Janice Meek
Encyclopedia
Janice Meek (maiden name Janice Cooper, first married name Janice Byles) FRGS (British, born 1944) is a Guinness World Record holding adventurer, ocean rower
, international motivational speaker
and polar adventurer. In 1997 she took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race
, the Port St Charles Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race, successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean
unsupported in 23 feet (7 m) wooden rowing boat in 101 days with her son Daniel Byles
. In 2007 she and her son were united in adventure once again when, together with Richard Profit
, they successfully walked and skied 350 miles (563.3 km) from Resolute
, Nunavut
to the Magnetic North Pole in 20 days and 5 hours http://polarrace.com/2007/news/. She currently holds three Guinness World Records
.
, Ian McShane
, Sammy Davis Junior and Jerry Lewis
, and helped to make some iconic British television programs including Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
, Department S
, The Champions
and Catweazle
.Her film credits include the 1970 film Puppet on a Chain and the 1972 film Pope Joan
.
After leaving the film industry to start a family, Meek moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband and two children where she worked for a time for the United States Geological Survey
. In 1983, after separating from her husband, she returned to the UK and settled in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire where she opened a children’s clothes shop. Over the next ten years, Meek became the first female Chairman of the Chipping Norton Chamber of Commerce, was elected as a Town Councilor and then Town Mayor
. She bought and ran a local restaurant, and was headhunted to become the small business representative on the Heart Of England Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/teclec.asp.
Since moving on from Chipping Norton, Meek has owned and run several restaurants, including the prestigious De Courceys in south Wales, and has been a wedding organiser and events manager.
at the National Taiwan Normal University
before spending several months struggling to explore China, which as a single female traveller was not easy. She then continued around the world, spending her fiftieth birthday at Cape Tribulation
in Australia.
to join him in entering the world’s first ocean rowing race
. Despite neither of them being rowers or sailors, she accepted and they went on to successfully row 3044 nautical miles (5,637.5 km) from Tenerife to Barbados in their boat Carpe Diem
. Their unsupported crossing took 100 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. The story of their adventure has been recorded in at least three Chicken Soup for the Soul
books.
In rowing across the Atlantic, the pair achieved two Guinness World Records: they became the first mother and son team to row any ocean http://www.oceanrowing.com/Guinness_World_Records/September18/11a.htm; and at 53 Meek became the oldest person at the time to row any ocean http://www.challengebusiness.com/events/summary/1997-atlantic-rowing.htm, although since 2005 this record has been held by Pavel Rezvoy (66) http://www.oceanrowing.com/statistics/age_youngest_oldest.htm.
2007, which he accepted. In doing so, they set two additional world records in the Arctic
. The mother and son pair, along with team mate Richard Profit
, walked and skied 350 miles (563.3 km) from Resolute
in Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. They survived the worst ice conditions for years, a near catastrophic tent fire and areas of open water and slush to successfully reach the Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. In doing so they set a new world record as the first mother and son team to reach any Pole by foot on 2 May 2007, and Meek became the oldest woman to reach the Magnetic North Pole by foot.
to join his expedition to the Geographic North Pole to highlight the effects of climate change on ice levels in the Arctic. Also taking part was the renowned Norwegian explorer Rune Gjeldnes
, and Hempleman-Adams' 15 year old daughter Camilla. The expedition successfully reached the Pole on 13 April 2008, where they met and played cricket with a team from the Indian Navy
. Meek is believed to be the first British woman to reach both the Magnetic and the Geographic North Poles by foot within the space of 12 months.
which she continues to this day.
.
For several years Meek served as a trustee of the Ocean Rowing Society, standing down from that position in 2005.
Meek is a founding trustee of The Carpe Diem Trust
http://www.carpediemtrust.com, a charity aimed at helping ordinary people to undertake extraordinary achievements.
Ocean rowing
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. The sport is as much a psychological as it is a physical challenge. Rowers often have to endure long periods at sea without help often many days if not weeks away. The challenge is especially acute for solo rowers who are held in especially high...
