When the Weather Is Too Good

Simon and Anne Young
We thought we'd covered all our bases by deciding to shoot our rough water filming section for Volume 3-Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown in the Outer Hebrides in February.

Surely bad weather was guaranteed? We even set aside a second week just in case the weather was so bad the ferries weren't running.

The day we arrived, so did a Scandinavian high pressure weather system. A good wind on Sunday disappeared and we've had barely a breath of wind.  Not good.

This is why, in my previous post, I said we don't talk about our plans. They always change. Yet although conditions were not as expected, our footage looks superb!

Such constant change has been stressful. Plans made each evening are completely revised over breakfast, and utterly transformed again before we launch. I'm amazed the other seven paddlers can keep abreast of the constant mix of evolution and revolution.  Schedule? Ha ha ha!

On the water, late at night, illuminated by powerful floodlights - the whole scene looked stunning, if slightly scary. Our image intensification equipment produced some atmospheric (if rather green) shots lit by only the stars and moon.

We have one more day left to film, tomorrow, Friday. The team head back to the mainland Friday afternoon with me following on Saturday.  Next week will be spent in a dark room, viewing and logging.

Anne Young, the national kayak liaison officer for the Coastguard has been hugely helpful in helping set up the filming. The photo is me chatting to her in the Stornoway MRCC today, shot by Gordon.