Things almost went wrong for Steven Van Gucht in ‘Over the ocean’: “Made a difference by a millimeter”

In ‘Gert’s table’ he tells Steven Van Gucht about his experience on board the Polygala during the recording of ‘Over the ocean’. He was the scientist on duty during the crossing.

That’s why he had to take water samples regularly. In concrete terms, this meant that he had to throw a bucket into the water and then pull it up. That was not without risk.

“The captain had told me at the beginning: ‘Be careful: if you throw the bucket into the water, you can sometimes get a shock if a wave hits the bucket. So always brace yourself and wear a life jacket.”

At first he did so conscientiously, but after a few weeks of things going very smoothly, he became a bit more nonchalant. “One of the last times I threw that bucket in and I did indeed get a shock. I was just able to grab onto the railing. It made a difference of a millimeter.”

There was no filming going on at the time, no one was even near him. “If I had gone overboard then, no one would have seen or heard it. An hour later you cannot be found. The chance that they will find you again in the ocean is very small.”