Just watched the well known catamaran race in the film on this link;
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4859256971497109647
Do we know who the nutter on the [Roy Seaman N6.0] rack is during the capsize - surely not Pierce Brosnan? Did he know that the drop was coming or did the rest of the crew keep it quiet!

I wonder if they got that on the first take?

Randy Smyth was on one boat, not sure if he was on the rack.

Hell of a leap!

Randy Smyth was on the tiller of the white cat. He was the first one off when it started going over, according to him.

Mark Murray was the grinder on that boat and I think (don't quote me) that Tommy Gonzalez was the driver on the other boat. Mark was the last one off the "flip" boat since he was grinding the spi. He ended up being taken to the hospital with salt water inhalation.

Mark said Pierce was on the boat and having a great time... I can't say if he was on the rack at the time of the flip however.

I never really understood why the Director thought flipping it was important to the movie, I would rather he just filmed them racing...for about an hour. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I like how Pierce runs across the tramp to crank on a winch without a line apparently <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mark Murray told me the story but I don't remember the specifics. He has a lot of stories and the TC affair certainly isn't the roughest either. Guess you develop a lot of those types of stories when you do a number of Worrells/Formula 40, etc. I have learned a lot sailing with him.

Look carefully at the line Brosnan is tugging on while yelling. It goes down the rack, to the front beam, and into a bag on the tramp.

I'm sure the real sailors on that boat were telling him, "Just don't touch anything..." <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good eye, if it was me, I'd at least have a line on it even if it wasn't doing anything! My wife hates it when I watch some sailing like that on TV... I point out what they're doing wrong (or improperly) or impossible to do while sailing. She says "just watch the dang thing and quit nit-picking, its a show!". Of course its sport <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



JMO<

Clayton

I had never seen the movie and it was on TV about 2 months ago... i was LOVING IT!! I ended up using my DVR feature and rewinding it and slow mo'ing every frame of the clips for about an hour. My girlfriend walked in on me and stated, "you need help" <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

and your answer was.... "no darling, I need a new boat"......

The Thomas Crown Affair (re-make) w/ Pierce Brosnan is one of my favorite movies .... the director is using the "flipping the Formular 40 catamaran" to define the Tomas Crown character: I do things to the extreme ... I'm rich ... and I do not care about the consquences!!!

(Yes guys ... we are EXTREME SPORTS athletes!!!)

But my favorite sequence is the "Bowler Hats in the Museum"- which one is TC ... that is a great piece of cimetagraphy!!! and is basically a varient of the"Three Card Monty" street con.

And the director repeats the message w/ the replacement "watercolor" painting ... TC stole it and put it back .... and no-one knew he put it back. ... Then the other painting is gone ...

Did any of you ever have the pleasure and get to see Harry Anderson when he was doing his "illusionists street shows" ... he did a "Three Card Monty" skit ... showed you how it was done ... when you thought you had him cold ... a fourth card (an "Ace of Spades") appeared that you realized he had kept hidden the whole time !!!

HarryMurphey
TheMightyHobie18/P19MX

or a new gf.

There are far more interesting things in that movie to watch frame by frame than some boats. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Such as?

Pretty sure it was tommy gonzales who launched off the rack. Despite pierce grinding the sheetless winch, mark told me that he actually was a decent sailor an took he helm and had her flying a hull pretty quick.

I remember seeing Pierce sailing an N580 at some holiday resort.

Normally I wouldn't call Rene Russo an attractive woman, but she is REAL interesting with out her top on.

karl you'll burn and go to hell for that]

wait, you are!

look at the very shot of him on that weird rack, did they put it there just for the movie?, he's holding this tiny little white line that is too small to handle any loads

i think next shot he's holding a black line....

when the boat goes over the rack folds in and the guy on it looks to be tied to the rack because as it folds he is swung down but is caught just before he hits the sail

...

my gf is more exciting and attractive to me... so there was nothing "more" interesting in that movie than the sailing to me.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I'm just a lover of boobs, and she does have a phenomenal rack.

like the racks on that cat i wonder if the director paid for them to be fitted for the movie too

[Trying to get back on topic!]
The racks [on the F40] were to make sailing look more daring and were robbed off of Roy Seamans prototype n6.0 used in the Worrell. Whats he doing now?

Still no certain answer to my post. Surely someone must be boasting about this stunt somewhere?

Doing a bit of a search to answer my own question I found this;

"Pierce Brosnan performed his own stunts during the boat crash scene." So it was himself.....

Then;

" ....said Rosenfeld, who worked as a sailing stunt double for Pierce Brosnan in "The Thomas Crowne Affair."
So it was Larry Rosenfield too!!!

Someone is having us on!

Are you kidding?!?! With or without top, Rene Russo is a babe.

At the other end of the spectrum of tasteful sailing films, is 'Dead Calm' with Nicole Kidman and Sam Neil.

Memorable scene: Sam Neil breathes through a **** filled pipe while trapped underwater as yacht sinks by the bow. He then swims to the surface after seeing fish swim in through mansized hole in hull.

