Midnight hour: A Nordkapp Airborne 8 film

This was not the plan

But southern Norway gives you a tight window to pull it off. You need open water, which means waiting for ice to clear from the harbours. You also need total darkness, a seasonal privilege here.

When the forecast finally aligned with open water, a stormy outlook and a wall of darkness on the horizon, we put it on the calendar and didn't look back.

Making it happen

There was no particular reason to do this. Just a feeling that midnight boating in a custom-lit RIB was worth exploring, and that was enough. We sourced the lighting rig and spent an afternoon mounting it to the boat. Then we set the alarm for an hour most people reserve for sleeping and drove to the harbour in the dark.

We arrived a few hours before midnight to stillness. Almost glassy, indifferent calm. We couldn’t help but laugh because usually it’s the other way around. When we expect a perfect day, the sea tends to surprise us.

The Airborne 8 was ready to go so we fired up the engine. 

What happened reminded us of something we already knew but had spent a long winter forgetting. Midnight boating is something else entirely. 

Out there in the dark with no other vessel in sight, the sea becomes something private, vast and yours at the same time. The Airborne 8 cutting through still black water under a cloudless sky wasn't what we came for, but it was hard to call it a disappointment.

There is something special about the first time back on the water after a long winter.