39 Days to Paradise: documenting a 4,800km row across the Pacific
Format: feature adventure documentary · Released: 2026 · Story: a crew of four rows 4,800km from Monterey, California, to Kauai, Hawaii, in the World's Toughest Row · Featuring: Paris Norriss and the Brothers N Oars crew
The story
In June 2023, four friends, the Brothers N Oars crew of Oli Amos, Harry Amos, Barney Lewis and Paris Norriss, set off from Monterey, California, to row 4,800km across the Pacific Ocean. The idea was born at a wedding. None of them had rowed an ocean before, and they had barely rowed at all. Only 82 of 122 crews had ever completed the crossing. Thirty-nine days later, on the morning of 20 July, the island of Kauai rose out of the sea. The row raised more than £150,000 for marine conservation with the Blue Marine Foundation. 39 Days to Paradise is the documentary of that crossing.
The production challenge
Expedition documentaries are among the hardest films to make. There is no crew boat, no second take and no way to send footage home. The rowers were the camera operators. They rowed in two-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, never sleeping more than an hour and a half at a time, and burned 8,000 calories each a day. Everything had to be captured between shifts, in a boat that was constantly wet, rolling and short of power.
The ocean made it harder. The crew faced 40-foot waves and 20-knot winds. The rear cabin mysteriously filled with water. A cargo ship changed course towards them. In a storm they deployed the para-anchor and came close to calling mayday. Some of the most powerful moments in the film were filmed in those conditions, by the people living through them.
How we made it
- Planning for self-filming. Cameras, mounts and storage were chosen so the crew could film with minimal effort and keep shooting through bad weather.
- Shooting the story, not just the scenery. The crew recorded confessionals and candid moments as well as the action, so the edit could follow the emotional journey from a wedding-day idea to landfall in Hawaii.
- Editing and sound. Weeks of footage were shaped into a story with a clear arc, then finished with custom sound design, music and colour to make the ocean feel as vast and as frightening as it was.
- Archive and interviews. The pre-departure campaign, training and landfall were combined with the at-sea footage to give the film its structure.
The result
39 Days to Paradise was released in 2026, and the full 27-minute documentary is free to watch on YouTube.
Watch the full documentary on YouTube →
The film is also on the Adventure TV shows page at parisnorriss.com, with chapters including "A wedding and a crazy idea", "The rear cabin floods", "A cargo ship turns towards the boat" and "Para-anchor in the storm". The row also sits at the heart of Paris Norriss's keynote, The Grit Code, which he has delivered to audiences from TEDx Amman to the UN Tourism General Assembly.
Why it matters for clients
This film shows what Blazing Sand Studios does best: telling real stories from places where others cannot film. The same skills apply to brands, broadcasters and expeditions that need a story captured in difficult conditions: planning a kit list that survives the environment, training non-professionals to film, and turning raw footage into a film that audiences want to watch. If you have an expedition, a challenge or a cause to document, we can help from the first plan to distribution.
Common questions.
What is 39 Days to Paradise?
An adventure documentary, released in 2026, about the Brothers N Oars crew rowing 4,800km across the Pacific from Monterey, California, to Kauai, Hawaii, in 39 days.
Who filmed it?
The crew filmed most of the footage themselves while rowing in two-hour shifts. Blazing Sand Studios produced and finished the film.
How much did the row raise?
More than £150,000 for marine conservation with the Blue Marine Foundation.
Can Blazing Sand Studios document our expedition?
Yes. We help expeditions, brands and charities plan the filming, train teams to self-shoot, and edit, finish and distribute the film.
Where can I watch it?
The full 27-minute documentary is free to watch on YouTube and is embedded on this page. Contact us for broadcast and distribution enquiries.
See also: Production · Post production · Distribution · Case study: Guy in Dubai · Guy in the Sky · Start a project
A production company built for broadcast
Blazing Sand Studios is an Abu Dhabi-registered, Dubai-based production company led by Paris Norriss as CEO. Our shows have been distributed in 123 countries. We have staffed offices at Upside in Business Bay, Dubai, and at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi.
Broadcasters and platforms we have worked with include Amazon Prime, Apple TV and OSN. Airline partners and in-flight audiences include British Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways, Aer Lingus, SpiceJet, Iberia and LEVEL. Production clients include Rebel Entertainment, Rotana Hotels and Tadbeer, and destination work includes the Royal Commission for AlUla.
39 Days to Paradise is our full-feature documentary about the Pacific row, released in 2026 and produced by Blazing Sand Studios.
Common questions
Who is behind Blazing Sand Studios?
Paris Norriss is CEO of Blazing Sand Studios. The company is Abu Dhabi-registered and Dubai-based, with staffed offices at Upside in Business Bay and at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi.
Where has your content been distributed?
Our shows have been distributed in 123 countries, including on broadcasters and platforms such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV and OSN, and with airlines including British Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways, Aer Lingus, SpiceJet, Iberia and LEVEL.
Which clients have you worked with?
Production clients include Rebel Entertainment, Rotana Hotels and Tadbeer. Destination work includes the Royal Commission for AlUla.
Do you offer AI video as well as traditional production?
Yes. We produce adventure and destination television, and we also produce AI commercials, corporate films, product films, explainers, training films, localisation and micro drama series — all directed shot by shot and finished by human craft teams.
How do we start a project?
Share the brief, territory, language needs and deadline via the contact page. The team will reply with next steps.
Start a project.
Tell us the audience, the platform and the deadline. We'll come back with a treatment and a quote.