I second Dead Calm... Maybe the two tourists I ran into on the beach had seen this film... Judging by the way they ogled my signal pistol... I told them I only needed it because I sailed an old beat up boat ;-)

A cat sailor I know told me this story about this scene (and i'm pretty sure i've mentioned it on this forum before):

It was filmed off Roton Point in Rowayton, CT. Upon capsizing a jetski was to tow a float under the mast to prevent the 60ft rig from turtling in 40ft of water... the jet ski was late, the mast turtled and the film company had to shell out the big bucks to replace the sails, battens, and etc.

I believe that Rick Bliss of New England Catamarans was on the boat that Brosnan was not. He's out of the country until the 22nd, but i'm waiting for an email back from him and when he gets back to me i'll ask him if Brosnan was on the rack or not.

Where's Randy? Does he not visit this board? Can't he or one of the other guys (there were many counting both boats) who ware on the cats tell us?

I dont know much about bigger cats and was amazed at these racks (on the cat) but have found others in use...

It was Tommy Gonzalez.

Awhile back I had dinner with Art Stevens, who gave me some inside to this movie. Art owned one of the 40's at the time, that was chartered to the movie. Art's son towed the boat to Ct from California and assisted with the sailing crews. According to Art, Pierce went out to the boats on the water took one look, and said back to the beach. All of his scenes were blue screened. "Not going to mess up the face". Randy could confirm, but I was told he was not within 100 miles of the boats. No way he was on the rack.

Yes it was Rick Bliss. As I recall, they did several weeks of filming and everyone were disappointed with the short scene in the end. The boat was on hydraulics in blue screen for the first flip and then on th water the plan was that only the stunt men were trained enough to flip it. According to my recollection, the stunt men got too scared to push it over and the cat sailors stepped on and did the dirty work. Also from recollection, that was the first time one of these "prosail" boats ever flipped.

I also had the privlege to flip a cat with the sister copy of this Roy Siemen's rack. It was on a Worrell-1000, heavily modified Nacra 6.0: 4ft taller mast, 4.5ft wider boat, rhino extensions on the bows to try to keep them floating, and the 13ft Siemen's rack on each side. This boat was usually first for DNF. I think it was HoggsBreath 1999-- the guy on the rack has a wild ride. The rack adjusts up-down and forward back. This means it also twists easy. It is only stable when you are at the very end when your weight is precisely under the ladder spreader-- even then it never feels ok. BTW, you cannot drive from the rack-- the skipper might sit on the first few feet like a couch-style Hobie, but usually does old-school Tornado style) Plus, when boat flattens to two hulls quickly, you are 13ft out on the end and take a massive teabag with little to hang onto or any easy way to keep you head up.

On day 2 of this race, we got off to a good start. Jack was excited and powering up the main. I was very nearly to my stable position, but not quite. I would estimate speed of 15Knots to windward when the bow buried. With so much weight and mast, you must release the jib to save it. Unfortunately, the oxen blocks (normal ratchets could not be controlled from 24ft away) required that I pull back strongly and this was only possible when I was in the only stable position and feet on a cross member of the rack. So, I watched as the bow stuffs and we cartwheel. I am 24ft from the water at the end of this high speed cartwheel and was catapulted far ahead of the boat. Rick White on RC unfortunately never got a picture. When we righted the boat, we found sand on the bows (we were in 8+ft of water), cracked beams, and the racks were a twisted mess of aluminum.

What a ride. It is really a shame that such crazy boats are out of fashion. They were a blast.

Matt Mayfield

I did "The Down the Bay Race" for a number of years ... there were two of those beasts I believe both sponsered out of Virginia Beach ... Rudie's & Alexanders ... impressive ... but always breaking, Rick Bliss was skipper on one of the boats ... I can not remember which ... I haven't seen Rick since the 02'Statue Race w/ his Yellow N6.0NA (follow the Yellow 6.0) That would make sense that it was him on the rack. Rick taught me somethings I still follow to this day !!! And one of those bar/resturants made a "blue" drink that I called the Tidy Bowl drink .... I don't remember much after just one ....

Another reason to keep that movie on my "favorites list"

HarryMurphey
TheMightyHobie18/P19MX

RUDEE'S RUCKUS

1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz rum
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz blue Curaçao
1 oz. sour mix
1 oz pineapple juice
Top with 1/2 oz 151 Rum

Serve over ice.

Top with 1/2oz. 151, and light a match! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

So it was at Rudie's ....

And to think I drank that !!!

Next time I'm in Va Beach I'll have to go and drink another ... To LEE QUEENSBERRY and his "Red Shorts". I seem to remember him in the "posse' that night also ... but it is fuzzy ...

Sail Flat, Sail Fast
HarryMurphey
TheMightyHobie18/P19MX


Harry

And it just occured to me ... John McLaughlin drank TWO ........... I think .... awfully fuzzy, awfully fuzzy ....

Harry