What can we say, we love sailing.
Sailing is different things to different people. Some like racing fast yachts, others like traveling by sailboat, even some like traveling by the sea because of all the other activities that lend themselves to a life at sea.
When we’re not on our boat out sailing, we love watching movies, shows and documentaries about sailing.
Listed below is a list of movies, films and documentaries we have really enjoyed over the years. Some we like better than others, some we have watched over and over through the years. Interestingly many of these stories are based on true stories or are actual documentaries. Sailing can be exciting.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World
This movie is based on a Patrick O’Brien novel. If you’re not familiar with the Patrick O’Brien series they are wonderful. I have not read them all, but every one I have read is fantastic.
Set during the Napoleonic wars, this movie follows a British warship tracking a French privateer. Apparently the director was meticulous about everything from the rigging to the sailors uniforms. It shows. This is a great movie.
Wind
The America’s Cup is the world’s oldest trophy. For 132 years no one could pry it from the United States hands.
This movie is loosely based on Dennis Connor, who embarrassingly lost the Cup to the Australians and then won it back. I don’t think you have to be a racing sailor to appreciate the effort and money that goes into the Americas Cup. This is a unique movie about the cup and how much effort is placed on winning the Americas Cup.
Pirates of the Caribbean
I lumped the entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise together even though they all have different plots and are now apparently moving to new characters. At present there are five in the series, with a reported sixth on the way.
Everyone loves Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character. It’s a great role for him, but I hear that is coming to an end.
In my opinion, the first in the series is the best, but they are all entertaining.
Captain Ron
This is one of my favorite sailing movies of all time. Kurt Russell and Martin Short team up in a hilarious movie about a suburban family learning to sail with the rough around the edges, vagabond sailor that is “Captain Ron.”
You will be quoting this movie for the rest of your life.
White Squall
This is a great movie based on a true story starring Jeff Bridges about a sailing prep school disaster. Set in the 1960’s Caribbean, White Squall has a lot going for it. The movie is really more about school life and the trials, tribulations and relationships aboard than the sailing disaster.
You can’t go wrong with White Squall on your watch list. It is very well done.
Chasing Bubbles
The footage from this documentary was shot by a young man who circumnavigated on his very small boat with several friends. However, the documentary was actually made by his friends using the footage, photos and stories from the people who were on the journey.
This is a sailing classic. Available for free on Youtube.
Coyote: The Mike Plant Story
This documentary about Mike Plant, a solo racing sailor is quite unique, as is Mike Plant. We had never heard of Mike Plant, but the story is a good one. The world of solo sailing is dominated by the French, but Mike Plant was making waves and building momentum.
We were pleased we took a chance on this one, we had no idea what it was about.
The Mercy
There have been many solo around the world sailing races, The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 was the first.
The Mercy is the story of Donald Crowhurst and his entry and competition in the race. It is really an unbelievable story. I read a book about Crowhust when I was in college and it seemed as bizarre then as the movie does today.
Deep Water
Deep Water is a documentary about the 1968 Golden Globe Race of solo sailors to race around the world. There are a lot of stories within the race, there was only one finisher. Tilda Swinton is the narrator.
Maiden
The Whitbread around the world race was the precursor to the current Volvo Ocean Race. The Whitbread was a crewed yacht race, and in 1989 and all female crew entered to race. This is the documentary about that crew and their skipper Tracy Edwards.
Dead Calm
This thriller starring Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane and Sam Neill is a masterpiece of what can happen out at sea when someone is not in the right mental state. In civilization you can simple call the police, when out on the high seas you don’t have this luxury.
I’m not particularly a psychological thriller type of fan, I prefer comedy or action, but this is a good move. Buckle up if you start to watch it.
Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World
An interesting kind of a documentary about a hand built 120 foot boat – Infinity and her crew as they sail from New Zealand to Patagonia. 16 crew with very little budget, the Infinity sailed 8000 miles with a stop in Antarctica sailing through the southern ocean. This is a very good story of modern adventure on a weird gypsy boat showing you there are still adventures to be had by real modern explorers.
Morning Light
This documentary follows the crew of Morning Light, a group of 18-23 year old’s as they train for and compete in the Transpac sailing race. The Transpac is a race from Los Angeles to Hawaii.
Maidentrip
A documentary about Laura Dekker, when she is 14 years old and sets out to be the youngest person ever to circumnavigate. The documentary is entirely filmed and narrated by Dekker herself. It’s as much about sailing as it is about growing up and dealing with life’s challenges.
A great uplifting tale.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
This comedy-drama with Bill Murray is kind of zany and out there. It is a parody of Jacques Cousteau, but only loosely. It is kind of quixotic and random but a lot of people like it. This is not particularly a sailing movie, but based on the sea.
