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Morning Light movie review 		Team McLube

 


The Publisher
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Sep 29, 2008, 1:38 PM

Post #1 of 5 (5622 views)
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MORNING LIGHT: “IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY”

The much anticipated “Morning Light” film has been making headlines since the call for applications was made in the spring of 2006, and the plan was hatched to document a team of young sailors in their quest to compete in the Los Angeles to Hawaii 2007 Transpac Race. The movie is readying to be released nationwide on October 17, but Scuttlebutt was fortunate to see it this past weekend at the very first theatre showing during the San Diego Film Festival (yea, how many other ‘buttheads went to a film festival this weekend?).

For the avid Scuttlebutt readers, this film has two strikes against it. First, we have heard a lot about it, and hype can be a double edged sword. Second, we know how it ends. Also, this is not a movie… it is a documentary. If you are expecting the next “WIND” (which made the ‘womper’ famous in 1987), forget it. The good news is that none of these issues matter, because they have nothing to do with the focus of the movie. When Producer Roy Disney was asked about the movie’s concept, he replied, “It’s about the journey. We’re not making a film about sailboat racing and we’re not making a film about a boat. It’s a story about a group of young adults sailing across an ocean, the obstacles they encounter and the bonds they form. It’s a story about becoming more than the sum of the parts.”

What the movie succeeds in doing is telling a real story, as it happens, without falsifying the facts, and without trick editing (for the most part) to form the images around a pre-determined plan. While some of the early dialogue felt stiff and overly scripted, it is all well-intended to bring the viewer onboard, and to better understand the experience occurring. Additionally, the presence of cameras and artificial settings are near nil, which contributes to the realism. The music is well-placed, contemporary, and augments the movie pacing. This film is not a hyped up Warren Miller ski movie that takes his kamikaze ski team to the sweetest slopes in the world. This is a 90 minute ride to Hawaii, which for the participants, took just over a year.

The 15 people selected to crew on the boat, all under 23 years old, are likeable, and it is interesting to see which ones emerge as the leaders, and which ones have personalities to fill the big screen. Their dialogue during the race is engaging, and their decision making is revealing and informative. As Disney points out, they are the focus of the film, and the film captures their highs and lows, points out their mistakes, and shares their emotions. Co-navigator Piet van Os notes, “Think about what you like to do the most, and then be given the opportunity to do it for a year, with the best coaches and support possible.” For the crew who had put their lives on hold for a year, the finish line of the movie became extremely symbolic for the end of their journey, but also the beginning of their new lives.

The movie seems to shoot down the middle, never too complicated and never too dumbed down. It provides great insight into offshore racing, particularly the ins and outs of doing the Transpac race that relies so heavily on the Pacific High weather system for making tactical decisions. The winds were light for this race, and while it might have been nice to see some bow plunging, white knuckle moments, the drama of the drifter was portrayed equally well.

It will be interesting to hear how non-yachties see the film. I think they will enjoy it, and have a better understanding for what is needed to sail a 52-foot boat, and for how the game of distance racing is played. The sport of sailing is always referred to as a life sport, one that can be done for a lifetime. For those that have played the game, they realize that it is also about the people and the shared experiences. As van Os reflects, now over a year after crossing the finish line, he still remains close with his teammates, and figures that won’t be changing anytime soon.

- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt




The Publisher
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Oct 11, 2008, 3:39 AM

Post #2 of 5 (3925 views)
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From David Foscarini, Scarborough, ON, Canada: I was lucky enough to see the
Morning Light movie Saturday Oct 4. I highly recommend the movie to anyone who
knows anything about sailing or has any aspirations to big boat sailing. I think
if we get enough sailors to see the movie they will tell their non-sailing
friends to see the movie, then the movie will be a success and sailing in
general benefits. So see it and tell your friends!


The Publisher
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Oct 11, 2008, 3:40 AM

Post #3 of 5 (3924 views)
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ON THE RED CARPET
by Tom Leweck

I got lucky last night. Somehow, my seats at the world premiere of
Disney's Morning Light movie were right across the aisle from the young crew who
sailed the TP52 on the Transpac Race. What a hoot! It was no surprise that the
500 invited guests at the premiere -- many of whom have logged many hundreds of
offshore miles -- absolutely loved this film. But it was the upbeat, spontaneous
reactions from the members of the Morning Light crew that left me with the
evening's most indelible impression.

Talking with Morning Light coaches Robbie Haines, Stan Honey and big Mike Howard
during the reception prior to the screening left no doubt that they all held
very high opinions of each of these young men and women. Watching the reactions
of these team members during the film gave me a far better understanding why
their coaches feel that way. What a great bunch of kids they seem to be, and
Disney's masterfully edited documentary certainly captured the full gamut of
their emotions during this life-altering adventure.

Did I like the film? You bet I did! And I'm also very sure that Scuttlebutt
readers will enjoy it every bit as much as I did. Will the film have 'legs'
outside of the sailing community? I have no idea, but Roy Disney certainly has a
very positive outlook on that subject.

One thing I am sure about -- Roy and Leslie Disney have presented the sailing
community with a true treasure.




The Publisher
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Oct 15, 2008, 9:02 AM

Post #4 of 5 (3841 views)
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MORNING LIGHT
Hollywood World Premiere
Brian Tulloch, MD.

For those not in the movie business a Hollywood Movie World Premiere is not a common experience. However, for interest in their kids & sailing, a group of parents & wellwishers were treated to just that with the recent Hollywood World premiere of Roy Disney’s rugged feature film “Morning Light”.

