17/Sep/2008
Storm at Sea
 

Incidences happen and sometimes even a planned out scenario can go awfully wrong…. I’ll come straight to the point as today I feel that I should make a note of this particular incident in my diary. We were shooting off the Phi Phi Island in Thailand and Jack Gill had planned out a stunt wherein the jet-ski chase was suppose to be shot from an aerial view. There was a chopper which was mounted with cameras and initially as we started taking and moving around in the shallow waters the waves were moderate and so we decided to move ahead in the deeper waters since the scene required a proper aerial view which should look like a chase from a top angle. Myself and the other stunt guys (4 guys with their jet-ski’s) who were moving aggressively in the sea trying to give their best shots by maneuvering with their cuts around me…. The chopper was also hovering right above us and as close as possible to us to get better shots…. All seemed to be going smooth but we realized that we were nearing another smaller rocky island called Maya Bay. Suddenly, the weather started to change and it looked as if we were ambushed by a storm. The wind and the waves were trying to show us their stunts and our guys instantly thought of retreat. Well…. This is one incident, which will again be there in my mind for a real long time… a sudden gust of strong wind and within a wink of my eye the chopper above us lost control and the chopper blades we so dangerously close to us that we could feel the strong whipping winds of our helicopter... Honestly the whole experience was too much and there was an obvious worry in everybody’s eyes… I really don’t know what happened in the next 30 secs and how the chopper pilot regained his lost control. However, I thank God and all my well wishers that I am able to make this note in my diary.........