Look at that sky, life’s begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
- bowie

Justine Curgenven is just about ready to head back to the states to begin the US leg of the premiere tour for This Is The Sea 4. (I’ll come join you in Chicago, btw.) The premiere parties are going to be lots of fun and more people than we can count will be taking home their copy of T4. Of course with the release of any new DVD, it’s also time to write a review. Now I confess that I’m totally in the bag for Justine and her work. What’s more I have worked with Justine for some time now on the web and off, including doing the cover art for the last two videos. I’m biased. You’d think that would be a good thing wouldn’t you!?

I intentionally waited a bit before I sat down to review This is the Sea 4. I wanted to take time to mull over other’s reviews and let my perceptions be swayed a bit. I tell my local clients all the time that they have learn to be a bit dispassionate about their own work before they can set about doing a good job marketing it. When you’re close to something you tend to get a bit linear in your perceptions. Sometimes that means you are over hyped and see only perfection and other times you’ve just grown accustomed to what you do and see only the flaws. It reminds me of how new relationships can be all rockets and explosions and 10 years later everything that once turned you on becomes an annoyance. To be honest you have to put it all in context. That’s why I wasn’t surprised that folks who’ve been watching the This is the Sea series for some years now were much more jazzed by the second disc than the first. My gut says though, that if you’re picking up T4 as your first sea kayaking DVD, Disc One is going to be the real turn on. By doing a 2 disc set, Justine set about creating a “something for everybody” project and I think she did that with flying colors. Which DVD you consider the “best” or the fact that we are tempted to view it that way is probably more a result who we are as viewers than anything else.

Disc One travels the familiar road of the This is the Sea series. We are introduced to paddlers and unique paddling destinations around the world all set to a background of interesting independent musical artists. Disc One takes us rock hopping with Jen Kleck, exploring sea caves in Lake Superior with the “Most attractive couple in sea kayaking”, Exploring the coast of Israel (where I’m heading later today), white water paddling on the Ottawa River, Commando Kayaking with our friend Dubside, Playing in the fjords of Norway, Crossing the Bass Strait and more. Each story captures a unique kayaking lifestyle and demonstrates all the different ways people enjoy the sport. People new to paddling will find it to be every bit as inspiring as any of the DVDs earlier in the series. Those of us who have watched the series from its inception will be in familiar territory. Yet even for those jaded types among us watching T4 will be like taking an annual vacation to your favorite play spot. You may know the river, but each trip is a new experience. In fact this time around you’ll notice quite a jump in video quality as well. T4 is the first in the series to be shot in 16:9 widescreen, something that did our PC driven entertainment center & HD tube monitor full justice. The color and overall video quality of T4 is really quite stunning.

On Disc One I was most drawn to the section on the Ottawa River. This was some scary stuff and Justine did a good job bringing us into the havoc. In fact she had to push her own metal a bit just to bring us the images. I remember seeing the Skooks in an earlier DVD in the series and thinking, “I want to do that!”, when I saw the Ottawa in T4 I thought, “I DON’T want to do THAT!”. (Nice TRAK kayak action by the way!)

Watching Dubside doing a bit of rough water rolling should do quite a bit to belay that concept that traditional paddling is somehow not “real” paddling. He demonstrates exactly why a traditional paddle is ideal in rough conditions. This bit is what makes the section on Dubside unique from any other Dubside video you may have seen. Although he’s been in a lot of kayaking videos recently, Justine found the stuff we haven’t seen before. I’ve always been impressed by Dubside and Justine does a good job introducing him to folks who may not have seen much in the way of traditional paddling before.

I also was loving the father/son team in Norway showing us their kayak play. I’m into that stuff and some of the things they are doing is really quite amazing. Now they have me trying to jump from a standing position out of my cockpit and onto the back deck. I’m failing miserably!! But I’ll get there!!! Great stuff.

I have a long standing belief that “fish are friends” so I was not all that into the kayak fishing bit, but I’m sure lots of folks will be. The section does a good job sharing what kayak fishing is all about and certainly will nudge fisherman who had been pondering fishing by kayak to get a boat. The guys in the video are nice friendly chaps who you’d have a great time hanging out with even if you didn’t take a pole. I found myself just hoping they let that poor stingray go!

All in all Disc One will certainly inspire new paddlers to get out into their kayaks the second the DVD stops playing. The variety of stories means there will be something for everyone regardless of where they are in their own paddling experience. Non-paddlers will get glimpse into why we do it, and experienced paddlers will be marking down some new destinations.

Other reviews have quite rightly suggested that the “Bonus Disc” could have been the lead material. Between us and the wall, Justine certainly didn’t think of it as primary and secondary material, simply that there was 2 discs worth of content to share. Maybe this is one of those “Side 1″ & “Side A” things!

Disc Two takes us along on two great adventures. First we explore the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of Canada with Justine, Shawna Franklin & Leon Somme (Remember, Leon always comes last!!). Ever since the first time I saw these guys I couldn’t imagine better folks to take a trip with and this video just continues to show that to be true. The trip is packed with beautiful scenery, and the culture of the Haida Qwaii people who call the islands home. The story is engrossing and the imagery is awe inspiring. Justine does a wonderful job capturing the moody feel that we expect from the Pacific Northwest. The team paddles under heavy clouds and persistent rain all the while sharing those rare amazing moments with whales, seals, bear and eagles. Some of the underwater footage is just beautiful. Leon Somme is particularly able to translate the emotion and raw sensuality of such an adventure. At one point he says, “This is my heaven. Right here. ” You know those words don’t quite do justice to the feelings they are meant to express, but his body language fills in the rest. You’ll love taking this journey with them.

Next we head south to Join Justine and Barry Shaw as they circumnavigate the south Island of New Zealand, known for having some of the most treacherous seas in the world. (You may remember at the time two other paddlers were making solo attempts around the island as well.) Justine does a great job as always capturing the ups and downs of an extended expedition. It’s this talent that tends to get the most interest from long time paddlers. We see those moments when you make the big decisions, and those times when you’re just so bloody tired but you know you must go on. Justine has never been one to put on an “image”, and it’s this honesty with the audience that makes her so intriguing to watch. We see the fears and the determination of the paddlers, as well as the occasional thrashing that the sea and surf will hand out. While it’s a joy to see all the beautiful New Zealand land & seascapes, the real pleasure in this section is the human story, just watching Justine and Barry taking it day by day. You come away knowing a bit more about what it takes to set out on a serious expedition, and you also see why someone would.

This is the Sea 4 is every bit as enjoyable as previous outings. In fact the extended expedition stories on Disc Two will make it the best in the series for many. I’ll leave it to others to pick through the bits and bobs that they would have done differently. Having watched various clips here and there I knew somewhat what to expect. For me seeing it all come together was the real joy. So much work goes into a project like this. The challenge to any artist, writer or filmmaker is to take a feeling, a moment in time or vision and translate it in such a way as to have others feel what you experienced when you were there, in that very moment. The true success is in sharing something beyond the pictures. This Is The Sea 4 demonstrates Justine’s special talent in that respect. It’s not so much that you watch others enjoy great paddling experiences, but that for a time you are right there with them. That’s what makes the This Is The Sea series and T4 so unique, and certainly worth having in your DVD collection.

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