Last Saturday at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archive, an enthusiastic and lively crowd gathered to witness the awe-inspiring and surprisingly humorous film Around Cape Horn. Documenting the voyage of the Peking, a four-masted commercial sailing vessel that ventured around the treacherous Cape Horn in 1929, the film was narrated after the fact by Captain Irving Johnson, one of the deckhands on the voyage. There was scarcely a seat left in the house by the time curator Kimiko Hawkes finished a great introduction and pressed play on the film, thus beginning the epic journey. Johnson’s irreverent anecdotes brought great insight into life onboard the Peking and elicited hearty laughter from the crowd throughout the film. While the humour of the narration was a welcoming surprise, it was the storm footage that truly amazed the packed audience. Awe-inspiring is perhaps the only way to describe the storm footage that they captured: as the Peking pitched and rolled through massive breaking waves, the audience gasped and shook their heads in amazement. Imagine a deckhand hanging at the top of a mast, one hand holding onto a rope and the other holding the camera as he films massive waves breaking over the ship’s deck 17 stories below. Truly, an unbelievable film experience!
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| Packed House at the Museum |
After the screening, local sailing expert John Roper answered many questions from the audience which was still buzzing from the harrowing journey. How long was the boat? (370+ feet - the length of a football field!) How many crew members were on the Peking? (John guesses about 100). It was evident from the question period that Around Cape Horn had thoroughly captured the imagination of the audience. As one audience member mentioned, it was wonderful for her to gather with other members of her community and watch the film together. There is something to be said about collective energy!
Due to the great turnout, we are planning a subsequent screening of Around Cape Horn come springtime. If you would be interested in attending a viewing in the future, please email scm_a@dccnet.com with your contact info and we'll add you to our "Upcoming Events" list.
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| John Roper discusses the Film |
