Caught out on camera

I decided to make a video showing how to enter and leave moorings in the Dee estuary. On a calm day, when the buoys were clearly visible and camera shake minimal, the leaving bit worked well. But on the way back, eyes fixed on the viewfinder, I left the helming to crew. Picking out the channel buoys using close-ups and panoramic views, my narration went something like: ‘As you head down the buoyed channel, you’ll see off your starboard bow a red fishing boat… Where’s it gone?’ Taking my eyes from the viewfinder, the red fishing boat was some distance off our port bow and we were headed for the largest sandbank in the area on an ebbing tide. With less than a metre underneath, we dropped all sails, engine going as fast as we could to the marked channel, hoping we’d still have enough water to make it back to the mooring. Needless to say, the video was never used!