Hold Fast
Moxie Marlinspike, in association with the Anarchist Yacht Club, is the filmmaker behind this "hastily made on a computer with a 14-day return policy" documentary about the everyman sailor.
After a short black-and-white photo-based history lesson about how the advent of fiberglass boats allowed for people outside top tax brackets to become sailors, and some of history's most maniacal sailing feats, the film focuses in on the four fixtures of the film; Lisa, a perfectionist overachiever with an unmatched attention to detail, a dedicated navigation aficionado named Allie, a strong-willed but often discombobulated crew member with a penchant for dropping things into the ocean going by Kirsten, and lastly the hippy narrator and sole male in the crew, Moxie.
The story begins with Moxie answering an ad in the newspaper for a $1000 sailboat located near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. John, the man who placed the ad, picked Moxie up from a nearby train station and shuttled him to the canal that ran through his back yard where a Pearson 30 model sailboat resided. The condition of the vessel was a disparaging one - no mast, no engine, no fittings, no bulkheads, no hatch cover, just the fiberglass shell - but John offered to let him work on the boat at the ramshackle dock where it was located for a while.
After sending pictures to the others and getting the thumbs up, he pulled the trigger and bought it. He would spend three days working sunup to sundown on his own before the others joined him, after which they lived as vagabonds in a multi-million dollar Ft. Lauderdale home while working to get the boat sea-ready.
They would quickly learn that much of sailing is made up of working on the boat itself, where they found something was always breaking - there are few environments that are worse for wood and metal than being at sea. The remainder of the film is comprised of their travels through the Caribbean and then up the Eastern seaboard, with a multitude of pseudo sailing tips for the layman peppered in, and back down to Haiti where Moxie takes his leave from sailing and goes his own way.
My daughter and her husband (in their early 40s) set off from Seattle with their middle schooler kids a year or so ago on a catamaran, wintered in Baja, and will be passing through the Canal soon. There was some concern when they headed out as they were unable to find any experienced crew to accompany them down the Pacific coast but relied on their classes and Puget Sound experience and it's all gone well thus far.
However, based on my own commercial experience 50 years ago in SE Alaska on geodetic survey boats, I'd hire ANY of the film's subjects to crew on any voyage I was planning to undertake. They're courageous, resourceful and hardy young people, every single one of them. They make me proud and give me faith in their generation, at least the ones on screen. Fair winds and following seas to them all.
Total legends.
Hilarious (?) that even something like this attracts internet commentators oblivious to the fact that what they see in other people that triggers them is a reflection of their own traits
Spectacular reality/documentary film! Beautifully and hilariously narrated. The film really transcends most descriptions. Four engaging people made a statement about sailing and living together on a 30 ft boat. Thank you for sharing those experiences with the world!
Lisa, S/V Pestilence - Love y'all! What are you up to these days? Can we follow you on line anywhere? Much love! Janine
I think there are some real take-home messages from this video. It's excellent.
1) Self-actualisation - Focus on doing what you want to do, and just make it happen with the help of people around you. I've talked a lot about doing something like this, and these guys just did it. Well done.
2) The risk of going out there with less experience and equipment has an opposite in the risk of saving for twenty years to do it differently and having wasted a lot of time to make the same trip in a less adventurous way. There is also the risk of never getting out there because something gets in the way. Just get on with it.
3) The women in the film impressed me a lot. I think that comments about their appearance or "quality" reflect very badly on the posters. Posting rude comments about real people online is ignorant and betrays a lack of empathy. Making women think that they will be judged primarily on how they look, rather than what they do...I can see why feminists keep moaning about it.
I loved it. Good group of people. Too often "sailors" will tell you that "you must have this or that" etc etc. Ive sailed everywhere from Lake Superior to Ecuador, and have met some awesome people without a "pot to piss in". Sailing takes a certain "jenesequa" that money, no matter how much of it you have, can buy. These people have that in spades. Hopefully we will run into each other on the blue one day, like to buy you all a beer.
A beta male ad three old slapper hipsters play act....I expect to see these morons at the next march for something or another...
Excellent effort guy's!
Mad amounts of respect for you and your thoroughly charming crew, mate. I hope your luck has held and you're all keeping dry.
The only thing I might wonder is, all the history of solo global circumnavigation and no mention of the original maniac sailer, Joshua Slokum. It's just that my Dad who was a navy man prior to getting his wings in WW2 raised me on the book, "Sailing Around The World Alone." It's a great read if you pick it up.
This seems like a lot of fun, but I could never do this, because they would all be pregnant and I would have a lot of child support to pay.
neat film, enjoyable crew. Sharpen your damn knife!!
really enjoyed your experience, thanks so much for sharing it with everyone. When i bought my sailboat i got my 3 daughters to watch this. they loved it as well. Thanks again.
Amazing ....
Adventure starts when sh*t goes wrong and sh*t went wrong when you chose that boat! Ha ha wow.
What an adventure! I think this was simply amazing. A great tale of some great kids getting of their backsides and going on a very cool adventure. On top of that ... some bloody good sailing.
I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for sharing.
This is a cool documentary. It's not some crazy award winning doc, just cool. Which is what I think he was going for.
hahaha "the narrator 'moxie' was the sole male of the crew" are you sure about that? i'm sorry to tell you this, but no dude calls himself "moxie"
They really should have chosen a different narrator.
Don't see how anyone can say anything negative about this trip and film, really good.
I commend you on living mostly luck though. I suppose taking a derelict boat without redundancy is fine if its your thing. I agree with a little of your philosophy at the beginning of the video, but was disenchanted by your lack of consideration or respect for the sea as far as safety it stands to encourage others to one day be rescued by the coast guard or worst. Sailing is certainly for some of us the ultimate expression of freedom thru lifestyle, but please do remember that the capitalism you so despise provided the manufacturing of your hull, the salvaged scrap, and many other things. I grew up playing in the Everglades, sailing all around Florida, and fishing everywhere but I know the engine that produced even the scraps that came to me. I learned to make use of a system to get me the things and proper equipment to live that lifestyle correctly please do the same your experience can be so much more.
Narration was SUPER weak. Still entertaining, but wow, missed opportunity with the amateurish dialogue.
Awesome! What a wonderful adventure. I was fortunate to grow up with parents who always had sailboats. Loved the history you provided. Mahalo for providing a window into alternative lifestyles!!
Spent about three years sailing from Australia back to North America, and three more on the East U.S. coast, Bahamas, and Honduras, and this film brought back some great memories.
Best of luck to you Pestilence, where ever you may roam.
Thanks for making this!! I'm ready to FTW
Great story, it's a shame they didn't film the mounting of the mast. I'm building a catamaran myself and can appreciate the dificulties these people had to overcome. -And I didn't like the way they tortured that fish to death.
Can someone tell me the name of the song played at 1:08:00?
it was ok. but the trip seem to lack direction purpose. just seemed to be a trip for the heak of it. the strengths were they seemed to get along. but that boat was way to small for that trip. however the crew was formidable. i like too see this crew in a 50 ft by 25 sailing to north pole south pole. i think this boat isno good for them.