Original subtitles

The Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii

is the loneliest stretch of water in the world.

A century ago this was a rarely-traveled route to paradise.

Now it's a race course for the lndianapolis 500 of the open ocean.

An athletic test of speed and endurance known as the Transpac.

Roy Disney knows these waters well,

with two wins and record-breaking passages

over the course of 16 Transpacs.

Now he's giving the next generation an opportunity

by offering rookies the chance of a lifetime.

Thirty hopefuls were chosen to try out

for a new Transpac campaign to be called Morning Light.

A team ofjudges pushed them hard for a week,

and by the end the 15 best and brightest had emerged.

- You ought to come to Hawaii with us. - No way!

The 15 sailors will train for six months

in the big winds and big seas off Hawaii

before choosing a crew of 11 to race from California to Diamond Head.

They will face more than 70 competitors,

and they'll try to match the legendary crew ofArgonaut from 1969,

a bunch of teenagers who borrowed their dad's boat and won it all.

This is the story of Morning Light.

This is gonna be my first story.

This is gonna be an epic story.

This is gonna probably be my favorite story.

How it all began for Jesse Fielding on the ocean, hopefully,

or it could just be a big flop.

Some of us are ready for the full boot camp.

Others feel as though they may be above the whole thing.

Everyone has to grow together before this race begins.

The Morning Light, a true experience for 15 young adults in Hawaii,

is also a very serious trial to see if we can measure up.

We wanted a chance to prove ourselves, to race against the best.

Once the race starts in California, all that matters is the Diamond Head buoy.

- Hey, Roy. - Hey, come on in.

- Welcome to Hawaii. - Thank you.

First, there's 15 of you here in the room,

and you know that only 1 1 of you can go in the boat.

lt's up to you to decide who stays and who goes.

l just don't want you thinking this is some kind of a game.

Right out the window there is the Diamond Head buoy.

That's the finish line of a 2,500-mile open-ocean race.

lt's dangerous out there.

One mistake could really put your lives at risk.

l always tell my crew, if you fall overboard, consider it a death sentence.

We're gonna train you to have a shot at winning,

and we're gonna train you to be safe out there.

l just hope you'll understand it's really about the journey.

l think it's gonna change every one of your lives.

There you go, guys. There's your weapon.

Sweet.

That is unreal!

- This is absurd! - That's pretty sick.

l think that was a significant event for the kids.

Kind of like when you give a kid the car keys.

We gave them the keys to this stripped-out racing machine.

Morning Light is aTP52.

A 52-foot boat that's fast for its size.

lt was originally designed to be perfectly suited for the Transpac.

lt's gonna get really cozy.

l've never done an ocean race.

l don't know that feeling of being alone in the middle of the ocean.

My parents are both doctors.

l always figured l would be a doctor,

but l get queasy at the sight of blood, so...

l have a fire in my heart to go and sail,

and my parents support my sailing 100 percent.

l've spent my whole life sailing in dinghies.

Really, it's all the same as a dinghy.

Just more purchases, more power, and more systems to get around the power.

lt was the first day out and l was on the wheel.

l've constantly been asked what it's like to be a girl on this team.

l always say l have long hair and shave my legs and that's the only difference.

But at the end ofthe day, sometimes l feel like l have more to prove.

l have to really show that l'm worth it.

lt's such a big boat l'm like, "l can't steer on these waves," but l can.

l would hope l could be the skipper or the helmsman on board.

l think that l may be qualified enough to do that,

but whoever it is will have earned the spot and deserve it.

lt's gonna be intense.

...Kalanianaole Highway from Kailua.

Waimanalo is clear across the Pali.

Kamehameha to Kahe Ko'olau. Looking good on the Likelike.

Your morning traffic, l'm Danielle Tucker,

Hawaiian 105, your Hawaiian music station.

l'm cranky this morning.

Looks like you're struggling to put the bread through.

Just so you know, l like green eggs and ham.

OK, it's 6:30.

My name is Graham Brant-Zawadzki and this is myjournal.

Our first week here was brutal but awesome.

Nice and quick.

Janelle, our trainer, is rad, but she kicks our asses.

And rest back on your right leg. Overhead.

Stand on your right leg first. Yeah, start on one side first.

OK. Quick on those toes.

Yeah.

We've got to get in much better shape. This is a powerful boat

and sailing her is going to be physically demanding.

We went through an extensive safety-at-sea course

that's never been done in this country.

Most ofwhat we learned was really cool.

Either it was totally new information,

or it took things most of us thought we knew about into greater depth.

The Coast Guard was hugely supportive.

They actually took a rescue helicopter out

and sent in a rescue swimmer.

Swimmer in the water. Swimmer in the water.

The experience showed me how intense the situation can get,

even in a totally controlled environment and calm sea state.

The most important thing l learned

is how much l never, ever wanna be stuck in a life raft.

Robbie Kane, January tenth.

l used to think l was invincible on a boat.

l soon realized how stupid it is to think that way.

The boat l helped run lost the bowman overboard in the Block lsland race.

His name was Jamie Boeckel.

Realizing that a pro ofthat level died that easily really scared me.

To lose a life because someone isn't trained in safety is just pathetic.

l think they will be the safest team out there.

But any time you leave the dock and go to sea, there's danger.

But whatever happens, you will finish that race.

By day two ofthe race, we'll be so far offshore

there's not a helicopter that can save us.

We are sailing by ourselves across the Pacific Ocean.

Everyone needs to be the best that they can be.

This is no joke.

We have to, you have to...

l think my navigational background,

being at sea in the Middle East for three months,

that's gonna help.

l'll check SailMail, come up, talk to you and Stan. l'll be up in a bit.

l'm putting my life on hold for a year to do this.

Some people at the Merchant Marine Academy are not too happy about that.

l'm very, very, very lucky to be here.

Ready to jibe! Jibing!

OK, main's out, main's out!

- Oh, no. - lt's not in yet.

Start pulling big. Big and hard.

- Ease back. - Hold.

We might have to go back on this one, boys.

Let's go back. Jibing back.

Sheet it in really hard to bring the nose down.

Jeremy is a badass.

He's the most knowledgeable sailor l've ever sailed with.

l'm Troll.

When l was a little kid,

when l used to get salt in my hair, it wouldn't go down.

lt used to just go straight up.

OK, stand by.

l was pretty much born into sailing.

