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Disney
finds happy place at sea
Roy Disney, conqueror of Michael Eisner, nephew of Walt
Disney, longtime Disney Studio fixture, famous yachtsman,
is on the line from his home in Toluca Lake, and he asks me
if I have been watching the conclusion of the America's Cup.
I pause momentarily, and reply, `Eh, no, I didn't catch it."'
Of course, when it comes to television, I also don't watch
billiards, bowling, poker, Seinfeld reruns, "Sex In The City,"
"Desperate Housewives," "Law And Order," "CSI Miami" and
all those nauseating reality shows.
"Oh, what an ending it was!" says Disney, who put an
ending to Eisner's regime with the Disney corporation in the
summer of 2005 after a well- publicized effort to dethrone
him.
"It was the most dramatic finish I've ever seen in sailing.
Alinghi won by one second. One second! Can you imagine
that!"
"That's just unbelievable," I respond, as though I actually
know that Alinghi is the defending champion from
Switzerland and that it wound up edging the gallant New
Zealanders.
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 Roy Disney adjusts the record time on the
Transpac record trophy after setting a record in
1999. He hopes to get it back this month. He
has won the race twice, setting records both
times. (Rich Roberts / For the Press-Telegram) |
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As well as being involved in the entertainment business
for so many of his 77 years, Roy Disney also has
been an avid sailor, as he has participated in the Transpacific Yacht Race 16 times, winning it twice
(1997
and 1999) and setting records on both occasions.
But after Disney's boat Pyewacket - named after the magical cat in the 1958 Kim Novak film "Bell,
Book
And Candle" - lost to the German industrial software tycoon (SAP) Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory
in 2005,
he announced he was retiring from the sport and even donated the Pyewacket to the Orange Coast
College School of Sailing and Seamanship.
But his retirement was even briefer than those of Muhammad Ali and Pele, not to mention Floyd
Mayweather Jr.
"Almost as soon as I said I was retiring, I knew I was making a mistake," says Disney. "And
so three
months later I was back on the seas doing what I love."
Still, there was a compelling incentive for Roy Disney's return.
He wanted to regain the Transpac record that was established by Morning Glory, as it finished two and
a
half hours ahead of the Pyewacket and traversed the 2,225 nautical mile distance from San Pedro to
Honolulu in a mere six days, 16 hours, four minutes and 11 seconds which exceeded the seven-day, 11-
hour, 41-minute, 27-second record that the Disney boat had established two years earlier.
"Definitely, one of the reasons I'm back is to regain the record," says Disney, who will be
skippering a 21-
man crew on the Pyewacket - he has rented it back from Orange Coast College and lengthened it from 86
feet to 94 - in the Transpac that will commence on July 15. "With the modifications we've made
on the
boat, it should be a lot faster. And if the winds are right, there's no reason why we can't set a new
record."
It's estimated the modifications on the Pyewacket cost over a million dollars, but money isn't exactly
a
pressing issue for Roy Disney, a major Disney shareholder with 16 million shares and whose private wealth
has been estimated to be $1.2 billion by Forbes Magazine.
In fact, Disney probably invested another two or three million dollars to sponsor still another boat
that will
sail in the Transpac, a 52-footer that will be manned by youngsters between the ages of 18 and 23.
"A businessman from Newport Beach and a friend, Tom Pollock came up with the idea," says Disney.
"He
just thought it would be neat to put together the youngest crew ever to sail on Transpac."
Roy Disney agreed, and his film instincts immediately kicked in, as he saw the documentary possibilities
of
such an unusual setup. He talked to some executives at Disney, and they green- lighted the project,
not
exactly a surprising development since I'm not sure anyone would be anxious to rebuke the person who
ousted Michael Eisner.
And so a feature-length documentary film - it will be called "Morning Light," which is the
name of the boat -
will be shot of the Transpac voyage and of the 11 crew members that were selected from 538 applicants
doing their chores during it.
"This is going to be the ultimate reality film," says Disney.
"Nothing rehearsed. Nothing staged. It'll be all about what a bunch of young people will be doing
on their
first long oceanic journey."
The "Morning Light" will be released in the spring of 2008, and will be produced by Roy Disney
and Pacific
High Productions in association with Disney Studios.
Disney was a licensed pilot when a friend invited him to go sailing in 1958, and before you knew it
he was
hooked on such a pastime, especially after participating in the Newport to Ensenada yacht race as a
lark.
"I discovered that sailing aerodynamics were similar to flying aerodynamics," says Disney.
"And I quickly
discovered I just loved everything about sailing."
As the skipper of the Pyewacket, Disney says his duty is "to make sure the boat is going as fast
as it can
go at all times."
"You have to make sure the right sails are up at the right time," says Disney. "And you
also consult a lot
with the navigators about the weather. Luckily, we now are able to get good weather information."
Roy Disney is a Southern California native who attended high school in the Valley at Harvard- Westlake
-
it was known only as Harvard when he went there - and who graduated from the University of Pomona.
His father, whose name also was Roy Disney, co-founded Disney Studios and was its CEO for 32 years -
and his uncle, Walt Disney, is famous for, among many other things, the creation of Disneyland.
"I had a great relationship with him (Walt Disney)," says Disney. "He didn't play any
favorites, but he was
always fair. I got along with him well."
Roy Disney didn't get along well with Michael Eisner.
He felt Eisner was mismanaging the Disney company, and established a Web site called SaveDisney.com
when he was feuding with Eisner.
"We were getting over 500 e-mails a day in support of us," he says.
Roy Disney eventually would prevail, and now he hopes to prevail in the Transpac and set a record in
the
process.
"I feel tremendously confident that we'll do well," he says. "But the sea, oh, the sea
can be so
unpredictable. A lot of things have to go right for you to win this race. But we'll give it our best."
Doug Krikorian can be reached at doug.krikorian@presstelegram.com
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TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
