Reach for the Sea

by Jane Pares on 6 Dec 2007 Read lots of books on the cruising lifestyle?

Researched hundreds of possible boats?

Still searching for answers, information or inspiration to bring the cruising dream another step closer?

Then look no further than Reach for the Sea by Lane and Kay Finley. After over thirty years of cruising they decided to condense all the information they’d collected into a film and to share it with others.

They started with a crew of film makers, but actually ended up finishing the project themselves - taking courses in film making, editing and producing. 'We had so much fun learning new skills and meeting people!' The result is a film full of useful information, delivered through interviews with cruisers, well known yacht designers, sailmakers, riggers and boat builders.

Divided into five sections, it covers such topics as – the ideal cruising boat, sails and rigging, systems aboard, safety and a dramatic final chapter on emergency procedures using a rescue helicopter and life raft.

Shot on location in French Polynesia, Fiji and New Zealand the Finleys mix idyllic shots of Pacific Island anchorages, with practical footage and tips.

This is a great DVD for those considering the cruising lifestyle. It’s a resource which you can view again and again - share it with the family, press pause for discussions on the content, rewind to catch that helpful tip one more time or just sit back and enjoy the whole visually informative experience.
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Lane and Kay enjoyed making the film so much that they have started on a second. In fact they’ve become so hooked on film making that they’ve fitted a full-on editing ‘suite’ into their Annapolis 44 cutter Mai Tai! By the middle of next year you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy their next film on cruising New Zealand, in which they explore four favourite cruising grounds – Northland, the Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel, Marlborough Sounds and Nelson, Fjordland and Stewart Island.

This next film will be much more than a travelogue though. Woven into footage of the magnificent natural scenery of little visited places, will be aerial shots giving a bird’s eye view of tricky entrances and cosy anchorages. Kay plans to research historical snippets of each area as well as presenting information on marine reserves.

As a blend of sailing, travel, history and environment, the film will have universal appeal with both sailors and non-sailors alike.

I was fortunate to see some of the spectacular footage they’ve already taken around Northland from aboard Mai Tai, and if it’s a foretaste of what’s to come, then I feel confident that this DVD will be as enjoyable as it is informative.

To get your copy of Reach for the Sea and to read more about the Finleys, please visit their website www.cleanwakeproductions.com.

'….. there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.' Chris MacCandless.