My dad and my uncle were both two-time Olympians.

My brother won three world championships.

So l have a lot of shoes to fill.

Bring it on, guys.

When l get on a boat, l sort of... l'm a bit of a control freak.

- Get that kite in. - Kit Will. Kit is rad.

He's really mellow, which some people see as shy.

l hope people see how valuable an asset he is to the team.

Kit's invisible. You know, he may be the first guy on the crew

that l would ask to go on the ocean race,

'cause he has all the characteristics

- of a rock-solid offshore sailor. - Trim.

l was about ten, telling my parents l really loved sailing.

lt's how l related to the world, really,

feeling you're connected to the wind through the sails.

There's something about that connection that's amazing.

lt's a ratchet. That is the key to every winch.

We're gonna be out there for maybe ten days, on our own,

lf something breaks, we have to fix it. Chances are something will.

So remember, you've gotta go around the Pacific high.

ln the center of the Pacific high there's no wind at all.

lf you go into the high, you're gonna stop.

lt was an interesting group. Fair amount of dinghy experience, plenty smart.

That's correct. That's your secondary fuel filter. Right on. You got it.

But, in fact, none of this crew had crossed an ocean.

- Nice! - You get right, run your sail.

Steve has enormous potential as a sailor,

and the least amount of experience.

l don't think l'm the least experienced. The least is Graham, two years,

and l think l'm next in line with three years.

Do you know what it's like to go in the water with your clothes on?

That's gonna happen today. You're gonna wear your shoes and what you have on.

So you're gonna swim down to that end, come back here,

and you're gonna tread water for five minutes.

l had a hard time doing the swim test back in California.

l was very nervous.

- Keep coming. You're almost there. - Almost there.

You're almost there. Help him, help him.

OK, guys. Out of the pool. Nice job, everybody.

lt is really emotional for me. My mother passed recently.

She passed in February this year.

You're gonna go home to Baltimore. You're gonna learn how to swim,

'cause when you get to Hawaii, you better be ready or else.

Oh, my God! Oh, my God.

- Are you serious? - l'm serious. Very serious.

Oh, my God.

First thing l thought of was my mother.

l don't know. l just know she's proud of me, man.

You only get certain opportunities in life,

and if you don't hop on them, they'll go like that.

l live with my sister, and my nieces and nephews.

l don't even grasp the whole concept of sailing through the ocean,

and l'm quite sure that they probably don't either.

l think they do have, somewhat, a fearfor me.

Could be a chance that l might not make it back.

So we're gonna sail upwind, set a kite.

We're gonna have six people on deck. The rest will be down in your bunks,

and we're gonna simulate a man overboard with a kite up.

Steve's gonna jump over the side. He very nicely volunteered.

January 21st: l think the best way to overcome fear

is to face it head-on.

Anytime, Steve.

Go, buddy.

- Help! - Man overboard!

Pointing, pointing. Got him. Got him.

Pull him along, right? l got him.

- Don't look back. - Still have him?

You hit the water. lt takes five seconds to come up.

Then you see the boat, and it's half a mile away.

OK, kite down.

ln good breeze, every second counts,

especially when you're hauling ass doing 18 knots with the kite up.

Wait. What are you doing?

lt's not like you can pull the hand brake and spin the boat on a dime.

OK, gotcha.

Hold on, hold on. You need...

Come on, guys. Main in.

- He's out of sight. - He's right here.

Come on. Turn!

Here it comes!

All right, two big guys, we're gonna pick him up.

Off our bow.

Throw him a line!

- Welcome back, man. - Good job!

All l remember is feeling a sense of accomplishment as a group

that we got Steve back on that boat,

and he conquered a big hurdle in his life.

ln a real race, at night, in bad weather,

that training exercise will always be in the back of my head.

l thought we got back there quickly.

Definitely, you realize how quickly you get away from somebody with a chute up.

You were pointing at the ring? But she still couldn't see me?

l mean, l could see a little bit of fleck on the top of a wave.

But you went out of sight.

l wanna say a minute. Not even.

We're a team of 15. Every single person deserves to race.

We can't all go. Only 1 1 .

We as a team will be picking the four who stay behind.

As the youngest team member, this has been extremely nerve-racking for me.

Bring me back in, Chris.

Guys, l'd like to practice some jibes, ifwe got the time.

- Let's pre-check. - We're gonna go real slow.

All right, clear to jibe. Jibing.

Jibes are the turns that you have to do in order to get downwind,

because the boat can't sail directly downwind.

So instead, you sail 40 degrees one way,

turn, or you jibe, and then you sail 40 degrees offthe wind the other way.

Tacks are similar. Tacks are the turns that you have to do when going upwind.

OK, we're sailing again.

Sailing's always been a complex sport. lt's not that simple.

l mean, you could stay in it for a lifetime

and never have it figured out or perfected.

What is that? Push it a little!

Little bit too wimpy.

P.S., whoever said big boats are just like dinghies is full of it.

Screw-ups, kites in the water, kites exploding.

We need to sort these issues out ourselves

and learn to deal with them before this race begins.

Don't tear it!

Without a team focused in one direction, you're not gonna be successful.

First aid kit? Stocked.

Paper towels? Check. Toilet paper? Check. Coffee? Check. Soap?

Just make darn sure we've got enough life jackets.

We wanted the kids to be very familiar with finishing a Transpac race.

So we had them sail over to Molokai,

down the Molokai Channel and then come into Diamond Head.

OK. Let's go. You guys ready?

We had sent them off overnight by themselves completely.

Let's finish this race up and get outta here!

My first overnight.

lt was scary, wet, there was a lot of awkward flailing,

and l passed out before we finished.

A few other kids just puked the whole time.

That trip took it out of the whole team,

and that was just over 24 hours.

We were sloppy and out of shape.

They'd show up with the boat trashed. You know, everything a mess.

They hadn't really taken on, you know, this offshore seamanship.

And they weren't in any condition

to be able to continue sailing the way you have to when you cross an ocean.

At the current pace we will not be ready.

We're beginning to realize the need to push ourselves harder.

lfwe're gonna have these coaches, let's not waste them. Let's use them...

Even if you think it's obvious. lt could be something that's obvious, but...

...half of us wouldn't know, the people that do don't care.

The best thing is...

Everything hinges on the skipper and the leader.

On an hourly basis, they will decide ourfate on the Morning Light.

l want to say one thing for Genny.

