Uncharted Waters – The Documentary

Uncharted Waters is a feature-length film (click to enlarge) exploring the challenges, triumphs, and motivations of US Sailing Team Sperry athletes, as well as the profound beauty of the sport of sailing.

The film offers audiences unrivaled access inside the national team, and explores the unique circumstances that have compelled American sailors to pursue success on the international stage. The film was produced by Sunbrella, a US Sailing Team Sperry Gold Partner and the leading supplier of performance fabric to the marine industry.

“Uncharted Waters is an unprecedented media project in sailing,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “The full-length film demonstrates the national team sailing experience through the eyes of the athlete — commitment to excellence, dedication, sacrifice, the agony and thrill of competition. The action footage that is featured is some of the best in our sport.”

The film focuses on the journey of national team sailors competing in both Olympic and Paralympic boat classes, and was shot on location at racing venues in North America, South America, and Europe. For the sailors portrayed in the film, the project has taken on great personal significance over nearly two years of filming.

“When our team started our campaign seven years ago, it was just my teammates and I doing this for ourselves,” said Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), a current Para Sailing World Champion and one of eleven athletes featured onscreen in the documentary.

“The Uncharted Waters project is emblematic of how much bigger this campaign has become than just a few sailors hoping to represent their country. This movie is big in the kind of way I’ve experienced in other major sports films, and it will help create the kind of public awareness that transcends our sport. Fans will cheer for us just because they know our flag and where we come from, and not because they already have deep knowledge of sailing. It is a historic moment for our sport.”

Featured Athletes in Uncharted Waters:

Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.) – Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games appearances for both Henken and Scutt, who won bronze at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) – Rio 2016 will be the second consecutive Olympics for Railey, a World Champion, Rolex World Sailor of the Year, three-time Pan American Games medalist and US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) – Paine, a Sailing World Cup Series Champion, has been the top-ranked American Finn sailor since 2012, and will compete in his first career Olympics.

Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) – Winners of the 2015 Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2015 US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Haeger and Youth World Champion Provancha will make their first career Olympic Games appearances.

Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) – The American Paralympic Sonar trio are the reigning Para World Sailing Champions, and have been together for seven years, longer than any national team boat.

Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.) – The only all-female Paralympic-class sailing team competing in the world, Everhart-Skeels and Walker have inspired fans across the country through their quest to make history.

Source: US Sailing