, international motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
and polar adventurer. In 1997 she took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race
Atlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
, the Port St Charles Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race, successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
unsupported in 23 feet (7 m) wooden rowing boat in 101 days with her son Daniel Byles
Daniel Byles
Daniel Alan Byles FRGS MP is an English mountaineer, sailor, ocean rower, polar adventurer and Conservative Party politician...
. In 2007 she and her son were united in adventure once again when, together with Richard Profit
Richard Profit
Richard Profit is an English mountaineer, sailor, a former British Army officer and polar adventurer. In 2007 he took part in the Polar Race with the mother and son pair Janice Meek and Daniel Byles, successfully walking and skiing 350 miles from Resolute, Nunavut to the Magnetic North Pole in ...
, they successfully walked and skied 350 miles (563.3 km) from Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
to the Magnetic North Pole in 20 days and 5 hours http://polarrace.com/2007/news/. She currently holds three Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
.
Background
In the 1960s and early 1970s Meek worked (under her previous surname Byles) in the British film industry, initially in continuity and later as assistant to the producer http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0125935/. She worked with many household names including Roger MooreRoger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
, Sammy Davis Junior and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, and helped to make some iconic British television programs including Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
, Department S
Department S
Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King , Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst...
, The Champions
The Champions
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
and Catweazle
Catweazle
Catweazle was a British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970 and 1971...
.Her film credits include the 1970 film Puppet on a Chain and the 1972 film Pope Joan
Pope Joan
Pope Joan is a legendary female Pope who, it is purported, reigned for a few years some time in the Middle Ages. The story first appeared in the writings of 13th-century chroniclers, and subsequently spread through Europe...
.
After leaving the film industry to start a family, Meek moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband and two children where she worked for a time for the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
. In 1983, after separating from her husband, she returned to the UK and settled in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire where she opened a children’s clothes shop. Over the next ten years, Meek became the first female Chairman of the Chipping Norton Chamber of Commerce, was elected as a Town Councilor and then Town Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. She bought and ran a local restaurant, and was headhunted to become the small business representative on the Heart Of England Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/teclec.asp.
Since moving on from Chipping Norton, Meek has owned and run several restaurants, including the prestigious De Courceys in south Wales, and has been a wedding organiser and events manager.
Exploring China, Australia and the world
Following the death of Meek’s second husband in 1993, she sold her business in Chipping Norton and spent her fiftieth year backpacking around the world. She travelled to Taiwan in order to study MandarinStandard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
at the National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University is an institution of higher learning operating on three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan . NTNU is widely recognized as one of Taiwan's elite institutions of higher education. The university enrolls approximately 11,000 students each year. The ratio of undergraduate to...
before spending several months struggling to explore China, which as a single female traveller was not easy. She then continued around the world, spending her fiftieth birthday at Cape Tribulation
Cape Tribulation
Cape Tribulation is a headland and locality in northern Queensland, Australia north of Cairns. It is located within the Daintree National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. At the 2006 census, Cape Tribulation had a population of 101....
in Australia.
Atlantic rowing race 1997
After returning from her world trip, Meek was asked by her son Daniel BylesDaniel Byles
Daniel Alan Byles FRGS MP is an English mountaineer, sailor, ocean rower, polar adventurer and Conservative Party politician...
to join him in entering the world’s first ocean rowing race
Atlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
. Despite neither of them being rowers or sailors, she accepted and they went on to successfully row 3044 nautical miles (5,637.5 km) from Tenerife to Barbados in their boat Carpe Diem
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
. Their unsupported crossing took 100 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. The story of their adventure has been recorded in at least three Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.There have been over 200 titles...
books.
In rowing across the Atlantic, the pair achieved two Guinness World Records: they became the first mother and son team to row any ocean http://www.oceanrowing.com/Guinness_World_Records/September18/11a.htm; and at 53 Meek became the oldest person at the time to row any ocean http://www.challengebusiness.com/events/summary/1997-atlantic-rowing.htm, although since 2005 this record has been held by Pavel Rezvoy (66) http://www.oceanrowing.com/statistics/age_youngest_oldest.htm.
Polar race 2007
Ten years after their successful ocean row, Meek turned the tables on her son and asked him to join her in entering the Polar RacePolar Race
The Polar Race is a biennial race from Resolute, Nunavut in northern Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. Teams of two, three or four walk/ski 350 miles pulling their food and equipment on sleds. Although not unsupported, there are strict rules on the carrying of equipment, with only food, fuel and...
2007, which he accepted. In doing so, they set two additional world records in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. The mother and son pair, along with team mate Richard Profit
Richard Profit
Richard Profit is an English mountaineer, sailor, a former British Army officer and polar adventurer. In 2007 he took part in the Polar Race with the mother and son pair Janice Meek and Daniel Byles, successfully walking and skiing 350 miles from Resolute, Nunavut to the Magnetic North Pole in ...
, walked and skied 350 miles (563.3 km) from Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
in Canada to the Magnetic North Pole. They survived the worst ice conditions for years, a near catastrophic tent fire and areas of open water and slush to successfully reach the Pole in 20 days and 5 hours. In doing so they set a new world record as the first mother and son team to reach any Pole by foot on 2 May 2007, and Meek became the oldest woman to reach the Magnetic North Pole by foot.
Geographic north pole 2008
Less than 12 months after setting a world record at the Magnetic North Pole, Meek was headhunted by David Hempleman-AdamsDavid Hempleman-Adams
David Kim Hempleman-Adams, LVO, OBE, CStJ, DL is a British adventurer.He is the first person in history to reach the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Poles as well as climb the highest peaks in all seven continents; the Adventurers' Grand Slam...
to join his expedition to the Geographic North Pole to highlight the effects of climate change on ice levels in the Arctic. Also taking part was the renowned Norwegian explorer Rune Gjeldnes
Rune Gjeldnes
Rune Gjeldnes is a Norwegian adventurer. He completed his military education in 1992, where he met fellow adventurer-to-be Torry Larsen, also of Møre og Romsdal. Gjeldnes served in the Norwegian Naval Special Operations Command until 1997.-Expeditions:Together with Torry Larsen, Rune Gjeldnes...
, and Hempleman-Adams' 15 year old daughter Camilla. The expedition successfully reached the Pole on 13 April 2008, where they met and played cricket with a team from the Indian Navy
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
. Meek is believed to be the first British woman to reach both the Magnetic and the Geographic North Poles by foot within the space of 12 months.
Motivational speaking
Following her successful Atlantic crossing in 1997, Meek entered the after dinner speaking circuit, where she discovered she had a knack for public speaking. As a lady over fifty Meek is an unorthodox adventurer, and this has led to a career as a professional motivational speakerMotivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
which she continues to this day.
Charities and organisations
Returning to the UK after rowing the Atlantic, Meek’s achievement was recognised when she was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
For several years Meek served as a trustee of the Ocean Rowing Society, standing down from that position in 2005.
Meek is a founding trustee of The Carpe Diem Trust
The Carpe Diem Trust
The Carpe Diem Trust is a UK based charitable trust. It was registered on 4 July 2006 with the UK Charity Commission, with the registered number 1115061.According to the Trust's website its purpose is:...
http://www.carpediemtrust.com, a charity aimed at helping ordinary people to undertake extraordinary achievements.
Previous world records
- In 1997/8 Meek was awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for being the oldest person to row any ocean at the age of 53 (this record is now held by Pavel Rezvoy (66)).
Currently held world records
- In 2006 Meek and her son Daniel BylesDaniel BylesDaniel Alan Byles FRGS MP is an English mountaineer, sailor, ocean rower, polar adventurer and Conservative Party politician...
were belatedly awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for being the first mother and son team to row any ocean in 1997/8. http://www.oceanrowing.com/Guinness_World_Records/September18/11a.htm - In April/May 2007, Meek and her son Daniel Byles became the first mother and son team to walk/ski to any Pole. They are expected to be featured in the 2008 book of Guinness World RecordsGuinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. - At the same time Meek became the oldest woman ever to walk/ski to the Magnetic North Pole at 62.