Dancing With the Wind. I can’t decide about this new video produced as a DVD…is it the romantic sunset scene or the easy galloping motion of a vessel described through music? Perhaps it’s capturing the pleasure of leaving the dock in the morning or the pelican’s startled response to the oncoming sailboat. Maybe it’s the afternoon thunderstorm or the impromptu man-overboard drill. I’m a big fan of dawn and sunset moments. Perhaps that’s it! Or maybe it’s the poetic aerial shots of the easy motion of a sailboat as it meets each wave.
These scenes and all the rest are set to original music that effectively captures the spirit of sailing and draws the viewer in. There’s no need for talk and patronizing descriptions. Any-one can see the sailors on Wind Ketcher are having a good time. Any sailor will see this video and long to be aboard this or his own sailboat. Any non-sailor will ask, “Where can I sign up? How can I do this?” Ed says this video is not so much about how to sail; it’s about the why of sailing.
Come sailing with Ed and Amanda Verner and their sailing partner, Gil Gott. With Ed’s beautiful soundtrack emphasizing the rhythm of the sea, these three make sailing look easy and enjoyable. Ed is an accomplished musician, sailor, and movie director. He has assembled his love of sailing, of his classic sailboat, of his new wife, and of music into something that simply hasn’t been done before. He created a new kind of sailing video, and with it may very well have piloted a new genre of sailing DVD.
As I watched I couldn’t help but wonder whether Ed wrote the music to go with the footage or created the footage to go with the music. The two are perfectly matched. The answer lies in the behind-the-scenes description of the production. He created 28 minutes of music and crafted the scenes to match the mood of the melodies. My hat’s off to Ed Verner for this incredible performance. Bravo! Encore!
Ed will share the proceeds of the sale of this DVD — which has been packaged with an audio CD of the original music soundtrack — with three charities. Ed Verner is a published author in Good Old Boat and a good old boater in every respect. We’re proud to count him as one of “the rest of us.”
