Coyote: The Mike Plant Story (On Amazon Prime)

[laika]

Before I launch into a description of this documentary which I watched last night (and is free on Amazon Prime)...Am I the only one who was unaware of Mike Plant? I guess this is because (a) he died before I became interested in yachting and (b) He was probably better known in the US. It strikes me that the director seems to assume everyone would know him as a legend.

 

[Denek]

I watched this some time ago. I was unaware of him too.

 

[Frogmogman]

Thanks for the heads-up Laika. I'll look forward to that.

The main thing I remember about Plant was him calling the Vendée Globe race authorities to admit that he had received outside assistance down in New Zealand (he'd been given a tow to get him off a lee shore when his anchor dragged while repairing his boat). The guys who helped him had promised to keep schtum, saying that nobody would ever know. He replied that HE would know. Plant accepted his disqualification carried on to the finish. In France it was big news; his honesty and sportsmanship went down very well indeed with the sailing fans here.

I also remember the tragedy of his death. IIRC the keel fell off on a delivery trip.

 

[Kola]

Tragic end to a full-on single hander. Enjoyed the documentary a lot.

Book was good also, written by his sister, i think. (Coyote Lost at Sea: The Story of Mike Plant).

 

[Seven Spades]

I cn't find it on Amazon at all, what is the correct title and are you in the UK?

 

[Frogmogman]

I'm watching it on Amazon prime (UK) right now. The title is as per the thread title - Coyote: the mike plant story.

 

[laika]

Yes in the UK, title per the title and Frogmogman's reply. Amazon has been "suggesting" this to me for weeks based on my other choices.

"Coyote" seems framed in the assumption that the viewer is familiar with Plant and how it ends. I may have lost something by not having this context. There's a lot of good archive footage in here interspersed with talking heads (of whom I'd only heard of Philippe Jeantot). A lot of the TV archive footage seems to be rather poorly transferred from ntsc video and I don't *think* that's a deliberate stylistic thing. There's some good onboard footage from sea trials and practice but little from actual racing: this predates every sailor having an array of gopros around their boat.

Plant was clearly a colourful character and was arrested in the azores when doing a qualifier for the 86-87 BOC challenge on an outstanding drugs smuggling warrant which his parents used some dodgy tactics to get him off of. Unfortunately this movie just seems to paint him as a one dimensional hero who believed in himself, chased his dreams and mostly achieved them. I was left with the idea that no-one with that much self confidence is completely sane or likeable and wanted to know more. In post-watching reading I stumbled across an article by the publisher of Plant's sister's book saying that the film glosses over the impact of Plant's risk-taking on his family and those around him.

As with some similar movies there are bits of slightly misleading spin. Watching without the historical context I think I could be forgiven for thinking that Plant was the only american in the 86-87 BOC challenge. In fact there were more americans than any other nationality (including the french) although Plant did best of all of them including beating those in class 1 with his class 2 boat.

Ultimately this is a watchable documentary for us boaty types. I suspect Americans with more context may appreciate it more. As a standalone piece of documentary film making it's not up there with something like "Senna" (which I have read the director was trying to emulate) and certainly no "Deep Water". Call me heartless but the talking heads at the end don't pack the emotional punch that the Crowhurst family does in the latter: Perhaps that illustrates how telling stories about complex people and the effect of their obsessions on those around them is far more powerful as a piece of cinema than hero-worship.

 

[doris]

On Amazon there is Turning Tide, original name En solitaire, 2013 French drama film directed by Christophe Offenstein
Its about the Vende Globe. Not a real documentary but a good way to pass the evening after a nice supper.
Its free on Prime at the mom

 

[Frogmogman]

Yes in the UK, title per the title and Frogmogman's reply. Amazon has been "suggesting" this to me for weeks based on my other choices.

