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Our Rockall Ho! 2005 team in full

If you're wondering just exactly what sort of madman thinks it's a good idea to spend two weeks aboard a vessel hundreds of miles out in the North Atlantic for the sole purpose on landing on a small lump of granite, then look no further than our rogues' gallery of adventurers.

Of course, it's not as insane as it sounds, given that all proceeeds from our campaign will benefit our chosen good cause — Mental Health Media's MEdia project. You can donate right now to the Rockall Ho! 2005 charity appeal at our dedicated Justgiving.com page. Funds from UK donors will be boosted by an additional 28 per cent which Justgiving claims back from the Inland Revenue. Marvellous.

And once you've flashed the plastic, sit back and peruse our Rockall Ho! 2005 biogs, where you will find a few new faces among the 2003 veterans:

Al Baker: Climbing guru Al is a veteran of Greenpeace's 1997 occupation of Rockall, and also showed his skill at the helm of an inflatable during our 2003 campaign. Al counts among the handful of people ever to have set foot on the sacred rock. Suffice it to say, the allure of this mystical location has once again proved too much for the poor lad and he now finds himself pulling on his boots for the replay, Part II. The pic shows Al enjoying one of the many challenging climbs Rockall has to offer.

Dr Moff Betts: Ship's doctor Moff specialises in colonising small islands which feature in the shipping forecast, having spent 18 months on Lundy, though he has not yet been to the Faeroes. Casualty veteran, homeopathic vizir, ex-GP and esoteric ointment concoctor Moff says that the only painting he can remember doing as a child, or at all, was an uncannily accurate scene of Rockall in a stormy sea, painted purely from his fevered imagination. Crikey.

Angus Budge: This grainy image — captured by a US spy satellite over Scotland — is the only known photograph of second skipper Angus. Intelligence sources confirm that he is one of the coxswains on the Long Hope Life boat, although we hope that his skill in plucking survivors from the raging Atlantic will not be required.

James Cameron: Western Isles native James forms, along with Dave Wood (below), the two-man team who will "activate" Rockall for the international radio ham community. He's seen here dressed in traditional local costume — obligatory for any winter jaunt to the local pub, or indeed any mission which involves stepping outside the front door between October and March.

John Cunningham: Photographer John will ensure that breathtaking images of our Rockall assault are captured for an expectant world. He's also slated as second inflatable pilot and rigger, so no time to enjoy the view for our North Atlantic paparazzi — and certainly no time for the kind of shameless posing demonstrated here.

Lester Haines: Rockall Times editor Lester say he is chomping at the bit to get back to the islet which inspired the North Atlantic's finest satire website. He has also expressed his "absolute committment to getting on the bloody thing" after the disappointment of 2003. Lester was last seen exiting the office with a grappling iron between his teeth, muttering ancient nautical curses — a sure sign that he means business.

Trevor Lockie: 53-year-old Trevor is an experienced seaman, fisherman, diver, boat driver, kayaker, survival expert and naturalist who also happens to live on a small island off the Scottish coast. He's responsible for seeing that the team is properly supplied with nosh for the two-week adventure, so his nutritional expertise is an absolute must.

Wolfgang Schaub: Seen here atop Greenland's highest peak — Gunnbjorn Fjell — Wolfgang is on a mission to climb the highest peaks of every European country, plus a few other noteworthy outcrops. His list of 133 targets includes, naturally, "entities with weird political status". Yup, that'd be Rockall alright. Wolfgang hopes to improve his current tally of 70 successful ascents with a quick jaunt up the sacred islet as the expedition's official mainland EU representative.

Ian Trumpess: Ian is master of the Stromness-based MV Invincible, our chosen means of transport to Rockall. He's no slouch in the North Atlantic department, having already made one diving trip to the sacred rock. Since Ian seems a bit reluctant to part with a snap of himself (false modesty, no doubt), our in-house artist has created an impression of how we believe Ian may look.

Dave Wood: Fisherman, hydraulic technician, racing dinghy sailor and full class radio ham Dave hopes to be one of the first two men to "activate" the sacred islet of Rockall. For those not au fait with radio lingo, this roughly translates as hauling 40 tons of kit atop the rock and giving forth across the airwaves for the greater benefit of our charity appeal. Good show.

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