Episode 8
Documentary following life on the English Channel. A tiny tugboat steers a giant tanker safely into port, and young British sailors attempt a speed record to France.
A tiny tug boat steers a giant tanker safely into port, young British sailors attempt a speed record to France, and a boyfriend-and-girlfriend team try to muscle in on the whelk-fishing market.
Surrounded on all sides by water, Britain has always been a nation of sailors. Sir Ben Ainslie is the most decorated Olympic sailor in history, but when it comes to deep-water sailing we are lagging behind. Yacht-racing team Concise are dedicated to producing Britain's future deep-water sailing champions - starting with a record-breaking attempt on the crossing from the UK to France. But with busy shipping lanes and unpredictable winds to contend with, it's certainly not plain sailing.
They, like every vessel on the Channel, are at the mercy of the wind and the waves. But thanks to the Met Office and its 500 meteorologists, who've been producing the Shipping Forecast for the last 40 years, they at least have some advance warning about what's coming their way.
Also reliant on this vital service are the Channel's many fishing crews. Despite the bitter cold, boyfriend-and-girlfriend team Kevin and Tash are out in all weathers trying to earn their living from the winter whelk-fishing season. It's back-breaking work - and there's a good chance they may come home with nothing.
And proof that size certainly isn't everything, tiny tugboat the Phenix punches well above its weight as it helps to guide massive oil tankers measuring two football pitches long and 180 feet high through the Solent's hazards and safely into Southampton.
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