The daughter of two former Dundee doctors has celebrated her Scottish connection in style by making history as the first person to drive almost 24,000 miles across North America in car powered by chip fat.
Cloe Whittaker (24), daughter of two Dundee University medical graduates living in British Columbia, was accompanied on her mission by boyfriend Tyson Jerry (26).
A self-confessed “city kid” who grew up in Edmonton in Canada’s “oil country,” Cloe’s interest in sustainable energy was sparked by an environmental studies class at university that changed her “life and mind forever.”
When she met Tyson in 2007, she told him she wanted to travel around Canada living in a van and making new friends.Alternative fuel sourceHe then came up with the idea of trying to smash the Guinness world record for the longest journey by car using alternative fuel and suggested they run the van on waste cooking oil.
Their vehicle is a 1993 Delica Mitsubishi they have dubbed “The Veggie Van.”
Last week after 23,697 miles and 20 cities, Cloe and Tyson drove into the history books but only after a few hurdles along the way.
After driving from British Columbia to South Carolina in the US, they were hit by a vehicle fault that took 11 months to rectify.
They were then told by Guinness they would have to start again from the beginning if they wanted to secure their place in the record books.
Cloe said, “There were a lot of challenges associated with this project and I came close to quitting. Tyson and I are paying for most of the project out of our own pockets so there was a time when our debt was at the forefront of our minds.
“Thankfully, Tyson’s perseverance won me over and we decided it could only get better from that point.”
Cloe, who travels North America advising high school students on how they can be more environmentally friendly, said using waste cooking oil as a fuel is something teenagers worldwide would find interesting.
“What kid hasn’t had French fries? North America, with all the fast food giants, has no shortage of deep fryer oil like Scotland’s fish and chip shops!”
Cloe has no plans to bring any alternative-fuel vehicle to Dundee, but says the city has a “special place” in her heart and she will “definitely return” when she has a gap in her schedule.