'Cause there's been a lot of times where we've been hanging out as a group,

and if Genny says, "Hey, we need to be there now,"

everyone's, like, picks up their bags and we go.

Her organization definitely keeps us all together, l agree.

The way to get good at making those decisions is to be placed in them.

Who's into going to shore? Are we ready?

- OK, it's blowing. Blowing! - Yeah!

Mike Sanderson, who won the round the world race,

came in for a week to train the kids.

The second Moose stepped on the boat, we realized how unprepared we were,

how much we had to learn, how much he could teach us.

Faster, faster, faster, faster. Let it go.

They're not rock stars yet. You know, they're not professional sailors.

- Pull back. - We need to prove to ourselves

that we can sail this boat.

You're controlling the thing. You call, all right?

One minute, Towiller, keep talking to me.

Yeah, and smoke it. Smoke it.

Nice one. Basic dilemma. Yeah, baby.

Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.

Go, Jeremy.

l had never been part of a team that wants it more than Morning Light.

l've raced in five countries, endless practices on all types of boats

and this was my favorite day of sailing l've ever had.

l wish, at least, it was a good story.

l wish l could say l'd jumped off a cliff into the shallows

or was attacked by a shark while kitesurfing.

Something really fun and off-the-wall.

She didn't take our advice. She went snowboarding between two sessions.

l said, "You sure you wanna do that?"

And she said, "Oh, don't worry, Robbie. l'll be fine."

l sat down and cried.

All l knew was that it hurt,

and the major implications of having broken myself.

We wanted the kids to go offshore for three days.

Then they would meet us in Hilo.

She wanted to participate a lot more. We didn't allow her to do anything.

Good luck!

Disappointment.

Frustration. Loneliness.

- Bye, guys! - Bye!

We are now at the stage where we can sail 24-hour overnight sprints.

However, our race can be up to ten days long.

The Hilo trip will help us get into a rhythm of racing at sea

for several days at a time.

Everyone gets seasick. l don't care if you've sailed around the world.

Everyone does. You're just so uncomfortable.

Your bones ache, you can't think, you wanna just die.

Down below it's hot,

it's humid, it's wet, it smells.

For a navigator who's trying to stare at a computer,

and you're banging in the waves,

l don't care how tough you are, you're gonna get sick.

We kept the boat in solid condition in three days of extreme upwind sailing.

My stress level was at an all-time high.

lt sucks being here!

They showed up in Hilo after an absolutely heinous trip.

And beating in 30 to 40 knots in horrible seas.

Oh, and the boat's in perfect shape. Everything's neat as a pin.

Hey, Genny.

You guys miss me?

lt was good you didn't come, on a serious note.

- lt was... it was rough. - Did people fall over?

A lot of people yakked.

- Never going downwind. - My hands are swollen and sore.

My fingers are bent in from holding onto sheets for so long.

My legs are weak, and my cuts are infected.

This is ridiculous. Not doing anything.

When l landed in Hilo, l felt like l climbed a mountain

or broke through a wall.

The team's progressing, and l'm just stagnant.

The way back from Hilo is an opportunity for downwind sailing.

lt'll be a good test, because the Transpac is all downwind.

lt was perfect conditions. lt was all night long.

You know, hairball sailing the whole way. You know, 30, 35 knots.

And it was just wild.

lt was perfect practice for the kids.

We took them just down the north side of Molokai

and through the Molokai Channel

just like the finish for the Transpac.

l know l've probably ruined my chances of being the skipper.

Now l just have to hope l'll still make the race.

Genny's a great sailor and won't have any trouble

getting back to sailing the boat when she recovers.

l don't think she should be punished,

having to miss sailing this session

is way more punishment than anyone deserves.

So, yeah, it sucks all around.

By the end of it, the kids were pretty comfortable

with sailing their boat in a ton of breeze,

and it was pretty clear they were gonna come into it saying, "Bring it on."

There was one thing they weren't quite ready for:

picking the 1 1 who would sail the race.

l just think we should maybe see who wants to be a skipper,

as opposed to throwing everybody out and having a random discussion.

Maybe put your hand up if you want to be a skipper, l don't know.

Raise your hand if you want to be a skipper.

The skipper is the ultimate leader, the final decision maker,

the top in the hierarchy of control.

To start off, just with the past few passages...

just Jeremy, the way he puts everything, is very professional.

So Jeremy is definitely my vote.

l have complete confidence in Jeremy.

Troll, hands down.

Yeah, Troll. Troll, yeah.

Aussie's got my vote, too.

Troll...

l definitely want you to be the skipper

because the crap you say when... goes wrong

is just so funny.

lt's funny. So, l mean, l think, like...

l didn't expect the decision to be unanimous.

l'm just gonna say l love sailing with all of you.

l respect every one of you so much.

And it would be a huge honor...

l feel like, when the decision was made, l aged ten years.

We had lived, sailed, and partied together for four months.

That made this process that much harder.

After Jeremy was selected,

he elected to consult with Piet.

Here's the first question.

The two ofthem began bringing in chosen team members one by one.

l can't describe how stressful it was.

Two watch captains would be you and Schubert.

Underneath the skipper are the watch captains.

They are essentially the skipper of their watch.

Not only was l not a key player,

l was now sitting, sweating,

hoping just to still make the team.

Every person on this team deserves to race.

Even if l am lucky enough to actually go on the race,

it would be hard for me to know that l would be taking the place

of someone else who absolutely deserved to go.

Graham doesn't have a lot of hours sailing.

lfwe choose him, we'll have to put a lot of hours into him.

Robbie knows his bow team.

He knows who he wants to get backed up. We need him for this decision.

How long do you think this is gonna take?

- Hours. - What time did we start out again?

- l think it's going pretty quick. - Yeah.

- Seven-thirty-ish? - lt's 9:10 now.

Turtle, you've gotta be here because you...

lt's the front of your boat and we gotta know...

Robbie Kane was next to go in, and then Jesse made it.

We want you on the boat for the Transpac.

- You all right? - Yeah, l'm fine, dude.

- You can make it. - l'm focused.

- Yeah. - All right.

Towiller got called in, and that left four spots,

with eight of us still waiting.

We think you got a great personality.

We think you're very focused.

And you can drive a boat very nicely.

Thanks.

We've kept her out of here for a reason.

