Stupid Sailing Movies

Krumpe, Andrew (AKrumpe@dgo.com)
Thu, 30 Sep 1999 15:27:10 -0400


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Last night my wife and I rented a movie called, "Kidnapped in Paradise." The
scenery (Puerto Rico) was beautiful, the actors and actresses were good
looking, the script wasn't the greatest, but the screenwriter's knowledge of
sailing must have been nil. There is lot's of sailing action, but I don't
know how they even got underway with commands like, "Let's raise the
mainsheet," or with scenes showing a slight woman raising the mainsail on a
45-50 foot sloop (or ketch - I can't remember...). First the camera shows
the sail going up... up....... about 10 feet from the masthead. Then it cuts
to show the woman winching it up, and she's cranking ever so slowly and
easily, smiling and flirting, and there's obviously no load on the line.

Another scene has the 2 sisters fighting to the point of the landlubber
asking to be brought back to the island. She and her sister now hate each
other, and she wants her sister and her fiancée to take her back to the main
island. They're out anchored in some secluded cove on another island, it's
night, and the fiancée gets on the VHF and says, "This is the vessel _______
(I forget). We are anchored in _________ cove on __________ island. We are
requesting anyone to come pick up a passenger to take back to the main
island." Hmmm, if I were that woman, I'd really begin to wonder how
reality-based the screenwriters were...

Anyway, the plot is predictable and the performances are... eh, but it's fun
to watch if for no other reason than showing us all how much we really DO
know about sailboats. Does anyone else have any other stupid boating movies
they could recommend? Thanks.

Andrew Krumpe
WWP 19 "Great Wight"
Portsmouth, NH