Two years ago Roy Disney, himself a seasoned offshore racer and longstanding sponsor of California Youth Sailing, got the idea of making a real life drama starring the youngest group of sailors to compete in the 2225 mile Trans-Pac race from LA to Hawai’i. The idea was put out on the college & sailing internet, & he invoked the talents of six Nationally renowned sailors to sort thru the 600-odd applicants to a 30 member short list, then put the contestants, (mostly college dinghy aces with a few special cases) into 37 ft keelboats off Newport Beach to assess their teambuilding talents. None had any formal acting experience, none was needed for there was no formal script, theirs was to be a record of each individual’s response to the challenges of a vigorous unknown.

The successful 15 were then trained over 6 months in Hawai’i by Round-the-World Race winners in a 52 ft thoroughbred racing machine. One watched while the young sailors moved from awed juniors into a team of seasoned Offshore racers as they were put thru successively more rigorous offshore conditions around the windy shores of the Hawai’ian island chain. Even non-sailors would laud their brave responses to adversity as each groped with the rigors of seasickness, of night navigation, & of taming a wild racing machine in large waves & sudden squalls, when the boat would suddenly need a vigorous sail change under rough dark dangerous conditions. Conversely one shares the pathos of a ace Harvard lady helm who, having fractured her wrist snowboarding during a recess half-way thru training, wonders of she’ll heal it soon enough to ever make the team again.

The show then moves to the starting line off Los Angeles, where the young sailors meet their “Great Competitor” in the form of a matched sister ship owned by a win-at-all costs California Real Estate tycoon, whose marine gorilla crew consisted of some the best Round-the-World sailors that money could buy. There are wonderful shots of the seconds counting down to the start, of the tight competition on the first windward beat to Catalina Island, and then a sudden sense of let-down as the fleet runs into near-doldrum flat seas and scant wind on the edge of the Pacific High. From the top of a 60ft mast a young sailor gazes balefully over the near-motionless seas, not a competitor in sight, but soon the winds pick up again and the team finds afresh the joys of riding the waves under the colors of a huge asymmetric spinnaker.

Suddenly out of the early dawn light looms Samba Pa Ti, the “Great Competitor”, and there follows some riveting footage of ocean thoroughbreds duking it out speed for speed, sailtrim for sailtrim, each clawing for a windward advantage. Each step of the excitement is followed from a high-speed catamaran whose giant telephoto lens recorded the drama from a discreet distance. Gradually one passes the other, only to lose a spinnaker halyard & wrap it around the rudder, necessitating a mid-ocean reverse to retrieve valuable canvas while the joust’s recent loser sails off into the morning haze.

For five days of the 11 day race the two evenly rated boats match-race jibe for jibe, always in sight, then, with barely 150miles to the finish line one desperate navigator calls for a win-or-die gamble for more wind and boatspeed by diving nearly 50 miles South of the rhumb line. Would he ever make up the greater distance travelled with an advantageous increase in hullspeed??

Magnificent below-deck shots by an on-board non-competitor cameraman convey the rigors of cramped bunks, scanty food and the need to make difficult navigation decisions with limited satellite weather data. Even the non-sailor gains fine insight into the challenge of maintaining good teamwork & high morale with limited sleep, of staying with good nutrition and body hygiene under rigorous offshore conditions. To preserve weight the on-board food choices were limited to astronaut-type rations, and when the race lasts longer than planned, the challenge moves to ekeing out scant food supplies as the hungry undergrads dream of non-existent mounds of steak, lobster & french fries. Over the 11days of the race some more vigorous crew members lost up to 15lbs of their body weight.

Excitement builds as the shadow of the Hawai’ian island chain looms over the horizon, and the young mariners are left with the final hurdle of a night passage thru the Molokai Channel where the NE trade winds are funneled down steep island valleys to produce sudden wind shifts and fierce knock-down squalls.

True to her name, Morning Light trims her spinnaker to sail the rugged finish line off Diamond Head’s red buoy just as the first rays of dawn color the Eastern Sky. There are stunning helicopter shots of the final minutes as a weary crew dowse their great colored frontsail to head into Waikiki Yacht Club, replete with crowds of cheering fellow competitors, welcoming family, real solid food and a longed-for hot freshwater shower.

Sailors, parents of outdoor kids and lovers of a good offshore sailboat adventure should not miss this Disney sailing spectacular, fun for the whole family. The film is on general release in many local movie theatres from October 17th.

(The author, veteran of 6 long-distance Fastnet races & father of the only girl to sail with the crew, completed the 2007 Trans-Pac race on the Santa Cruz 50 “Stag’s Leap/Chasch Mer”).




The Publisher
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Oct 16, 2008, 3:15 PM

Post #5 of 5 (3728 views)
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From Casey Schnoor:
My wife, my 5 yr. old daughter and I attended the premier of the Morning Light film last Tuesday night in San Diego. We thoroughly enjoyed the film! The story line was entertaining and the sailing well represented. I had previously had the pleasure to meet and share some navigation chats with ML crew Piet van Os before the PV race earlier this year and was very impressed with him, but what an impressive group of young adults as a whole and what a stellar program Roy Disney, Robbie Haines and all the others developed. The film was extremely well done!

It was also a treat for me to share with my wife (an inshore\coastal racer) and daughter (a Sabot beginner) something of what it is like when I go offshore as well as share a story or two from my first Transpac ride aboard Shamrock (an early Disney yacht). It gave them some great perspective of life at sea and left me anxious to see the film again. I would recommend to all of our sailing and non-sailing friends alike to go see the film! It is a worthwhile investment.

I also send a hearty well done to Roy, Robbie, the crew and the supporters and a sincere thank you to Roy for his significant commitment to creating this project and bringing it to the public.


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