Great film, if a little blurry for the net, this is the biographic story of Robin Lee Graham who took off from Los Angeles aged 16 in 1965 to sail around the world in a 23 ft GRP production sloop designed by Bill Lapworth. The true story, as told by Robin in the 1972 book of his journey that he co-wrote with Derek LT Gill, is a classic coming of age tale which sees him arriving back in America after the summer of love as a man – a married man at that and with a newer 33ft Luders design built by the Allied Boat Company. The film manages to stay close to the book and of course the scenes around the Pacific islands are enough to make you start packing your kitbag.
It stars Joseph Bottoms as Graham with Deborah Raffin as Patti Ratteree – the girl who decides to follow him, meeting him on stops on the way. The Youtube version is a tad out of sync – but it works OK on a small screen and the sailing scenes are real enough for boaters.