Rolling On The Rescue Boat
We used punts to ship actors to the Samuel J.
John O'Regan and crew member on the Samuel J. Arun
Producer Ray McSweeney with Samuel J. in BG
At the start of The Blow-Ins, Lorraine receives a mayday call as a rescue volunteer. Due to some skullduggery by another volunteeer, she misses the boat - and so launches her own maverick mission.
On the final day of the shoot, we shot the scenes of the rescue boat heading out to sea with the crew -- and without Lorraine.
The rescue boat we used was the Samuel J Arun, with John O'Regan at the helm. John braved stormy seas to add authenticity to our scenes -- something we are incredibly grateful for.
I directed the actors on the boat from the beach, via Assistant Director's Johnny Caldwell's walkie, which was in constant contact with John. The script dictated that the rescue boat could be seen dashing off in the distance sans Lorraine -- and therefore I had no need to go on it... to my eternal regret! The actors playing the crew were buzzing on coming back.
So I was mostly concerned with Lorraine's reaction on the beach -- but I had my eye on the crew too. "Look busy" was the main direction I had. I remember Dermot (playing coxswain Vincent) waving his arms around like a traffic cop on PCP. That's the true test of a performer - can you be funny on sea, when the camera is half a mile away, receiving genius direction like "look busy"?... Another string to the Dermot's bow.
John has been a fantastic friend to the production. He is very active in social media (from the plush confines of the Samuel J!). You can check out John's maritime-themed twitter feed here. If you're interested in chartering boats in West Cork, check out this site.
One thing I can confirm on examining the rushes, the Samuel J can truly haul ass!
/cj