|
Hokulea
Stars in a Disney Movie
Today off Diamond Head, the Hokulea was a floating movie set.
Helicopters with cameras hovered overhead.
The actors are 14 high school sailing students who were chosen out
of hundreds to play crew members training for a yacht race from
California to Hawaii.
"We came together as a group of 30 in Long Beach in August and
that was for the selection trial so this is our first experience as a crew
of 15," said Punahou student Mark Towill.
The movie is being made by Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt
Disney and an avid sailor. His dream of making a film about the
youngest trans- Pacific sailing crew brought him together with
Hawaii's own master navigator Nainoa Thompson. Together they
share special respect for the ocean.
"As it happened, we met Nainoa Thompson, who runs Hokulea, and
he set the parallels between what we were doing and what he does
with youth," Disney said.
"What's common is that he loves the ocean. He is a man that loves
deep sea sailing and he is a man that realizes that these are powerful
schools, these vessels," Thompson said. "And he just wants to help
young people grow and that's exactly what we do."
While on board, the teenagers learned the ancient art of Hawaiian
navigation and sailing. Thompson says the skills they learn will help
them prepare for the grueling trans-Pacific race next year, but more
importantly, bring them together as a team.
"My great hope is that they become a family at sea and they are
going to take care of each other and they are going to do they best
they can," Thompson said.
The Disney film about the crew's adventure will be released late next
summer in theaters nationwide.
|
The film featuring the
Hokulea will
be released late next summer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
