ITV's "Don't Rock The Boat":
The Rannoch Adventure Story
The memories of summer 2020 will stay with the Rannoch team for a long time. What an experience it was working with South Shore Productions for the ITV series "Don’t Rock The Boat"! All things considered, together we achieved something quite incredible – managing a group of 12 celebrities rowing the length of Britain.
Taking on any new challenge can be daunting but particularly when you are competing with the earth’s natural elements. This is when you need experts that you can rely on and trust. Participating in ITV’s Don’t Rock The Boat was challenging and at times scary, but I felt safe in the hands of Charlie and his team at Rannoch. Their attention to detail and meticulous prior planning was something I could relate to as a former athlete and gave me peace of mind. Thank you Team Rannoch for being with me for every stroke on my exhilarating open water adventure!
Denise Lewis OBE
Here's our story in pictures:
First crew briefing in St Ives
Nearly at the start line in St Ives
Joe & Lucy crossing the Bristol Channel
Jodie & Victoria on the oars in Pembrokeshire
Watching the action from monitors on RANGER
Denise & Sue (JACK crew), the Birthday Girls
Craig & Tom - what a duo!
Fleur entertaining the Red team
Stunning shades of blue near Oban
Jack & Joe
Early morning mist
VICTORY being towed between legs
Crew briefing with James Cracknell in Mallaig
Fish & chips for the Rannoch team in Ullapool
Synchronised rowing near Mallaig
Filming on the beach in Ullapool
JACK crew with Jamie (medic) & Dionne (PD)
Denise, Fleur & Kimberly with JACK crew
Blue team crossing the finishing line in Lochinver
Group hug for Blue team after the last leg
Ros (Red Team Skipper) enjoying deflating buoy A for the last time
Adele (Blue Team Skipper) enjoying a similar moment on buoy B
Charlie & Melanie Leach, CEO, South Shore Productions
Rannoch souvenir from the expedition
Without you none of this would have been possible. You and your team did an incredible job of navigating us through what were at times quite choppy waters. It was an absolute pleasure working with you.
Melanie Leach, CEO, South Shore Productions
The Rannoch Team
Our Expedition Team consulted, coached, project managed, skippered, fetched and carried, motivated, cleaned, inflated buoys, liaised with harbour authorities and marina managers, booked hotels and more. They worked tirelessly for over a month during filming and in the run up to the expedition. And rarely did their smiles waiver!
The amount of work undertaken by our HQ Team prior to and after the filming expedition must not be underestimated!
Mike, Gary & Tom spent over 180 hours customising and fitting out all the boats so they were fit for purpose. It’s amazing how much camera and sound infrastructure was required! Returning the boats to their normal state after the expedition was no mean feat either.
Lizzie & Rachel spent many hours preparing checklists, sourcing and packing safety equipment and food on board, setting up all electronics and communications equipment, registering all PLBs and EPIRBS, doing the Risk Assessment and sourcing and branding all the staff clothing.
Expedition Team L to R:
James, Ian, Ros, Adele, Charlie, Sue, Emma, Arthur, Nicola
HQ Team L to R:
Gary, Lizzie, Tom, Rachel, Mike
The Boats
It all started with specifying two R45’s for the project. VICTORY (Red) was ready to charter, COURAGEOUS (Blue) was built specifically for the project. Rannoch’s Mike & Gary were instrumental in advising and consulting with the South Shore team to ensure all the film equipment was fitted correctly and would work on the water.
Two support boats were needed for the project – JACK and RANGER. JACK, our 53 foot sloop, was used as mothership for 6 weeks of training and filming. RANGER, specialist protector RIB, was used for directing and safety and GROOT was the 5th member of the fleet – an inflatable RIB that was used for cross decking and housed on JACK when not in use.
VICTORY & COURAGEOUS in action
JACK with celebs and crew on board
RANGER towing the buoys to the start line
GROOT - the most agile boat in the fleet
Training Week
Our training week got off to a great start with a day on Explorers in somewhat inclement weather. This was followed with plenty of time on VICTORY and COURAGEOUS with all the celebs learning the ropes and having time out on the water with coaches Charlie, Ian, Ros and Adele. On the 4th day our intrepid rowers were treated to a half day sea survival course with Dawn Wood of Aurora Sea School before heading out to sea for their first night on-board their ocean rowing boats. They left Burnham exhausted but fired up and ready for their big adventure.
Coaches Ros, Charlie and Adele
In the classroom with Dawn
Out on Explorers on day 1
Joe & Jodie getting to grips with the R45
Sea Survival Experience
Dawn instructing Shaun, Fleur, Adam & Tom
Logistics
Over 6,000 miles were driven to get VICTORY, COURAGEOUS and RANGER to the start line in Cornwall and back from the finish line in Scotland!
JACK sailed a total of 1150 nautical miles during the project – 520 nautical miles accompanying the rowers during the expedition and an additional 630 nautical miles getting to Cornwall and returning from Scotland. No mean logistical feat!
RANGER passing Stonehenge
The convoy ready for the trip home
JACK crew passing Beachy Head
Nearly home!
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