As the familiar pips at the start of my Skype call fade, they are replaced by the cheery, gravelled voice of Gavin McClurg, energetic to the point of booming. The American is on good form, despite recovering from a dislocated shoulder. We dwell on the obvious irony that after surviving his most epic adventure yet – the one we are due to talk about – he injured himself in a relatively innocuous mountain-bike accident.
Gavin seems to have a different mindset to most of the population. He gets things done – whether it be kitesurfing miles off the coast of the Hebrides, downhill ski racing, or sailing around the globe. To achieve this, and maybe as the mountain-biking incident goes to prove, he seems to have a unique perception of risk. At a number of points during the interview, he is at pains to point out that he isn’t crazy. I fully believe him, but some may question the sanity of a man who willingly undertook something that no-one else thought possible, enduring near-starvation, bear encounters, extreme weather and total solitude in one of the remotest places on Earth…