We can't hold her back. She's on our boat.

Come on, you injured soldier.

The relief on my face must have been palpable.

They still wanted me.

We expect you to heal, not break any more arms.

- No more skiing, snowboarding. - No more skiing.

Chris Welch followed Genny.

- Awesome. l'm in. - You wanna come?

Sign me up!

- Do you want to... Yeah? - Oh, yeah! Yeah!

And finally Branning was called in.

- How is it out there? - Quiet.

Five of us were left in the kitchen waiting for one more spot.

OK, guys, everyone else. OK, guys.

So, we brought you all in.

At the end of the day, we all are still the team, like l said.

But...

For this race we want to take Graham on the boat

just because we think his strengths that offer us

match what we're missing on the boat.

l think it's awesome

that Graham has been sailing for, like... two years, right?

And, like, to see him, like, just skyrocket,

he'd be on this level where l think that's really awesome

that you guys can see his improvement.

lt's almost impossible to explain how unhappy l was.

l wanted to call a cab, go to the airport,

fly standby out ofthat place.

lf l didn't think, like, the weight would slow us down that much,

l'd throw another life raft on the boat.

But you know this was gonna happen since the start.

l didn't understand Jeremy's choice at the time.

l don't think l ever will.

OK, here's our wave. Easing into it!

Didn't see that coming.

Get the spinnaker ready!

Eleven spots on the boat for the race. The other four will be alternates.

They have to be ready to go in case someone gets hurt.

The next day, l went out on the water with something to prove.

OK, transfer!

And l did some of the best sailing that day.

Probably the best sailing of my entire life.

Nice one, guys.

Here we go.

Help me, now.

Kit is just the sort of person you want offshore.

Eyes open, mouth shut,

and totally responsible and committed.

l was astonished when he wasn't selected by the kids for their race team.

Kit's like that silent guy on the boat.

You never really notice him until you're forced to.

He never has a problem. He does his job.

He does it so efficiently, you don't notice him.

So he's the type of guy who can just slip through.

- Ready on take-in. - Clear on the halyard! Jibe!

Graham's team spirit is just incredible.

lt's so vital to the team.

We have the team we are going to have.

And although it is not perfect, nothing ever is in this world.

Good jibe, guys! Good jibe on the main. Good jibe on the sheet.

Hook down.

Afterfour months in Hawaii,

we packed up the boat and headed back to the mainland.

By the time the boat was set up in California, my cast was off.

My arm was a little weak, but l was ready to go.

Bear food.

There's another TP52,

brand-new boat, Samba Pa Ti.

lt's a team of very, very highly trained professionals.

Samba's gonna be their toughest competition.

They've sailed more miles than l have on my used car.

That's a lot of miles.

These boats are powerful. They're only 52 feet long,

but they go faster than the sleds and maxi boats of the '70s or '80s.

We feel confident in the ocean. That's where a lot of us grew up.

Samba represents a lot of veteran ocean-racing experience.

We'll have to navigate better, and we'll have to sail the boat harder.

lf it's breezy, and if you have big seas,

you're gonna have to be a crew that can handle a boat in the open ocean.

And for inexperienced people, that's a big challenge.

Just days before the race, we got a surprise.

Hey, BZ, you got a minute?

l didn't know if l should do it, or how l should do it.

lt was the hardest thing l've ever had to do in my life.

OK, guys, pretty much there's just been some thoughts going through my head.

You know, you knew when you made me skipper,

if l see a way to get there any faster or...

you know...

So l've made a change to the crew.

And BZ's now...

...now alternate.

And Kit's gonna be coming on the boat.

lt's... l don't know, it's pretty tough.

l want to say l think it's the right thing to do.

l think Kit deserved it. And he's an awesome sailor, so...

You guys are better offwith him.

That was why we chose you, man.

You're an amazing team player.

We're gonna miss you.

lt's like breaking up with your girlfriend.

l know. l'm waiting for the slap.

Graham's more tasteful than the girls l go out with.

That's for sure.

We had come to the end of a long, intense six months.

The night before the race, we got a nice surprise.

Dim the lights.

- There it goes. - That's awesome.

l think everyone was on edge in terms of anticipation.

There was a lot of energy in the room.

Oh, my God!

l heard... Yeah.

Mark, we're so very, very proud of you.

We always knew that you would be sailing home one day.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

Genny girl, there have been Tullochs on the Pacific Ocean before.

Your grandfather sailed square riggers there

more than 150 years ago.

And now it's another Tulloch crossing the Pacific Ocean, this time on a race.

We hope you have fun. We hope you make lots offriends.

Make sure you don't hit any whales on the way over. Take care and good luck.

Everyone was happy to hear from their families.

- Hi, Christopher. - Mom.

l'm very happy and excited for you...

They are the root ofwho we are.

We love you from the bottom of our hearts.

And, as your father would say,

sail fast and stay on course.

Well, Robbie, beyond "good luck," be careful.

Like any parent, be real careful.

There was a common message of being safe, sailing fast,

and giving it all we can.

Enjoy every minute of it.

And just give them hell.

Jesse MacGowan Baker Ferguson Fielding...

you and your mom were so close, you shared a birthday.

And you had one more birthday...

lt was reassuring. But l don't need a reminder

that my mom is with me on a daily basis.

She wrote to you:

"Think you can, believe you can,

and you will.

Your mother. September '97."

l don't normally like to share that side with people...

...but in this case it felt right.

Good luck, Jesse. l hope you have a good time

and that you ask them if l should get a haircut.

l'll see you when you get there. Hope you have some good stories. Good luck.

Now leaving Rainbow Harbor, Skylark,

the Santa Cruz 70 out of Newport Beach, California.

Godspeed, Skylark. And aloha!

That dock was crawling with guys we've all read about or heard about.

lt's like getting to hit balls on the same driving range as Tiger Woods.

We've had our sights set on trying to beat Samba.

But we are the underdogs.

Next boat leaving, Samba Pa Ti.

l'm sick of practicing and preparing. l'm chomping at the bit.

Hawaii's closer than we think, so it'll be important for us

to push 100 percent all the time.

OK, Chris. Thanks for your help.

- We'll wait for you. - Can l have a hug?

Bring it in.

All right.

Let's do this.

Next up, a boat you've been reading aboutjust a little bit,

Morning Light!

Go!

