BEING OMNIVOROUS

When we hire new team members, we often tell them that they’ve got to be omnivorous. Not in their diet, but in their attitude.  You’ve got to come into work each day willing to go after whatever is presented, whether it’s a blackwater field trip with 40 kids or a sunrise kayak tour with just two early risers.  Sometimes the work takes you down Alligator Alley on Bulls Island or camping in Francis Marion National Forest and sometimes it has you washing kayaks or getting the trash cans to the street.  You’ve got to be willing to do it all around here- and most of the time it’s really fun.

FILM BOAT WORK

Something unexpected that we get to do from time to time is work as a production boat for media . We get contracted as a film boat (where the director and cameras go),  production boat (getting people and/or gear to a location) or the not-as-glamorous-but-still-fun “pee boat” (taking talent and crew back and forth from the filming location to an on land bathroom throughout the day).

When Outer Banks called about using us for their new show a few years ago, we didn’t think much about it and happily joined their crew.  The assignments were usually very long and often lasted (or started!) in the middle of the night.  Over the course of several weeks, we helped out with boat support as they filmed scenes all over the Charleston area.

Here are a few things that we remember from our experience:

1.  One of our captains threw away a bandana that John B. left on the boat during the filming of Season One.  Everyone gave her a little good-humored hell about not keeping it.
2. They used kayaks and SUPs from our livery in several scenes, including when Kiara paddled on Shem Creek in the opening credits of OBX2.
3. The actors that play John B. and Sarah practiced driving the S.S. Pogue in front our our shop on Shem Creek, but we never shared that on social media (We know how hard it is to learn to drive a boat– and it’s harder with a crowd).  It’s honestly a good spot to learn because it’s pretty quiet up here and protected from the wind.
4. We didn’t realize how much fun it would be to watch the show after seeing the different scenes filmed.  And we had no idea at the time that it was going to be a global hit. We’ve had people asked us about Outer Banks from around the world.
5. If you want to go on a kayak or boat tour to the places that Outer Banks filmed, just ask!  We can arrange for a private charter to see places along Shem Creek and into Charleston Harbor where OBX has filmed, or you can hop on a Shem Creek Kayak Tour and ask your guide to show you along the way.  You never know if they’ll be filming that day at the shrimp dock or restaurant.
6. We’re Pogues.  And we’ve been Pogues since before there was a word for it. P4L.