For the latest The Grand Tour outing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have swapped cambered tarmac for the less predictable waves of the Mekong Delta, where these less-than-able seamen were met with a “nightmare”. The trio, so well known for having immense wells of patience, were high and dry for days.
In The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen the drivers swap steering wheels for tillers as they attempt to negotiate the Mekong Delta, travelling through Cambodia and Vietnam.
The situation was already ripe for disaster, the team’s track record aboard boats often below the waterline of success.
However The Grand Tour’s executive producer Andy, who also produced Top Gear, has admitted a substantial part of the trip was “a nightmare”.
The production itself was becalmed by the effects of climate change, which threatened to scupper the film.
READ MORE
-
The Grand Tour season 4: Jeremy Clarkson on why he refuses to watch…
In a feature for the Radio Times, Andy vividly described how the boats each presenter had chosen to pilot were marooned in places where water should be in abundance.
The route in the film begins in Cambodia at Siem Reap and then winds downriver to Tonlé Sap lake, before joining the Mekong Delta and sailing into Vietnam. The final port of call is Vung Tau, in south Vietnam.
A crucial ingredient for an epic sea voyage is water – an essential Andy has said was in scarce supply.
“Basically, there was no water. And that’s not Jeremy-style hyperbole. Where there should have been a river, there was nothing – middle of the rainy season, boats scattered across dried-up riverbeds like toys.”
The scene in several locations was so dire and so hard to ignore, Andy noted even Jeremy was moved to admit that the climate is changing.
“Even Jeremy conceded our climate is changing, though he’s not gone full Thunberg and accepted we’re to blame.”
What should have been one of the film’s most spectacular locations – Tonlé Sap lake – was also hit hard and proved to be a “a nightmare” for the team, as their boats were beached in thick mud.
“At this time of year it should have swollen to four times its normal size, but what we found was the world’s biggest puddle – 80 miles long and waist deep all the way.
DON’T MISS…
The Grand Tour season 4: Jeremy Clarkson spills on ‘missing’ co-hosts [INSIGHT]
Jeremy Clarkson Twitter: The Grand Tour host apologises to fan [REACTION]
The Grand Tour season 4:Jeremy Clarkson crashes his boat in new series [VIDEO]
“This meant that a journey that should have taken an afternoon lasted for two days, a nightmare of broken propellers, flash storms, and waist-deep mud.”
The volatile conditions posed a serious threat to the cast and crew, with Andy calling some of the filming “dangerous”.
“The unpredictable water threw constant curve balls that led to comedy and drama in equal measure, before it propelled us to a climax as dangerous as anything we’ve ever attempted.”
The team encountered storms which claimed the lives of four local fishermen.
READ MORE
- The Grand Tour season 4: Jeremy Clarkson on why he refuses to watch…
Jeremy has previously said James had to be rescued from the intense waves created by a monsoon.
“It transpired four people were killed an inch away from us. It’s about the only time health and safety has made the correct decision. I, of course, was fine, but May had to abandon ship as crew boats were filling with water.”
As of yet Jeremy has not announced if he will take part in another maritime adventure, but this time with Greta Thunberg.
The Grand Tour presents: Seamen streams on Amazon Prime Video from Friday 13 December.
Source: Read Full Article
