Club 1745 Drambuie Pursuit Scotch Whisky

Here is the 2nd half of the 2009 Drambuie Pursuit photo gallery for the archery competition.  Enjoy!

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Draw Your Bow Great Prince!
Everyone finally has gathered around Eilean Donan castle for the archery contest. It would appear team sirius / XM got SERIOUS and showed their fellow competitors they were ready for battle. Apparently looks can be deceiving because at first glance they did not appear to be worthy. They proved with great spirit to be worthy.

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Competitors Get Ready. Let the photo galleries begin.

Things have calmed a bit and finally Club1745.com is ready to upload images & video vignettes each day. Each team participating in the 2009 Drambuie Pursuit grabbed their shield and were ready to conquer the challenges. It appears some look fierce while others look perplexed. Maybe an early tactic?

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Famed Actor Seann William Scott takes part in the Drambuie Pursuit – a 100 mile outdoor adventure race that took place this Sunday in the Scottish Highlands. (PRNewsFoto/Drambuie)

International Group Proves Victorious at Legendary Adventure Race

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ – DRAMBUIE(R) Liqueur today announced that a team from Germany has won the 2009 DRAMBUIE Pursuit, an annual outdoor-adventure race across the Scottish Highlands. Team “DRAMBUIE Warriors” triumphed against 12 other international teams all racing to retrace the voyage of Scotland’s rebel Bonnie Prince Charlie, for whom DRAMBUIE was originally created in 1745.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090511/NY15198 )

Each year, teams of four adults (over 25 years of age) are flown to Scotland from around the world to race across the Scottish Highlands from Inverness to the Isle of Skye, in celebration of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s legendary escape from the British Army after a failed attempt to regain the throne. Once safe passage was secured, the Prince left to his loyal aides the only thing he had left to his name: the recipe for DRAMBUIE that to this day remains secret.

The annual competition consists of demanding trials of archery, mountain climbing, speed boat racing, kayaking and several other grueling activities against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, all to commemorate the passion and adventure of The Prince’s journey. Among this year’s contenders raced famed actor Seann William Scott, who led his own team to fourth place in the epic journey.

“The spirit of Bonnie Prince Charlie truly lives on at the DRAMBUIE Pursuit,” said Valerie Fender, Marketing Manager for DRAMBUIE. “And we congratulate the “DRAMBUIE Warriors” team on having the passion and dedication needed to win this year. The stakes are raised at every race, and we look forward to an even greater level of competition and spirit next year!”

To apply for the chance to compete in next year’s DRAMBUIE Pursuit or to view photographs from this year’s race,visit www.PursuitOf1745.com.

Hello to everyone who attended the 2009 Drambuie Pursuit. It was a pleasure meeting all of you during the past few days in Scotland.
I haven’t quite made it back to the states, but wanted to throw up a couple quick photos for you to see. I thought I would start with just a couple from our trip to the battlefield and Eilean Donan.

Give me a few days and I will start putting up more images and video not only from the battlefield, but from the weekend. Sorry in advance if I happened to miss anyone, sure not intentional. I have lots of photos to share so hopefully I can get on the ball. Again, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and maybe even a hell yah!
Cheers… Rodrick

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photo by Nigel Cook

Most of the competitors and support staff are on their way to Scotland for the 2009 Drambuie Pursuit.  Check back here for updates throughout the weekend.
Follow the Pursuit on Twitter as well @club1745

Below is a story in today’s Daytona Beach News-Journal about a local team from Central Florida that is competing in the Drambuie Pursuit.

By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer – Daytona Beach News Journal

The stairwell at a parking garage might not be as scenic as the Scottish Highlands.A rag-stuffed cardboard box might not make as glamorous an archery target as a bull’s-eye array outside an Inverness castle.

But three local athletes have been running up and down local staircases and slinging arrows at cardboard boxes in their backyards — in preparation for the 2009 DRAMBUIE Pursuit.

Jim and Naomi Nichols of DeLand, and Jeff Petit of New Smyrna Beach depart today on an all-expense paid trip to Scotland to compete in a grueling eight-stage competition based on the legend behind the liqueur.

Mountain bike racing, rock climbing, white-water rafting, off-road buggy driving and archery are among the challenges the three Volusia County residents face against five other teams along a 100-mile course across mountaintops and through valleys.

Read the full story here at the news-journalonline.com

Catch the interview with Seann. Sounds like he’s all jacked up and ready for the Pursuit.

Play here. Seann in training for Pursuit

Drambuie’s official web site, pursuitof1745.com, is worth the visit. Whether you want to register for next year’s Pursuit or read up on the latest Drambuie drink recipes, the site has something for everyone.

The Drambuie Girls, also known to moonlight as the Bonnie Price Charlie girls, represent everything good about the brand. We’re not sure if the Prince had any help from the local lasses while he was fleeing the English, but if a cadre of Drambuie girls had been there, we know the journey would have been just as sweet as the secret elixir.

The name Eilean Donan, or island of Donan, is most probably named after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. There are several churches dedicated to Donan in the area, and it is likely that he formed a small cell, or community on the island during the late 7th century.

The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite separate “Sea Kingdom” of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or “birlinns” at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position.

Over the centuries, the castle itself has expanded and contracted in size. The medieval castle was probably the largest, with towers and a curtain wall that encompassed nearly the entire island. The main keep stood on the islands highest point. Around the end of the 14th century, the area of the castle was reduced to about a fifth of its original size, and although the reason is unclear, it probably relates to the number of men required to defend the structure. By the 16th century, a hornwork was added to the east wall to offer a firing platform for the newly introduced cannons.

Eilean Donan also played a role in the Jacobite risings of the 17th and 18th centuries, which ultimately culminated in the castles destruction.

In 1719, the castle was garrisoned by 46 Spanish soldiers who were supporting the Jacobites. They had established a magazine of gunpowder and were awaiting the delivery of weapons and cannon from Spain. The English Government caught wind of the intended uprising and sent three heavily armed frigates, The Flamborough, The Worcester, and The Enterprise, to quell matters. The bombardment of the castle lasted three days, though met with limited success due to the enormity of the castle walls, which in some places are up to 14 feet thick. Finally, Captain Herdman of The Enterprise sent his men ashore and over-whelmed the Spanish defenders. Following the surrender, the government troops discovered the magazine of 343 barrels of gunpowder which was then used to blow up what had remained from the bombardment.

For the best part of 200 years, the stark ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected, abandoned and open to the elements, until Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in July of 1932.

Scotland’s answer to American Gansta Rap could very well be the Red Hot Chili Pipers. It’s not everyday that you meet bagpipers with attitude, but the winners of the BBC show “When Will I be Famous” are known for their blazing hot rock shows. The Pipers performed at last year’s Pursuit and are scheduled to return in 2009. For more information about the band, check out the Pipers’ official web site!