SEA SHARP
a short documentary
Fifty-five years after becoming the first woman to solo-hand sail the Pacific Ocean,
Sharon Sites Adams looks back at 15,000 nautical miles at sea and her time on the open ocean.
FILM OVERVIEW
On a whim in October 1964, Sharon Sites Adams learned to sail. Less than eight months later, the thirty-five-year-old set out from California on a twenty-foot Danish folk boat headed for Honolulu. She would become the first woman to single-hand sail the world’s largest ocean and sail nearly 15,000 miles without GPS, internet, radio, or satellite to guide her. Her longest journey was a 74-day trip from Japan to San Diego. She sighted land on July 20th, 1969, the same day humankind took its first step on the Moon.
Sharon is now 93 and living in Portland, Oregon. Our short documentary uses present-day interviews, Sharon’s 16mm footage of her voyages, and voice recordings of her daily logs to look back at a life at sea. An immersive soundtrack and sound effects will bring to life her archival footage and material.
Our film will touch on themes relevant to today: the complicated journey that Sharon took navigating not only the high seas but loneliness and social norms, and challenging herself to do what others thought impossible.
“I have no adequate words for it. We do not have language fitting for the world I’ve seen. I can dredge up memories; I can relay my thoughts within the confines of language. But nothing truly describes it. Nothing suffices. Even the greatest words become a small boat on a vast sea of experience. And that, I think, may be the single-handed sailor’s greatest curse, for the majesty must be digested alone. Alone with the boat, the sea, and Mother Nature. And forever alone with the mind and it’s memories.”
Sharon Sites Adams
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
I first read Sharon’s book Pacific Lady a few years ago; her story has stuck with me ever since. On the surface, it’s a glorious adventure with the shiny golden stamp of “first woman to..” a title that can often overlook the entirety of the person who holds it.
Like Sharon, I've spent time at sea and distinctly remember a deep sadness and confusion when I returned home from a two-month voyage from Massachusetts to Puerto Rico at 15 years old. On a boat, you are your means of direction; the vessel is your salvation. Sailing asks you to know yourself, your limitations, and your strengths outside of cultural and social interpretation. You spend most of your time caring for a boat that takes care of you. It's a communion in the highest regard.
This film is a visual poem, a biography, a celebration, an adventure, and ultimately, a love story between a woman and her boat.
TEAM
ZADA CLARKE - DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
CAILIN YATSKO - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
CAILIN YATSKO (she/her), originally from Arkansas, is a New York City-based narrative and commercial cinematographer. In 2011, she partnered with director Ani Simon-Kennedy to form Bicephaly Pictures, one of just a few female production companies in NYC - producing narrative films, music videos, web series, and commercials. Her commercial cinematography includes award-winning branded and editorial content for clients such as Google, Intel, Condé Nast, Colgate, The New Yorker, The Fader, Vice, and many others. With director Ani Simon-Kennedy, they have collaborated on two narrative features: Days of Gray and The Short History of the Long Road, which premiered in US Narrative Competition at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and released by FilmRise. She also shot with director Cynthia Lowen for the feature documentary Netizens, exposing the proliferation of cyber harassment facing women (2018 Tribeca Film Festival).
A documentary film + tv editor who sometimes dips into narrative films, music videos and shorts. Hypatia’s work has screened at various film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, DOC NYC, Hot Docs and DC/DOX and can be found on HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Starz, Discovery and Nat Geo. Originally from rural Northern California, she now lives and works between New York City + upstate. She is always on the lookout for film projects that offer new perspectives, ideas and ways of looking at the world.
Stephen Spies is an Emmy Award-winning composer for film, animation, TV and video games who has scored projects for Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV and Prime Video. Along with co-composer Scot Stafford, he won an Emmy for his music on the Netflix show Lost Ollie featuring Mary J Blige, Gina Rodriguez, Jake Johnson and Jonathan Groff. With Pollen Music Group, he scored the Netflix hit children’s TV show, Trash Truck, a wholesome animation series about a boy whose best friend in the world is a trash truck. Stephen also scored the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards documentary hosted by Meryl Streep and featuring Samantha Bee, Lester Holt, Rosamund Pike, Amal Clooney and many others fighting to protect journalists. Other credits of his include additional composition on the recent Netflix animation film Ultraman: Rising which was in the top 10 worldwide most watched movies on Netflix for 2 weeks straight, and over 50 IMDB credits including documentaries, virtual reality projects and much more. He has also scored numerous virtual reality games for Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro.