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Oar the moon as £2k raised! Ami Dundas of Balnageith and her friend Thomas Hughes from Pittenweem spent four to six hours a day on the waters of Loch Ness and canoed from Fort William to Inverness to raise £2144 for Blythswood Care


By Garry McCartney

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Ami and Thomas preparing for six hours of canoeing.
Ami and Thomas preparing for six hours of canoeing.

A fit Forres mum raised more than £2000 for charity by paddling 60 miles up the Great Glen.

Ami Dundas (43), of Balnageith and her friend Thomas Hughes from Pittenweem, spent four to six hours a day from June 10-14 on the waters of Loch Ness.

The pair wild camped at night and canoed from Fort William to Inverness to raise £2144 for Blythswood Care.

Ami said: “It was a great few days, but they really pushed our ability, teamwork and resilience to the limit!

“There were times we had to think and act fast as there was a real danger of capsize, but we were determined to complete the challenge for Blythswood. I am so grateful to everyone who sponsored me, it really did spur me on.”

Ami had never canoed over distance before. However, she trained hard and was ready to take on the challenge.

Ami said: “Conditions on day one were perfect along the canal which was great for us to learn how to control the canoe. The job of the front person is to continually paddle and the person behind is the rudder and steer. It took an hour for Thom to master it but we got there.

“Day two was out in the open lochs in wind of up to 20-25mph. There were big waves and we had to constantly check the wind direction.

“Day three was along the canal heading up to Loch Ness – conditions were good.

“On day four winds picked up to 30mph and we had to wait for the weather to improve before making a break for the finish line at the end of Loch Ness. ”

She added: “I was buzzing throughout the whole experience. It was a real testament to my spirit, outlook, energy and confidence. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you push yourself!”


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