The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail

May 9, 1984

2h 30m

★ 9.0

Three 52 minutes documentaries about the final days of working sail.

Overview

Neil Hollander sailed a ten-meter sailboat nearly 25,000 miles meeting and working alongside those men who still earned their livings using sailboats. This book recalls the authors' experiences with eight surviving craft, all representative of distinct cultures or geographic locations.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Adventure Film Productions

The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

Orson Welles

In 1967, a young David Lynch grabbed his new Bolex 16mm camera, to film his friend and mentor Bushnell Keeler and brother Dave Keeler sailing on the Chesapeake Bay in Bush's King's Cruiser. This was David Lynch's very first film, which he prefers to call a "home movie". It depicts a man, a painter, who changed David's life forever pursuing the artist's life, which he continues to this day.

8.6

Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World

Aug 1, 2017

The vessel is Infinity, a 120-foot hand-built sailboat, crewed by a band of miscreants. The journey, an 8,000 mile Pacific crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a stop in Antarctica. Unlike all the other boats heading to the Southern Ocean, Infinity is no ice-reinforced super-yacht crewed by professional sailors; rather, Infinity lives in the moment and sails on a whim. What can be found in abundance on board is blood, sweat, enthusiasm, risk tolerance, disdain for authority, and an ample supply of alcohol – all in all a mad voyage of reckless adventure just for the sheer joy of it. Along the way the crew will battle a hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea, assist the radical environmental group Sea Shepherd in their fight with illegal whalers, and tear every sail they have. At the heart of their journey is a quest for awe and a sense of wonder with the raw power of the natural world.

0.0

Under 30

Invalid Date

No overview available.

0.0

Water Sports

Oct 26, 1935

This short film showcases water sports activities such as sailboat racing and surfboard riding, including Christian Peterson doing a human surfboard at 45 mph.

0.0

The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific

Sep 1, 1983

In hand-built, double-hulled canoes sixty feet long, the ancestors of today's Polynesians sailed vast distances using only the waves, the stars, and the flights of birds to navigate. Anthropologist Sanford Low visits the Caroline Islands of Micronesia to meet Mau Piailug, the last navigator initiated on his island and one of few men still practicing this once-essential art. He demonstrates his skill by sailing a replica canoe 2500 miles from Hawaii to Tahiti with no modern navigational instruments.

0.0

Home Is the Ocean

Sep 25, 2025

Over the past 20 years, the Schwörer family has sailed around the world while sharing their expedition examples of nature’s true beauty and inspiring people to live in balance with nature. Along the way, their family has grown, with six children being raised on their sailboat.

10.0

At Sea

Sep 7, 2024

AT SEA is a visceral and poetic short film that blends docu-style realism with narrative fiction, following a group of faceless sailors navigating the unpredictable seas of Greece. Through the fragmented memories of an unreliable narrator, the film weaves together a non-linear story that shifts in mood with each chapter, offering a fresh perspective on the sea. Based on true events… almost.

10.0

Mergui

Nov 1, 2018

Using nature shots with narration and a musical score, this documentary tells the story about the Moken, Myanmar's last sea nomads.

0.0

Under the Hull: an 11th Hour Racing Team Documentary

Jun 15, 2022

Under the Hull takes viewers behind the scenes as the Newport, Rhode Island based team lines up against the masters of the sport of offshore sailing – the French – in the build-up to the double-handed race across the Atlantic. From the building of a brand new, state-of-the-art 60-foot foiling race boat, to the physical, mental and onboard training, the film gives unrivaled insights into the highs and lows as the four sailors, supported by an international shore team, prepared their two entries – Mālama and Alaka’i – for the race of the year.

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0.0

Holland Sailing

Dec 21, 1956

This Sportscope series entry highlights sailboat races in Holland.

The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail Trailers