Currents
N E WS
CUTTING EDGE COACHING. PHOTO COURTESY SIMON WILLIS
DIGITAL EXTRA:
Click here to watch a short version of Emergency
Situations, adapted from Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 3.
NEW DVD GOES WHERE NO KAYAK INSTRUCTIONAL FILM HAS GONE BEFORE UNCHARTED WATERS
Just in time for holiday gift-giving and stocking-stuffing, Sea Kayak with Gor- don Brown: Volume 3, a new DVD from Scottish sea kayak coach Gordon Brown, delves into three critical—yet often over- looked—elements of kayak safety and skills: navigation, first aid and dealing with emergency situations. Following up on the success of Sea Kay-
ak with Gordon Brown, the award-winning debut effort of Brown and producer Simon Willis, the pair released a follow-up film in 2011 that focused on teaching rescue techniques. With Volume 3, Brown and Willis explore some engrossing new terri- tory for a kayak instructional DVD. We asked the team about the chal-
lenges of producing a film that features, among other things, behind-the-scenes footage of actual Coast Guard air and sea rescues in progress.
There are a few hairy moments in this film—what were the biggest challenges of producing the rescues portion of the DVD?
SW: Daring to believe we could make such an ambitious film that required the loan of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter and two RNLI lifeboats. How do you ask a gov- ernment authority, “Can I borrow a chop- per, please?” Where there were no official
22 PADDLING MAGAZINE || December 2013
protocols, Gordon worked with the [Coast Guard] crews to develop the best way for them to deal with paddlers. They literally were making it up as they went along.
What was it like to actually put yourself in the position of needing a Coast Guard rescue?
SW: At no stage did any of our kayakers genuinely need a rescue. We were prepared for the professionals to be called away to a genuine emergency at any moment.
GB: I have yet to put myself in the position of needing the professionals to help me. I am now quite confident that by working with these fantastic people, I will be able to help myself if, or when, it does happen. I hope that people who watch the DVD will get a similar amount of useful information.
Did you learn any new skills or tactics— or debunk any common misconcep- tions—while producing this film?
GB: The direction-finding capabilities of both helicopter and lifeboat makes it abso- lutely necessary to carry a VHF radio. The fact that a pinpoint red flare is more easily seen [than an orange smoke flare] was an eye opener. I also learned that it is almost impossible, when you are below a rescue chopper, not to look up in awe.
SW: As a sea kayaker myself, I’ve changed what kit I carry as a result of working with the professionals. The film’s aim is to share the insight into how the emergency teams work, allowing you to decide what to carry for the kayaking you do.
Who do you think will enjoy this DVD?
SW: Emergency Situations is the sort of show I’d have made when I worked for the BBC, so I think it will appeal to anyone, whether they kayak or not. Advanced pad- dlers will pick up lots of coaching tips from the way Franco Ferrero coaches naviga- tion, Rowland Woollven coaches first aid and Gordon coaches… well, everything.
Any plans for a Volume 4?
GB: If we were to make [another film], I think we would have to change our ap- proach. I don’t coach the same thing twice the same way. Simon works out the tech stuff to allow us to film what hasn’t been done before and I guess that it’s down to me to come up with another hair-brained, half-cooked idea that is impossible to do, worse than impossible to film and ridicu- lous to make work as a coaching film, then he’ll work his magic.
To learn more, access free downloads or purchase a film, visit
www.seakayakwith-
gordonbrown.com. —Virginia Marshall
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56