Hurricane Bill

Ever since Hurricane Juan devastated Halifax and the Maritime provinces six years ago, people have been especially cautious whenever a tropical storm gathers strength in the warm south Atlantic waters and heads north. Such was the case this summer when Hurricane Bill rumbled up the Atlantic seaboard on a collision course with Nova Scotia.

The thing about hurricanes is their uncertainty; you never know what direction or what effect they’ll have from hour to hour. I had this in mind when I headed to work on that mid-August weekend when Bill was projected to pass through Nova Scotia. I was shooting with Kayla Hounsell, a talented young reporter who recently joined the team. When I arrived at work I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. It had not begun to rain yet, but the sheer massiveness of the storm ensured that it would. I packed up my gear making sure to be extra prepared for extreme weather and we headed directly to Peggy’s Cove. As we left it began to rain; by the time we were on highway 333, it was torrential.

When we arrived at Peggy’s Cove the sight was incredible. The waves were the largest I had ever seen and the rain was like standing under a waterfall. The wind was strong enough to affect equilibrium and when it blew the cool water in your face, it left a memorable sting. However, the one factor that made things most difficult was the fog. I had never shot in such conditions, but I managed to get several clips and plenty of b-roll.

We then headed back to Halifax for more clips and b-roll. Once this was accomplished, we decided to try to go to Lawrencetown Beach. Unfortunately, this attempt was futile as the road was blocked by the authorities. After we interviewed an RCMP officer in Cole Harbour, we headed to Cow Bay for some more clips and footage. At this point I was beyond soaked and I was relieved the equipment was holding up well.

When we finally made it back to the station we were both relieved to be inside a warm, dry place. I had a break and then we had to go back to Peggy’s Cove so I could shoot Kayla’s live “tops and tails”. It had stopped raining, but the waves were still remarkable. The shots looked great with huge waves crashing against the rocks in the background, while the sun was giving her a beautiful light. Incredibly, while we were waiting for the live hit an RCMP officer informed us that some teenagers had been standing too close to the shoreline and were briefly swept into the ocean before being rescued.

Hurricane Bill was an amazing experience for me. Although the extreme weather of that day created exceptional challenges, I managed to get everything I needed for the story; I am fairly certain it ran nationally (or at least portions of it). I learned a great deal that day and I gained plenty of confidence as a shooter.