"Coyote" seems framed in the assumption that the viewer is familiar with Plant and how it ends. I may have lost something by not having this context. There's a lot of good archive footage in here interspersed with talking heads (of whom I'd only heard of Philippe Jeantot). A lot of the TV archive footage seems to be rather poorly transferred from ntsc video and I don't *think* that's a deliberate stylistic thing. There's some good onboard footage from sea trials and practice but little from actual racing: this predates every sailor having an array of gopros around their boat.

Plant was clearly a colourful character and was arrested in the azores when doing a qualifier for the 86-87 BOC challenge on an outstanding drugs smuggling warrant which his parents used some dodgy tactics to get him off of. Unfortunately this movie just seems to paint him as a one dimensional hero who believed in himself, chased his dreams and mostly achieved them. I was left with the idea that no-one with that much self confidence is completely sane or likeable and wanted to know more. In post-watching reading I stumbled across an article by the publisher of Plant's sister's book saying that the film glosses over the impact of Plant's risk-taking on his family and those around him.

As with some similar movies there are bits of slightly misleading spin. Watching without the historical context I think I could be forgiven for thinking that Plant was the only american in the 86-87 BOC challenge. In fact there were more americans than any other nationality (including the french) although Plant did best of all of them including beating those in class 1 with his class 2 boat.

Ultimately this is a watchable documentary for us boaty types. I suspect Americans with more context may appreciate it more. As a standalone piece of documentary film making it's not up there with something like "Senna" (which I have read the directory was trying to emulate) and certainly no "Deep Water". Call me heartless but the talking heads at the end don't pack the emotional punch that the Crowhurst family does in the latter: Perhaps that illustrates how telling stories about complex people and the effect of their obsessions on those around them is far more powerful as a piece of cinema than hero-worship.

I agree Laika. The fact that his drugs offence was not his first involvement in narcotics smuggling paints him and his risk taking in a far more questionable light.

 

[laika]

Not a real documentary but a good way to pass the evening after a nice supper.
Its free on Prime at the mom

While in previous threads here En Solitaire has been praised for its, as you say, almost documentary level realism (in contrast to things like All Is Lost), I've criticised it in past threads for an overly simple plot. I own the DVD and liked it better second time around although I'm not sure it stands on its own keel as a piece of cinema to appeal to non-yachties. If it's free on Prime now it's definitely worth a watch for any forumites who haven't seen it: It's definitely at the better end of the yachting-movies-for-yachting-people spectrum

 

[laika]

I cn't find it on Amazon at all, what is the correct title and are you in the UK?

I see your confusion. I wasn't able to search for this or "following seas" (which is next on my list to watch) on my firestick. You can however search for it on amazon on a laptop then add it to your watch list which shows up under "your videos" on a firestick and, I presume, in the amazon app on a smart TV.

 

[Walther]

Given all of his sociopathic behaviour, it’s strange how Plant was able to resist the urge to cover up the outside assistance he received during the ‘89 Vendee Globe.

IMO, anyone who voluntarily (and repeatedly!) engages in drug trafficking is completely amoral.

 

[Pete7]

I see your confusion. I wasn't able to search for this or "following seas" (which is next on my list to watch) on my firestick.

Great film, not heard of Bob and Nancy Griffith before. I did wonder how they had so much original film but she took upon herself to photograph and film and store their experiences including the ship wreck.

Pete

 

[doris]

Given all of his sociopathic behaviour, it’s strange how Plant was able to resist the urge to cover up the outside assistance he received during the ‘89 Vendee Globe.

IMO, anyone who voluntarily (and repeatedly!) engages in drug trafficking is completely amoral.

Absolutely agree, seemed very odd. Especially as the drug activity was almost certainly a lot more significant than the story allows.

 

[laika]

IMO, anyone who voluntarily (and repeatedly!) engages in drug trafficking is completely amoral.

This is more a lounge topic but given that the substance in question was hashish, many would regard it as malum prohibitum rather than malum in se. Given that Greece has during my adult life had notoriously strict attitude to drugs and that as I understand it (I may be wrong, others please correct), hash was not considered as a "lower category" than opiates until fairly recently it certainly demonstrates a fairly high degree of risk taking.