Like sea kayak expeditions surrounded by ice and diving into classic exploration history? And those involving “Godfathers” of kayaking? Then you’ll love “Bridging the Ice,” a new documentary based on the life and work of British explorer Gino Watkins, leader of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition. Before his untimely death at age 25 in Greenland, the Royal Geographical Society believed him to be the natural successor to Sir Ernest Shackleton.
The film is being made by two members of the Watkins family, Nic and Clarissa Watkins, the grandchildren of Gino’s younger brother Tony.
The two grew up surrounded by stories, photos and paintings of Gino, so fell in love with his story. Gino’s Great Nephew Nic Watkins is making the documentary with his sister about the tireless exploits of their great uncle Gino Watkins and his British Arctic Air Route Expedition.
“As well as a strong desire to tell his story, this is a truly personal project for us,” says Nic. “We visited Greenland in August 2024 to obtain present day footage of the land and its people. Our guide was Bendt Abelson, who is the grandson of Kidarsi who helped Gino on his expedition.”
At the time of his death at age 25, Gino Watkins had received the Polar Medal from the King as well as the Founders medal from the Royal Geographical Society, for the success of his work on the British Arctic Air Route Expedition (BAARE). The BAARE took place in 1930 and set out to pioneer an air route from England to America by mapping the East coast of Greenland and testing flying conditions over its hostile ice cap.
Gino was not your typical arctic explorer, Nic says. “He treated every man as equal, made no commands to his crew but rather casual suggestions. He wore tailored suits, had an obsession with jazz music, and spent every night he could dancing. The first thing the men did when stepping foot onto the ice, was to teach the Inuit people to dance the Charleston.”
He adds that Gino is credited by experts in his field as being revolutionary for his period. He worked with the Inuit and adopted their practices of dog sledding, Igloo building and hunting from kayaks. “These methods were typically overlooked in earlier British expeditions and even looked down on,” he says.
Gino became legendary at hunting from his kayak and the expedition is considered the birth of British kayaking as a sport. He also became an expert in the use of sled dogs which on top of his skiing, climbing and mountaineering background, made him ready for every aspect of exploration. He also contributed to the expedition as a pilot after learning to fly in the Cambridge air squadron.
Gino returned to London a hero and received worldwide press, with The Royal Geographical Society pegging him to be the next Shackleton.
Tragically, due to his early passing, many of his achievements have been lost to the history books. “Bridging The Ice” will bring his story to the 21st century and back into the forefront of people’s minds.
“Greenland was encountering much more sea ice than usual at this time of year, so we were warned that travel would be difficult,” Nic says. “So we wasted no time and headed straight for the base camp of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition.”
“Using the old photos and maps we were able to locate the base camp area and spent the night next to where the men slept in 1930. From the base hut we took our first journey onto the ice cap. Unfortunately, due to the receding of the ice cap, we were not able to follow the 1930 ascent so took an approach from the west.”
“It was impossible to understand how the men travelled this terrain in blizzard conditions with sleds weighing up to 600 pounds and no modern equipment to aid them like we had,” he adds. “All of our travel was by foot or boat. We headed north to try and reach Tuttilik where the 1932 second expedition set up their base camp.
“Bendt warned us that it was going be a tough journey. His son had been in the area a few days before but was forced to turn back due to sea ice, he told us it would be “suicidal” to try and get there… so we headed off with extra fuel just in case.”
Gino learned how to kayak on his first trip to Greenland and became legendary at it, bringing his kayak back to England to introduce the sport to the rest of Europe. “He is seen by those in the kayaking community as the godfather of European kayaking,” Nic says.
“Luckily modern kayaks are a lot easier and safer than the wood and seal skin version Gino had because Clarissa and I had no idea what we were doing,” he says. “Greenland is the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen, and it was clear why my great uncle became so entranced by it.”
This documentary consists of archive film from the original expedition and interviews with descendants of the expedition and experts in polar exploration. While many books have been written about Gino’s life, this will be the first documentary. “He had an irregular and fascinating path to become one of the youngest Polar expedition leaders in history, his life and work will serve as inspiration to young people all over the world,” says Nic.
The film is scheduled to release this spring. Info: https://www.bridgingtheicedoc.com/