WWRD

We all have our pet peeves....you know those things that drive us up a wall....things that push our patience and tolerance to the limit....things that drive us skitzo crazy. Those of you that check into this blog every now and then probably have heard me rant on about boating " pundit-experts"......they are in every marina, on every dock, and are all over the Internet on every sailing discussion group, bulletin board, and maritime forum.....these are the obnoxious "Forum Holes. No matter what you want to do or try or design or plan, these guys will tell you why it won't work, why it won't happen, and/or whats wrong with your actions and thinking processes. They know which boats are best and will babel  on and on. Their criticisms and opinions are endless......"OK"...you must be thinking....."whats this got to do with anything?" I'm getting there. 

For the last few months the sailing websites have been ablaze with Forum Hole remarks, criticism, and derogatory commentary about Robert Redford's latest film All Is Lost. These guys are going on and on and on and on about the mistakes that Redford's character makes when confronted with a crisis at sea. They lambaste the movie as Hollywood drivel with no semblance of real seamanship. The experts are posting lists on the Internet of all the things that the solo sailor, Redford, did wrong in the movie. It's like they get a woody when they discover a new faux paux in the film........

Here are a couple of things to think about after viewing the film. Nowhere in this movie is there anything that indicates that Redford is supposed to be a Robin Knox-Johnson professional type  sailing master.....actually the impression is that he's an ordinary guy who for some reason takes his ordinary boat on a voyage and encounters an extraordinary situation and handles this crisis with an ordinary sailor's skill set. As the film progresses Redford's character learns 
from his less than optimal actions and moves forward toward survival......I don't know about you but I've screwed up a zillion times out there on the water. Hopefully you learn something from the err of your actions and become a better sailor. Just like Redford did in the movie.......

Secondly: Did you ever stop and think the the writers of this movie purposely scripted all the glaring and subtle errors and misjudgements in seamanship skills on the part of Redford's character to create a "wheres Waldo" scenario around the film in an effort to motivate the sailing pundits and Forum Holes to view the film multiple times in an effort to flaunt their critical seafaring eye and thereby impressing their sailing cohorts by  discovering and documenting new, previously overlooked mistakes by the character? 

Its a good movie. You can take your kids to this on. Go see it. Leave your critical eye on the boat and just enjoy the film 

Oh!!! WWRD......What Would Redford Do....?

From a T-shirt .....

Take care my friends......peace to you all.....