The Country 08/07/24: Jamie Strang talks to Jamie Mackay

Is a 76 year old Wairarapa farmer (and BFEA judge) who's decided, as you do, to row across Cook Strait to raise

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is seventy six years of age. Why a app
a farmer judge of the Balance Farm Awards alongside my
mate Warwick Kaddow and Jamie. Tomorrow you're going to row
across Cook straight to raise money for Farmstrong. I'll give
you a hundred bucks if you don't drown.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
That'd be great. I'm just talking to the skipper at
the moment, and there's one aim is to make me say, Jamie,
so I won't drown. So I think you must be
up for Andrew back.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
I will be. You deserve it even if you don't
get across there. Look, I know you're incredibly fit. You
do a lot of training, but still look at your age.
I mean, can you imagine Joe Biden and you were
younger than him. But Joe can't even walk across the stage,
let alone row across the strait.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Oh, he's probably had a more stressful life than me.
I suppose.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
I don't know, Bama, Well that makes you tough. Tell
me about your athletic background because I know I know
you're supremely fit. You have to be to take on
a challenge like this. Have you got a long history
in rowing? Because I know you've done quite a bit
of cycling as well.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
No Ay started rowing too years ago and it's been
that's been a real challenge for a brain to get
around that. Jamie's been good for my brain exit because
it's rowing is not easy. But I but I barely
worked over my period of time that as we get older,
we're going to hit bad things as we get past seventy,
and we want to be in the best condition we
can be when we get there. And that's part of
the thinking of I'm not super fitter any thing, but

(01:20):
I just like to try and keep in good condition.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Well, no doubt, you've got you've got a rowing a
go at home. How long do you sit on that
one and training?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well I did that for a while, but that's boring
as can be. So I've preferred to be on the water.
I've had in a boat about two years. Bought it
two years ago and I've been training on it ever
since then. It's much more interesting, you know. It's like
on a stationary bike, Jamie is boring. Get out on
the road with the wind in your face, it's much
more interesting that. So I go rowing rather than you.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Well, I've got a stationary bike in my gym at home,
and I've got a rowing machine, but it's too hard,
so it's the least favored piece of apparatus. So I
sit on the I'm quite happy to sit on the
bike for an hour and just watch the news or
watch some telling or something like that. But anyhow, so
weather permitting, because we know well I flew over the

(02:09):
cook Straight last week and the seas were terrible. Obviously
we've got a real high coming over the country, so
your timing is going to be pretty right. When do
you make your mind up or when does the skipper
of your support boat maker's mind up whether it's safe
to do this?

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Well, I think about six or seven o'clock tonight, and
everything's looking closer we get to it. The predictions are
more accurate as we get closer, so it looks like
six or seven tonight, and he's suggesting a leisurely stat
which was interesting. I was thinking of going at daybreak,
but he's thinking about ten o'clock tomorrow. With the subblyge
just disappeared a bit, and we hopefully that's the way

(02:47):
it'll work out. Jamie, how long do.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
You think it might take you to get across cook Straight?
All things going well.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
I mean, I don't know about the tides and things
they're going to have an effect on us, but somewhere
between four and a half and five hours, I hope,
I hope.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Well, look, I just tip MacApp to you. This is wonderful.
I'm seriously in for a hundred bucks whether you make
it or not. It's just gutsy even starting. If people
want to donate to this wonderful fundraising course for farm Strong, Jamie,
how do they do it?

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Well? I no, no, Jamie, I don't know how we
do that.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Oh well, oh you haven't figured that out yet.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
No, I haven't figured that out yet.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Oh well, I'll look you. I'll talk to you after one,
and I'll get you in touch with the farm Strong
people and we'll set up something and we'll make sure
we promote it vigorously on tomorrow's show, because it's a
wonderful course. So i'll talk to you after one o'clock
and hopefully I might talk to you on Wednesday. If
you've made it.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, well, either you talk to me or you'll save
it under a back. No.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
I don't want you to drown. You're doing too good
a job. You're doing much too good a job with
Warwick as the judges for the Balanced Farm Environment Awards.
So Jamie Strang, look, I'm out of time. Rest well tonight,
my friend, and we're going to we're going to cover
Michelle there, you go write that, she's writing it down.
We're going to cover your rowing trip tomorrow. We're going
to keep eyes on you in the show tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
I'll give you the skipper's number and you can talk
to him.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Okay, Well we'll discuss that after one o'clock when we
get off here. Jamie Strang, what a fantastic effort that is,
rowing across the cook straight at seventy six years of age. Well,
brilliant