Godspeed, Morning Light. And aloha!

lt's pretty powerful to realize this boat

is kind ofthe center ofthe earth for us, and now this is home.

These crew members, they're everything, you know. Everything.

Attention, Transpac racers.

- Five minutes to the start. - Got it. Five minutes.

OK, why don't you go down below. Kit, you're up.

You want me to grind?

All right.

- How long? - 220.

- One-twenty. - Twenty seconds to P flag down.

Are we starting on the port?

One minute!

- Don't worry, guys. - Forty seconds.

A little pressure here. A little pressure.

Twenty-five seconds.

Holding on the line.

- Get it set. - Line, Robbie!

- Ten! - Nine.

- Get it up now. - Eight, seven, six...

- ...five... - ...four...

...three, two, one!

Now.

Medium down.

Hey! Yes!

l remember it being very adventurous,

the first time l crossed an ocean.

These guys, they're getting to grow and learn at a very similar age group.

A fantastic opportunity. l wish something like this

had popped up for me when l was 21 .

- Well, here we are at Transpac 2007. - Yeah!

Upwind. Did a few sail changes.

Now l'm ready to set a kite, and take my shirt off, and go downwind.

l had to start the race down below. lt was so light.

l started thinking, "l'm already missing the small things:

cheese pizza, HBO,

that beautiful woman from Gladstone's."

The whole mindset in offshore sailing

is you start to find what your limits are.

How far can you push yourself, how many hours can you work without rest,

how long can you go without food.

And mentally you have the ability to set your mind on infinity.

That's a winning combination.

No family and friends from back home.

- No Starbucks. - No music.

- No movies. - No surfing.

All that matters is the Diamond Head buoy.

lt... lt feels amazing to be on this boat.

Being on a crew with a bunch of young kids is kinda the coolest thing,

'cause you really build a team

and notjust sail with a bunch of guys

who are telling you what to do all the time,

but you all kind of feel like you're part of it

and feel like we have a shot at doing really well in this race.

Piet, Jeremy and l, we're at a very big decision-making point,

we need to choose between the northern and southern route.

There's no middle-of-the-road route.

We have a local weak high-pressure that has been living right in the middle

of all the wing existing tracks for Transpac.

The history of the race has always been the team

that makes that choice at the right time, whether it's to go south, north.

lt's a defining moment. lt's one of those moments you back up,

that's where the race is won and lost.

What l'm saying is that

ifwe're gonna be in the synoptic, we're on the southern route...

They really gotta make sure that they stay in the pack,

don't make some dumb mistake

which suddenly drops them a few miles behind,

and then they're on the back foot.

They don't need to be leading, they just need to be in the hunt.

'Cause everything we've always learned

and talked about is not to get that close.

Jeremy, what do you think?

South.

We just wanna stay away from this high.

Big fish last night jumped out of the water,

- hit the sail right there. - l know.

What about that whale? That was a whale?

- l thought so. - Ten feet from our boat. Trim on.

Trim? Trim.

- Trim. - You gotta use your big girl voice.

Hold there.

lt's morning, the sun came up.

At sunset last night we could see ten, 15 boats,

and now we've got no one in sight.

Position report comes, we'll see how we're doing against our competitors.

Alaska Eagle, Alaska Eagle,

this is Morning Light Whiskey Delta Delta five one seven eight.

Morning Light, have you loud and clear. Welcome, good morning. Your position.

Thirty-two one-nine north.

One-one-nine five-six west.

Morning Light, thankyou very much.

- Where are they? - Samba Pa Ti's range and bearing.

Range: twenty miles. Bearing: 223.

- So they're going up. - Directly ahead of us. 20 miles. Yeah.

- They're 19 miles ahead. - Yeah.

We need to know who's going north and who's going south.

You see what's for dinner?

Eleven forty-one on Monday,

and that means lunchtime.

So, the first gourmet meal

of this big event

will be beef stroganoff with noodles.

My favorite.

This southerly route doesn't look so good. lt's nine knots.

l wanna go fast. That's 20 knots up there right now.

- What, going north? - Going more northerly, yeah.

lt's like taking a right turn right now.

lt's all in or nothing, man.

Figure l could just ask right now.

l mean, it's been an hour since we've been,

started this discussion, you know.

We haven't heard from them what we should be doing.

l think l should just start smashing my foot on the deck.

- That's not... yeah. - No, they hate that.

Yeah.

- What do you guys think? - lfwe do this,

this is the whole race here.

Here we go, guys. Let's go!

Are we basically deciding to go north now, or... Yeah.

What's the heading? 245?

Hey, lads! We're going north.

- Ease the sheets! - Full upwind.

North. Full upwind.

This is a slow way to go across the Pacific.

Are we going to Alaska?

About 12 hours later, the kids changed their mind and headed back north again.

What it told me was that, you know, there was somebody home on the boat.

They were thinking, making decisions, they were doing stuff.

Then they headed north again.

You know what l thought of? You know why the Chevy Nova didn't work in Mexico?

Yeah. All right.

'Cause "no va" means, like, "no go."

Why'd you buy a car called the "no go"?

Freaking dying. Quickly.

No way. This wind's just gonna die.

"Graham, the race has been slow. l'm sure you're aware of this.

The brain trust has just indicated that the next 18 hours or so

may dictate the entire outcome of the race.

l hope your fingers are crossed and you're following along at home

in Hawaii or wherever you are at this present point in time.

My feet are just starting to smell.

l'm using precious off-watch time to communicate with you.

l guess that's all for now.

Adios from the nerve center. Talk to you later."

This is bad. Real bad.

You think this is the first time this has ever happened in the Transpac?

lt'll be one they're gonna remember,

- and Stan's gonna hearken back to. - Yeah, this is crazy.

Any way you approach this race, you have to slice through that.

That turn's gonna cost us.

No use talking about it now.

This is painful circumstances right now.

We've got our opponents out to the south of us

who are screaming along with a kite.

Guys out to the north of us are in more breeze.

This is frustrating.

We took a gamble.

lt was a big move at the time.

Now we're fighting for the past two days to get out of it.

And we should've just pretended we were on train tracks

and just trusted it. Didn't look this light.

But it is, and here we are. Can't escape it now.

- We should've known better. - Yeah.

We can second-guess ourselves all the way home.

We'll be lucky to make it to Hawaii in ten days, now.

- l got a question for you. - Yeah.

Are we effed?

