Yesterday was a special day for because some 200 kilometers away a new chapter in the building process of the Omega 42 started: A production team equipped with a sorts of gimbles, cameras, lenses, microphones and lighting arrives in Waren at the beautiful lake Mueritz to start filming of the Omega 42 documentary. This day had been chosen very carefully, because it was also kind of the dress rehearsal for the boat´s marriage.
The team in the shipyard had produced the last bulkheads, mainly for the stern part of the boat and fitted them loosely. In this, they completed the work which I inspected some days ago and wrote about in length in this article about rough fitting of the bulkheads. Now, as a last step, the deck of the boat had to be lowered many times onto the hull to check perfect fit and form-locking fit of the whole. A great occasion to have first day of shooting, isn´t it?
Aqua TV from Berlin starting production
I´ve had the idea to go along the building process of the boat with a film camera for a long time. Since I do the photographic and textual documentation of the build, this could only be done with an external partner. Aqua TV is a Berlin-based audiovisual production company that has specialized in filming and producing yachting-related content. I´ve known the guys for many years now and they are renowned within the German boating business for many, many years more. Their clients range from boat dealers (like my company) to big and small brands and shipyards (Bavaria & Co) and boat show organizers. In short: They know how to do it.
I was a bit sad that I wasn´t able to accompany the guys on location this time, but judging from the few taken pictures (they have been busy filming that exciting day) it was quite an eventful occasion. Torsten Böhm, one of the lading guys of the company, is my counterpart. He tries to transfer my ideas and (sometimes wild) suggestions into realistic and of course realizable bits. I am sure the outcome will be stunning.
A unique story
As the story of the rebirth of Peter Norlin´s classic sailing yacht is a pretty unique and gripping story, it literally writes itself. The idea is that the regular documentation of the advance of the boat on the building lot is the general thread of the film – from the slip to the maiden voyage, so to say. But there is even more to the story: We are trying hard to get people in front of the lenses who knew Peter Norlin or worked with him, got their inspiration from him and maybe had been influenced in their work by him.
We will have passages comprising archival footage of Omega 42 boats, their glorious participations in regattas and enthusiastic owners as well as try to explain to non-sailors what the fuzz about this boat is all about. This, of course, is done best by choosing the related and relatable topic of cars. For us, the equivalent to the Omega 42 on four wheels would be the Mercedes 300 SL or the Jaguar E-type. In the end we will have a very colorful, short-whiled and multifaceted story, interesting to watch also for non-sailors.
Many locations, many voices, one goal
So many sources to tap: Important to mention the Swedish Omega 42 club, the “Sällskapet”, many owners who still actively use their Omega 42 built in the Eighties and – most interesting – all the brands and products used to make up my new Omega 42. From Seldén rigging to the Quantum-sails over to the set of Garmin electronics and many more brands and products to come which in the end will form a wonderful boat. Combining the classic with modernity.
I am in this looking forward to many more occasions and locations which will be apparent in NO FRILLS SAILING.com of course but also be part of the Omega 42 documentary which I hope we will have finished, polished, sound-filled and ready to watch (on which platform we don´t know yet) next autumn or winter. What a great news and contemporary audio-visual document to look forward to!
Connected articles of interest for you:
All information on the Omega 42 sailboat
All articles connected to the building process of the Omega 42
Front page beauty: The Omega 42 in SEGELN magazine