Tuesday 20 June 2017

Beyond the West Horizon

A film I had first shown Lynne in Newry, safely rafted against the quay as the winter gales blew was this.
It was filmed and edited by Eric and Susan Hiscock. I believe that the voiceover was done in one take, this is suggested at several points as odd things occur! however rather than let the more sophisticated BBC sound engineers loose on his footage Eric did the whole thing in one, recording as he watched the film. The BBC had supplied Eric with a camera and thousands of feet of 16mm film.
It is of its age, which is round about where I was born. Unless you have walked at least some way in his shoes it is difficult to criticize Eric for his slightly patronising, possibly racially intolerant and insular views. He is, as becomes apparent, a superb seaman and navigator. Especially important for its age this is an outstanding voyage in a very small boat. For comparison Dark Tarn is only 5 feet or so longer. We do however benefit from an amazing array of communication and navigational electronics that Eric and Susan would have considered witchcraft. They didn't even have an anchor windlass!
So here it is crossing oceans in the late 50s ............fabulous, this world has gone. Wanderer III continues her voyages under new owners and Eric's books have a privileged place aboard Dark Tarn. They are still the bible. Deep respect........


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