The Perfect Storm
Although not a story about sailing, this true story of the sea, and the fisherman that work on her is fantastic. Based on the book by Linda Greenlaw, who is a commercial fishing captain in her own right, it is very well done. Big stars, big budget, this movie is everything it should be.
As usual, the book is better, but the movie is one of the best on this list.
Red Dot on the Ocean
The number of people who have sailed around Cape Horn is very small, even smaller is the number of people who have sailed through the Northwest Passage. Matt Rutherford has done both, he did them while sailing nonstop around the entirety of the North and South American continents.
Rutherford was the first to accomplish these feats. This is the documentary of his accomplishment, an amazing feat of seamanship.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Just about everyone has heard about the 1789 mutiny Fletcher Christian started aboard HMAV Bounty captained by William Bligh. This is the original 1962 movie with Marlon Brando. There have been multiple articles, movies and books written about the story. It is a world renowned story.
The survivors and descendants of the mutineers still live on Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific.
The Bounty
This is the 1984 version of the mutiny starring Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Liam Neeson. I’m not sure which one I like better, they are both good.
Kon Tiki (2012)
How was the Pacific Ocean, specifically Polynesia populated? Well, a Norwegian, Thor Heyerdahl had a theory. Unfortunately no one believed him. He thought people migrated from South America to Polynesia via the sea, he just had to prove it.
This is the tale of an epic voyage built on little else than Heyerdahl’s theory. This true story is a great movie
Kon Tiki (1950)
This is the Oscar winning documentary of Thor Heyerdahl’s original 1947 expedition. Also a great watch.
The Dove
In the summer of 1965, 16 year old Robin Lee Graham set sail from California on his 23 foot sloop hoping to circumnavigate the globe. This is the true story of his voyage. I have read the book, and of course it was better, but the movie does a good job of conveying the story.
Abandoned
In 1989 four crew set sail aboard Rose Noelle, a trimaran, from New Zealand bound for Tonga. They were hit by a rogue wave and capsized. They were drifting for 119 days until rescue. This is their true story.
Adrift
Based on a true story, Adrift is a harrowing tale of a couple that endure a hurricane in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while on a yacht delivery. Spending 41 days surviving aboard the yacht before being rescued, this is a movie about surviving in the Pacific Ocean.
Waterworld
Waterworld is a futuristic sci-fi fantasy film starring Kevin Costner where Earth is entirely water. This movie had a huge budget and was largely a flop at the box office. If you throw all of that out, it is a neat movie. It’s kind of like Mad Max on the ocean. It’s not for everyone, but I thought it was good.
The Weekend Sailor
This is a great documentary about the 1974 Whitbread around the world crewed sailing race and the Mexican skipper who no one had ever heard about entering the race.
Ramon Carlin, who was a weekend sailor, beat the best sailors in the world at their own game. This is the documentary about the race and the man. Great film.
The Old Man & the Sea
Based on the short story by Ernest Hemingway, if you haven’t read it, it’s a literary masterpiece. The Cuban fisherman is having a dry spell and manages to get a huge fish on the line. The story is what ensues.
The Old Man & the Sea: Return to Cuba
This is a documentary about Finbar Gittleman, a master sailor who left Cuba 50 years earlier when Castro took over. He returns to Cuba to see what happened to his homeland.
Following Seas
Following Seas is a documentary about a family of ocean voyagers and their travels. Bob and Nancy Griffith made 20 ocean voyages over 20 years. This is the story of their voyages, challenges and sacrifices along the way. It truly is a remarkable story.
Between Home
Nick Jaffe’s story of adventure as he decides to sail from the UK to Australia. He is an amateur sailor who had been living in Berlin and decided to sail home to Australia. This solo two year voyage of a lifetime is the result.
The Endurance
Most people have heard of Earnest Shackleton’s tale of survival in Antarctica. The expedition, which was to make it to the South Pole turned into a story of survival. One of the best survival stories ever, The Endurance is the true story of Shackleton’s crew and their survival in the wilderness of Antarctica for a year and a half.
One of the best true stories ever.
Hell or High Seas
The documentary of US Navy veteran Taylor Greiger and writer Stephen O’Shea’s sao;omg adventure around Cape Horn to raise awareness about the challenges veterans face as they exit active duty military service.
Moana
Moana is a Disney cartoon about a Polynesian girl who sets out on an epic adventure to save her village. I know this is a cartoon, but it’s really a great movie. Highly recommended.
Worst Sailing Movie: All is Lost
The worst sailing movie ever is All is Lost starring Robert Redford. Anytime I’m in a group of sailors talking about movies and someone brings up this movie, everyone will groan. This movie is a master class in what not to do in a sailing emergency. It’s kind of like if you had a fire in your kitchen and you stopped to make a sandwich, then emptied the dishwasher prior to putting out the fire. Yes, it’s that bad. Watch at your own risk.