Boats have always been a passion of mine and one of my ambitions in life is to produce video content for the boat industry such as boat manufacturers and superyachts. Well, this took one step closer a few weeks ago after a meeting with Barry Pickthall from the Golden Globe Race 2018 about another project which is very far removed from the boating world.
Once we finished the meeting I asked Barry about the many model boats on the window sills and hanging from the ceiling and it soon turned in to a fascinating discussion about round the world sailing and yachts in general. Barry then very kindly asked if I would be interested in filming an interview with the legendary Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and then film him working on the restoration of his boat Suhaili. Obviously I jumped at the chanced and two days later I was down in Portsmouth standing in front of the man himself.
Suhaili is the 32 foot ketch he sailed solo, non-stop around the world in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race 1968/1969. After 312 days at sea he was the only man out of nine entrants to complete the race making him the first man to circumnavigate the world Eastward single-handed, non-stop.
Here is the original footage of him returning back to Falmouth Harbour, UK on the 22nd April 1969 –
The reason we were interviewing Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is because adventurer Don McIntyre (McIntyre Adventure) is organising another Golden Globe Race that will start on 14th June 2018 to coincide with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s 50th anniversary of starting the original race. This race has the same rules applied as the 1968 edition: yachts must be production boats between 32 and 36 foot and no electronics are allowed. This means that navigation must be done using charts and sextants and as there will no communication devices (except for use in an emergency) the sailors will be truly alone. It will also be a great contrast to other races such as the Vendee Globe and Volvo Ocean Race because these both rely on electronics to circumnavigate the globe as quickly as possible and to keep the spectators fully up to date.
We have so far produced two videos for the race. The first is the main promotional video which is made up of footage and photos supplied to us by Don McIntyre and Barry Pickthall. It outlines the race specification and will be used to attract entries for the race.
The second one is much more about Suhaili and was entirely filmed and edited by Echo Video. It has a fantastic sentiment as it is clear how much Suhaili means to Robin and how much respect he has for her.
It’s going to be an amazing race and we are thrilled to be involved.
I hope this has been of some interest and to find out how we can help you with your event please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us here at Echo Video on 01273 911345.