- We don't think so. Yeah. - Really?

You think that we can reel in Samba here?

- We'll see. - We're not in the middle of nowhere?

- We're not in the middle of nowhere. - You sure?

Big wind shift here, guys.

Come on, guys. Let's do this.

OK, tacking the boat.

Going to Hawaii.

Finally!

We're almost pointing at the mark.

When you have dinner, clean your stuff, please.

lt's Wednesday morning.

Just got done doing the roll call.

Not to be, like, Debbie Downer,

l thought we were gonna be smoked after yesterday.

Did you hear from Branning, the position report?

Brought some standings.

We're first in division, 21st in fleet.

And Samba's second in division, 22nd in fleet.

We have 1 ,742 miles to go,

and they got 1 ,742 miles to go.

Did anybody see that coming?

Branning, you the man.

Hi.

Twelve hours ago we were all wrecked.

Branning was ready to quit sailing altogether.

Very stressful. Think l lost some hair.

lt was pretty miserable.

We were over on port deck going very slow.

Now we've tacked over onto starboard,

and blue sky, it's beautiful.

Bit of a difference. Sailing pretty good today.

Emotional roller coaster through and through, this bloody race.

Towiller. We need you on deck, mate.

- Coming. - And you, too, Branning.

- OK, you guys ready? - Yeah. Ready in the pit.

Hoist when ready, guys.

- Bring it over. - Go for it, go, go, go!

Hold there, Towiller.

Ease. Ease, Towiller.

lt's starting to feel more what l pictured Transpac to be like.

We're going to Hawaii, and we're back in the game.

We need another human up here.

- More brace? - More brace.

Piet, where's our Morning Light logo on this kite?

Get Charlie up. lsn't he in charge of sails?

The first kite we hoist in the Transpac doesn't even have one.

"Charles. Thanks for the contact.

Hawaii is fun.

The Red Sox just won the World Series.

And tell Welchy the stock market burned down.

l'm sorry, but there are no more stocks. Period.

Looks like you guys are going balls-out on your route so far.

Hope you're rationing.

Everyone's either gonna say you're brilliant or redheaded.

But tell Fancypants not to worry.

Statistics show that 30 percent of redheads..."

We had a beautiful sunset tonight.

lf you look over here, you can see the moon...

...just glistening at the top of the...

...top of the clouds as it's setting,

and we've just got the slightest little crescent new moon

and it's absolutely beautiful.

lt's making a little spotlight down on the water and...

Beautiful stuff out here, man.

l just got an e-mail from Graham. He wrote back.

Our race so far, he wishes he was with us.

Clearly he's checking the grids, not that he knows what they mean.

Based on our track, people are gonna think we're brilliant or redheads.

Thirty percent of redheads live healthy, productive lives or something.

- Yes. - But, yeah, he seems in good spirits.

- Trim up. - Good.

That's good. That's really good.

lt's a scorcher!

lt's gonna be a "Triple-H" day: hazy, hot, and humid.

l gotta take a shower... l gotta do some sort of bathing today.

Today was the first day where it's really hot.

Woke up and it was sweaty and nasty down below, which is not very fun.

We share bunks downstairs,

so your person opposite you gets a little too smelly,

then, you know, it's miserable.

Big Michiganders Gone Wild.

l think a little shower, brushing your teeth,

besides the health part of it, just kinda keeps you going.

l mean, it's a... freshens you up.

Today was awesome. l got a shower, l got to shave...

Got a hot date tonight, Genny?

l groomed myself while all the boys watched.

No, l'm just kidding. But it was sweet to finally get a shower today.

And then, obviously, all the... trim...

l feel like we're all in a pretty good mood and we're all clean and happy.

Our competition, Samba, is right above us,

so there's a lot of pressure on the bow team at nighttime.

Tonight's gonna be a big opportunity for either one of us to push away.

Nighttime racing is where you can really make huge gains.

lt's hard to see your competitors.

They can pull a maneuver without you seeing.

Last night was our first night with the spinnaker, it feels off.

We just need to kinda get with it.

Everyone was kinda running around

like chickens with their heads cut off, including myself.

lfwe go to sleep for two hours we could lose, like, seven miles like that.

These guys on Samba, they're all fantastic sailors.

And, you know, we're all really new to it, l guess.

And we've gotta really make sure that we, you know, try and keep our edge.

Who knows? You might see us jibing a couple of times on random shifts,

just to get away from these guys to windward

and catch them with their pants down.

- l like where your head's at, sailor. - Yeah.

This is about as far away from land as you can get anywhere on the planet,

- where we are right now. - Yeah. Halfway point.

Pretty amazing, isn't it?

Samba Pa Ti, we just saw. We can see their running lights right over there.

They're behind us and going south.

So it's Day Six, we just saw Samba,

and we're less than a mile away from them.

Samba's come astern of us and jibed right on our line.

Trim up.

The pressure's really been up. The intensity on the boat is super high.

We're just pushing, pushing, pushing all the time.

Hold.

Trim up. Big trim, big trim.

Nice.

l can't believe that boat's right there.

How close do you think they are?

Quarter of a mile? Not even 200 yards?

Nice to have someone right there to push you.

We're making them work for their money today.

Don't stop.

Bolt.

lt's a thousand miles into the race.

Samba's closer to us now than they were at the starting line.

Trim up. Pull back.

Doing 13 knots. The whole Pacific.

The boat, two boat lengths from you.

l'm gonna be a pro sailor.

Forget landscape design, l'm doing this the rest of my life.

l think the owner's on the wheel.

Lock it. Big trim, big trim, big trim.

No, no, no, not now, not now.

- Got it. Hold. - Just keep your cool, Piet.

We just got rolled, unfortunately.

Pretty bloody close.

l can see the smiles on their faces.

That one guy gave us the thumbs up.

That's pretty cool.

What are they doing here?

- And not that right now. - They're just filling the space left.

- They only have one sheet on. - Yeah, that would verify it.

- Trim? - We'll take a fast-way line to Hawaii.

Bold. What's going on?

- Look at that. - What are they doing?

They're animals, and they even got Kilroy out.

l think they lost... l think they lost a halyard.

They lost their kite.

They got something on the rudder, l don't know.

We had a sea serpent. And it was wrapped around our rudder.

And they looked at us like we were nuts.

