Jimmy Carroll, PELORUS
We took to the skies of London with PELORUS founder Jimmy Carroll, to discuss Indian Adventures, helping CN Traveller source a destination for their front cover & his mission of becoming global leaders in Luxury Experiential Travel.
James Higgins: IT’S BEEN A BUSY 36 MONTHS FOR YOU, HOW DID THE JOURNEY CREATING PELORUS BEGIN?
Jimmy Carroll: Prior to PELORUS, I worked at Winch Design, a leading Yacht, Aviation and Architectural Design Studio. While speaking at the Global Superyacht Forum, I reconnected with my British Army partner and now co-founder Geordie Mackay-Lewis.
Our discussions on the booming luxury travel & yacht expedition sector led to us founding PELORUS - we saw a demand for Private Adventure Travel which offered both unparalleled luxury and unearthed Adventures.
Jimmy Carroll, PELORUS Founder pictured on the right and James Higgins, EnVogue Media Managing Director pictured on the left.
'“People no longer wish to stay on the beach all holiday - they yearn to visit untouched destinations and embark on expeditions that provide them with a world’s first experience.”
JH: Tell us a story from your army days?
JC: After finishing a 7 month tour in Afghanistan, 3 of my fellow army officers and I attempted a crossing of the notorious Darién Gap in Panama. We ended up being forced to extract from the jungle due to heightened FARC insurgence activity (revolutionists) and found ourselves escaping down the northeast coastline in long boats while staying with the indigenous Guna people.
“This is great!”
My role while serving also included conducting helicopter reconnaissance operations, which entailed mapping out new territories for future missions. It’s fair to say that this has come in useful when planning client adventures!
JH: What particular business highlights are you proud of? We’ll discuss travel highlights later on!
JC: Today, we have 3 elements of the business which include Private Adventures (Land based travel), Yacht Expeditions and the Pelorus Agency (B2B Corporate Experiences).
Building a business with three divisions has been both challenging and hugely rewarding - it’s great now to see each division being able to work together on client trips and projects. On the agency side of things, we’ve launched a new watch for an LVMH brand which involved creating an incredible Scottish experience that took the talent on a three day adventure involving kayaks, hiking, helicopters and Aston Martins. The whole experience was filmed and resulted in a successful promotional campaign for the brand.
JH: What about any learning curves you’ve faced building PELORUS?
JC: Where do we begin, the biggest is probably being prepared for the unknown and COVID19 certainly falls into this bracket. We have an incredible team who work for us and all are very resourceful and leaders within their sectors. We also have a great set of advisors who help guide us through the strategic levels of running a business which includes modelling for the different scenarios that you can predict.
Pictured, The City of London
JH: It’s quite a view from up here! As a well travelled man, do you have any travel moments that have left you completely speechless and in awe?
JC: I was blown away by India. Our last client trip before lockdown saw me leading a magical tour of Rajasthan. This is one of the most historically and culturally rich states in India, with mesmerising sights to explore.
Our trip began with a horseback adventure in the desert and ended with a private birthday celebration in the stunningly beautiful Mehrangarh Fort, located in Jodhpur. Built around 1459 by Rao Jodha, the fort is situated 410 feet above the city and is enclosed by imposing walls - a beautiful memory that I’m sure will stick with our client forever.
Celebration at Mehrangarh Fort
New Britain Lagoon, Papua New Guinea
Pictured, St Pauls Cathedral
JH: you also recently led the CN Traveller team on a press trip to the Solomon Islands & Papua New guinea, what was that like?
JC: Incredible! Not just because the trip we organised made its way onto the front cover!
The Diving and marine life are plentiful in the Solomon Islands. Trip Highlights included seeing dugongs, turtles and crocodiles. We also witnessed blacktip reef sharks surrounding Tetepare, the largest uninhabited island in the Solomons and a jewel for conservation work. We planted coral on the wreck of a WWII Wildcat Navy fighter plane, a truly beautiful moment.
Kolombangara Island, The Solomon Islands
M/Y Suri, Russel Islands, The Solomon Islands
We trekked into the untouched jungle to view a settlement that had only been discovered two weeks before our arrival. Flying over the vast Kolombangara volcano and the protected rainforest that covers it today was extraordinary.
JH: Where is the next must-visit destination or adventure you wish to create for a client?
JC: Antarctica, with so few people having been there, this is the most pristine location left on our earth.
Antarctica is considered one of the most inaccessible places on Earth. Only a fortunate few – scientists and explorers in the main – have experienced this magical place, but with PELORUS’ assistance, you can unearth ground-breaking and incredibly exciting experiences for the first time.
As members of IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Travel Operators), we are able to create and deliver unrivalled polar yacht expeditions with world class guides and expedition leaders.
Pictured, The Shard, Tower Bridge & The Fenchurch Building (Walkie Talkie).
JH: Post Lockdown, where do you see people travelling to?
JC: We design experiences for people all over the world and more so than ever our clients are desiring to visit remote secluded locations which also offer style and comfort. Antarctica this winter will be one of these locations we create for a client. This is a real specialty for us, which we also can create closer to home - we recently partnered with the amazing team at Camp Kerala to produce private Glamping experiences in the UK’s remote locations.
JH: How do you wish to see PELORUS evolve over the next 1-10 years?
JC: We aim to become the leading authority on experiential luxury travel, yacht expeditions and events. On the agency side of things, it's exciting to see so many brands enquiring to organise brand activations and brand lifestyle experiences for their clients and out of this world staff adventures.
During lockdown we also launched the Pelorus Foundation. The driving force of PELORUS is to enable our clients to engage with unique landscapes and truly remarkable ecosystems. However, with the desire to explore comes the responsibility to reduce our impact on the environment.
Our Foundation is set on a mission to achieve ambitious, industry-leading targets, becoming as sustainable as possible and to continually seek to minimise our impact on the environment. We must ensure a sustainable future for the landscapes and wildlife we are so passionate about.
Don’t worry, we offset the emissions of this flight by donating to the PELORUS Foundation Fund, with this investment going to the World Land Trust’s Balancing Offset Initiative.
JH: Finally, do you have any advice you’d like to give other entrepreneurs and professionals in the luxury sectors?
JC: Follow your dreams and aspirations but build a great team around you and ensure you research and network.
Constant networking has been one of the strongest tools in our arsenal and building a wide and expansive network has enabled us to create some truly world first experiences for our clients. Never stop being creative and thinking out of the box!
JH: Wise words, thank you Jimmy!
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