in Camperdown Terrace. Company owner Justin, 25, said: "The designer has told us we must build the boat to be as tough as going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. "We have ripped out all the decks from the boat and just started from a shell. "Basically, it is going to be a survival pod for Dom as he will be crossing an ocean in it. "It has been very exciting with men in black visiting the yard installing surveillance equipment and making us sign disclosure contracts. I feel like Q in a James Bond movie." The design for Dom's ocean rowing boat has been drafted by top designer Phil Morrison. It includes plywood bulkheads and a tough fibre-glass hull. Meanwhile, aspects of Dom's secret adventure are still being thrashed out by members of a global support team from New Zealand, America and Europe. Dom, a former Royal Marine, said: "The next expedition will be one of my hardest challenges to date that will test me to my very soul. "Success is not guaranteed as I will enter into the unknown in a venture not even tried before. It will be a very technical and physical challenge." Work to complete the £6,000 boat is expected to take around a month before Dom tests it during rigorous sea trials. The finished vessel will be similar to one the ex-Marine learnt to sail in and he has already visited the yard to check on its progress. Justin added: "Dom has been down to the yard checking how we are getting on because he wants to be out and do at least a couple of months of sea trials before it all starts. "We are now working together with Dom and the designer to see how it will come together structurally and with all the equipment on board. "The expedition is definitely a world first because this is a very high profile project. "There are reasons why it hasn't been done before, but that is all a secret so far." Rowsell and Adkins' role in building Dom's ocean rowing boat comes before Justin Adkins prepares to row across the Atlantic Ocean in November as part of the Woodvale Events Atlantic Rowing Race. Dom's most recent rowing expedition in 2001 saw him join forces with fellow Royal Marine Tim Welford to row 6,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the USA. The two corporals were bidding to become the first people to row the North Pacific Ocean unaided, and were just 500 miles from San Francisco when their 23ft boat, Crackers, was struck by an American trawler and sunk. They were rescued by the fishermen involved in the collision.