We went a little bit to leeward.

l have to say l haven't had that kind of experience

with another boat in the middle of the ocean before.

That was a super professional move.

What happened?

They had something on their rudder, so they went kite down, staysail in.

Back down, staysail out. Bow down, kite up. See you.

- God. - They're kinda trucking here.

They can't sail at night, but day comes and they're like,

"l guess we'll start sailing again." Then they sail pretty well.

l feel like they gain at night.

lt's been a really intense 24 hours.

We've got these pro sailors, this super-fast boat.

Actually crossed paths with them this morning,

fallen behind them in two big maneuvers,

and now to be beating them again after the last 12 hours.

lt's really keeping us motivated and keeping us going.

To give you an example ofwhat we're up against,

the navigator for Samba...

...wrote the program that we use to navigate,

that all the boats use to navigate in the Volvo,

the around the world races, in the America's Cup. So...

lt's cool to be racing against him, have him right there. Thinking with him.

That was a pretty cool feeling.

What is Samba Pa Ti? A song or something?

Samba Pa Ti is a great song by Carlos Santana.

Trim.

Hold that.

Trim, Bear, trim.

Hold.

l can't keep trimming it like this.

You require a lot more trim than most people,

and it's exhausting. l know you're trying to do the fastest,

but we're just going to have to rotate more or something.

Trim.

- Hold. - Damn.

She's drunk on estrogen.

Put her down.

How would you feel if you were the only guy on an all-girl boat?

l'll take miserable for a hundred, Alex.

We think Genny's had the better deal than we would on the other end.

Who wants to with his hands crossed?

This is like a fireside session here, a fireside chat.

Well, really.

Obviously none of us know exactly how it is to be Genny,

but it's got to be a bit more difficult.

Genny takes it pretty well for being the only girl.

Spectacular. She's a trouper.

Not meaning to be mean, but we give her a lot of...

...just, you know, out of, being, you know, teammates.

lt would be very interesting to see, you know,

to be on the opposite side of...

l wouldn't want to do it at all.

Dude, if l could do this again with 15 girls, l'd do it.

- lt wouldn't be the same. - lt wouldn't be.

Go let Samba know what we're talking about while we were drag racing.

Y'all have seen the standings this morning.

We're still in good shape.

Even with Samba's advantage right now

we still have them uncorrected.

But they are making a charge for it, and we have to, too.

Let's not give in. We're in second place.

Samba is just there, the big trophy.

So, let's just get our heads high,

and let's just push into this. OK, guys?

- Shoops, did they justjibe? - Yes.

- They did? - Yes.

Gutsiest move l ever saw.

Shoops, take the wheel, mate.

B-Man. Jess. You're not rolling that, are you?

- No. - Tuck it in the bag.

B-Man, l need you up here.

- B-man, l said l needed you, mate. - That's not what l heard.

- Yes, it is. - l can't hear you.

Come here.

Why have they jibed already?

What are you not telling me?

- His tack's at 290. - The pressure's over there.

ls it worth taking it to get there?

The Troll Nazi's back.

The thing is, you can't get pissed at him.

lt's always a good point.

lt's always in the interest of speed.

OK, guys. We cleared for a jibe? Let's do it.

Let it go. Let it pass.

Smoothly, guys. Make every movement smooth. OK?

l say it so many times.

Samba looked pretty far away.

l just want them to go away.

So we can go back to sailing again.

Day nine.

Eleven... l got 1 1 :30.

And this race is taking way too long.

l'll talk about food, how about l talk about that? All right.

Today's the last day of full meals. So tomorrow we're starting the rations.

So we've got... five meals.

And if that's three days, then it's two meals a day.

So ifwe're doing two meals a day, we should do it like 6am, and 6pm.

- Yeah. - ls that cool?

- Yeah. - All right.

Captain, you ready for it now?

- l'm eating dirt. - lt's really bad.

- That's not doing it. - There's nothing else in there.

Do it with five of these in your mouth.

Yeah, there you go. Get rid of the aftertaste.

One of our little hobbies that we've kinda picked up

is talking about the instantaneous cravings that we have.

Tuna salad sandwich.

Chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk.

Dirt, tofu and...

- Jars of peanut butter. - Peanut butter?

They're just protein.

Leave it out in the sun. You get a peanut butter milkshake.

- Look at the camera. - Hadn't eaten since yesterday at 6:30.

lt was awesome. l didn't even chew.

l felt like my dog, Jake. When he eats, he doesn't breathe, he just chews.

About half of it's chewed, like, he chews about half.

Swallows the other half. No breathing through the entire process.

Am l getting my point across?

This is how desperate we are for food.

We will eat the worst meal we've ever had just because we're hungry,

and we won't have another meal for eight hours.

Forcing it down your throat, and, at the end of it,

you feel like you're gonna throw up.

Bunch of us are craving Reese's

and different types of pizza, and Chinese food so...

Chicken teriyaki makes me want to vomit now.

Hey, guys.

Steve-O wants to know what's taking so long.

Oh, and ask Turtle if he'd rather have a nice tall glass of Baileys

at the dock instead of a mai tai.

Don't worry about Samba, you guys can lose them in those shoals up ahead.

lf you don't know what that's from, we're not friends anymore.

Godspeed M.L., stay fast and don't eat each other.

Signed, Pirate.

l'm a lucky bastard. l'm lucky.

Are you sure we're headed west?

Hawaii can't possibly be this far away. Come on.

Nothing's this far from land.

This is just stupid. This is bad placement.

Why would you put islands this far away...

Get Towiller up here. Tell him to find Hawaii.

Towiller, we need to pull your house out the water.

Hello, land!

We sail a considerable part of the race

with Samba within ten miles the whole time.

Last night they split and went 120 miles to the south of us.

l mean, we're really far away and they're all by themselves.

We felt that ifwe could get south, we'd get better breeze.

Based upon the numbers, it wasn't one of these, roll the dice.

When you look at Samba Pa Ti, it looks like we've been given a lottery ticket.

So l'm not opposed to just taking this down

and getting in front of their nose.

And if it lifts... we're clean. They're behind us.

lf it knocks, we're on the mark. ln the bank.

- Yeah. - ln the bank.

Hang on to your butts.

Let's get these guys.

- Roll call is a dogfight. - ls it?

lt's a frigging dogfight.

l'm gonna catch this boat up in front of us, like it was my business.

We want both trophies. We want to be the first TP52, and we want to...

