Rock The Boat

Friday, November 13 2009

"Rock the Boat" is a documentary about a group of HIV sailors who manned the yact "Survival" in the Trans-Pacific Yacht Race from California to Hawaii in 1998 (7?).  The film was written and photographed by my friend Bobby Houston, who gave me a "burned" disc to watch.  Last night I finally checked into a BandB that had a VCR in the room so I was able to watch it.

The film opens with a Bobby more than a decade younger than when I met him talking about the devastation HIV and AIDS had wreaked amongst his friends and colleagues.  He had given up script writing but when a friend, Robert Huston, decided to assemble a crew for the Trans-Pacific yacht race, he persuaded Bobby to shoot the voyage and make it into a documentary.

It's an altogether engaging story of talented and wounded men who are HIV positive, several in various stages of AIDS, who have gone into life's storm and emerged stronger.  I must find out how Bobby was able to do all those shots from above, and how those men reacted to being filmed 24/7.  There were a few times I thought I might get seasick from all the bouncing around amidst huge waves, but that does give the viewer a certain sense of verisimillitude.

The crew of  Survivor set out to win.  They came in 19th.  But they made it on a yacht with bad sailing karma (and a nasty deceitful owner) with a crew that was put together in a few weeks.  It's a wonderful story, well told, and I can't wait to get home to give Bobby a big hug and thank him for enabling me to watch it.  Everyone should.