Trim... win our division as well. That would be sweet.

Have you seen the squall over here?

Tropical squalls can be critical.

You can gain dramatically on competitors by playing the squalls.

- There we go. - 20 knots. That's directed to the reef.

The sky's about to go boom.

- Who's the boom king? - l'm the boom king!

Oh, baby!

- Hey, mister! - 24 knots.

Hey, well, why don't you just race, guy?

- We are like modern-day pirates. - Pirates, man.

We don't even own this boat.

Breaking up like an '80s band, baby.

- They'll have a comeback tour. - Of course.

That's how Behind the Music always ends.

Yep, it was fun while it lasted.

Rainbow, baby. lt's getting close.

Let's keep it going fast. All day.

- l think l see land. - Yeah.

- l think l see a volcano. - Yeah!

Yeah, you can just see the edge of Maui right on the bow right now.

That's Maui.

Are we less than 12 hours?

l'm going to the top of the rig one last time.

One last time, forever.

Let's take you to the paradise city.

Oh, my God. lt feels so good.

Gotta love it.

Maui right behind us.

Very, very excited to be back home.

Been 1 1 days ofjust seeing the horizon,

we're finally seeing the islands.

And... l...

...have a lot to say, and l can't say it.

A little happy little Turtle up there.

Break out the inscription tool!

Spike yourself away!

l'm loving this!

So here we are, we're in the famous Molokai Channel.

lt feels really good to be here.

We don't really know where our competitors are,

'cause all the tracking devices are lost or malfunctioning.

So we're sort of coming down here with our eyes closed on our competitors.

One thing to be very conscious of

is what we call "channel fever."

There's a good chance that they'll be a little over-tired

and a little overexcited and they'll be thinking about,

about hitting the dock.

l'm excited to see my family.

All l wanna do is go to Oahu. l just wanna get to Honolulu.

Dude, l want mai tais. Would anybody like an espresso?

l'm making some downstairs.

This race has been won and lost on the last day before.

You know what's really interesting right now?

l'm coming down to the finish

and l have planned for nothing after this finish.

This finish has been my, like, whole year,

like, all my whole life up to this point.

Aloha, Samba Pa Ti!

Transpac Yacht Club welcomes you

and congratulates you on your successful race.

l'm sure Mr. Kilroy thought that, you know,

he had a superior crew, superior boat, and would beat them handily.

But that's not the way it came out.

lt was just give and take for quite a while.

l think it was Robbie Naismith saying, "Come on, guys.

We can't let these kids beat us. We couldn't live with that on our resume."

You know, saying it kiddingly, but, yeah,

you know, that's just sailboat racing.

Yeah!

Diamond Head control, Diamond Head control, this is Diamond Head Light.

Samba PaTi crossed the line at 0156.

Congratulations, Samba PaTi.

lt's sort of mind-blowing for me.

l just take it all in, especially now,

ten miles from the finish line.

You can't really contemplate it.

lt's pretty heavy.

Now l'm gonna go steer my boat home for the last time ever.

Keep trimming, Towiller. Not there yet, mate.

- Pull string in. - Pull!

- lt's there. - Red buoy!

See that red buoy? You were a dinghy sailor before, weren't you?

- lt's there. - Oh!

- You ready? - Ready.

This is gonna be sick!

Here we go, home!

Oh! We made it!

Not yet, not yet.

Nice work, you guys.

Yes, we're home! Yeah, buddy!

Aloha, Morning Light!

Transpac Yacht Club welcomes you to Honolulu

and congratulates you on your successful race.

When l did this thing the first time, it changed me for the rest of my life,

but l don't think l knew that at the time.

l think it kind of comes to you later on.

You have a resource that you can look back on

and say, "l dealt with life and l dealt with it well and gracefully."

That's what it really means in the end.

lt's about the journey.

This is gonna be an epic story.

This is gonna be our first story.

This is gonna be probably our favorite story.

How it all began.

Here we are, day 14 of the Morning Light adventure,

except this time, we're on land.

Finally, believe it or not, we're here.

lt's...

Yeah. l'm not gonna be able to...

l don't think l could find a team like this ever again, so...

...it's...

Yeah, it's emotional.

These guys are...

Hang on.

Yeah. l need a minute.

Sad! Oh, l'm so sad.

Yeah.

lf they put this in the film, l'll kill them.

- Of course it's going in. - Yeah.

l was just telling Robbie, l was like, you know,

l thought l was gonna be broken up and upset when you're leaving,

but... l'm gonna see all you guys again in, like, a month

and, like, constantly after that.

l'm not worried about it at all.

Once again, BZ to the rescue.

Just a sign-off to my team. Last day as skipper.

Last day steering my boat,

and let's go for a ride.

OK, boys! Let's go. One last time.

Together.

When the race was over, it basically was over for us.

We had spent so long with each other,

the finish was what we had always dreamed of and hoped for,

then we crossed the finish line it was like, "Where do we go from here?"

The best thing was just like this sense of accomplishment at the end.

lfwe had won, we would have thought the Transpac was easy.

You have to respect that race. lt's a long distance, and a lot goes on.

The biggest thing l learned from the project

has just been the real value in teamwork and how special it is when

15 people come together and accomplish something no one could on our own.

The days everything goes the way you planned, you learn nothing from.

The days everything falls apart is when you learn the most.

l learned that in a literal way on Morning Light, changed my life.

You really realize what's important to you.

To be able to pack my whole life in a small bag for ten days.

Those things and being on the ocean, was the happiest ten days of my life.

Being on an ocean is about as close as you can put together peace and fear.

lt's absolutely peaceful and it's just so beautiful,

but, man, it can go bad pretty quickly.

We were about as well prepared as we could be for anything.

You realize on the ocean, it's a different type of life,

and it gives you a new respect. Kinda hard to explain.

lt's like you feel empowered, like you've conquered something

that you know a lot of people haven't had the chance to do.

You feel very fortunate at the same time.

Pretty much what Morning Light did forme

is it opened a lot of boundaries that l had.

My grades have improved at college,

my work has improved on land and l can get out there

and anything that l apply myself, l can do.

You know, whenever l see my teammates,

they'll always be these special people to me.

We could be middle of New York City, Shanghai, hiking on a mountain,

and we're still gonna have a connection

that no one else around us shares,

and that's a special feeling.

Take two!