“We were sat on the edges of our seats, prepared for the worst, when the body bag came out on the deck (a bit of a cliffhanger), but without giving a film spoiler a few minutes later we were sat back relaxing and enjoying the rest of the film. Well done Annie.”
Hey Crew! Bonus blog post for you this week. It is such a cool feeling to put a piece of work out there for folks to look at, watch or read. You’re going to get some critiques, some praise, some responses you never expected, but that’s the fun part of being a creator. I had many people email me this past weekend after watching the initial Patreon release of my movie from the Atlantic-crossing and I wanted to share a few of their reviews with you here. Uncut!
Carl Walters
Carl & Jenny’s Sailing Adventures
“Well the film was released for Patrons yesterday. Guess what we decided? Yep, a movie night watching Video Annie cross the Atlantic along with the rest of the crew. Jenny and I settled down to watch the film, we decided on a nice cup of English Tea to go with the movie. Well I can honestly say, we didn’t budge from the screen from start to finish. Well done Annie. The film covers their trip day by day, the good, the bad and the ugly!! The trials and tribulations that confronted the crew on their long journey and the satisfaction when they overcame them. Jenny and I sat on the edges of our seats and prepared for the worst when the body bag came out on the deck (a bit of a cliffhanger) but, without giving a film spoiler, a few minutes later we were sat back relaxing and enjoying the rest of the film. Although at times, because the footage was filmed on the GoPro, the sound loses a bit of quality, it did not spoil our enjoyment as Annie’s style of editing overcomes this with her humorous narration.
Overall, this was a well put-together video and highly watchable. If you are put off by the length of the film, please don’t be. Put aside a couple of hours to watch this in one go and you won’t regret it. I, for one, would like to download this to my hard drive and add it to our sailing film collection to watch when we will be spending nights on anchor without internet connection. Great job Annie and thank you for a great night’s entertainment. (I hope the cheque’s in the post! Lol.)”
Jenny Walters
“I enjoyed Annie’s perspective on things as they made their crossing. I particularly loved the fact that I was able to connect with a woman’s viewpoint as there are certain things we look for and do differently than men. I was amazed at the variety of meals they had on board. (I can’t cook at home and they ate better than I could have imagined.) It was fun to watch Annie and her partner showering on the back of the boat (and strangely enough, seeing how Annie coped with “women issues” like where to shave your legs?). Annie did things that I love to do — silly dancing as she listens to her music, etc. Just trivial things like this made the movie so “real” to me. I learned how critical it is to have a man like the Captain on board who knows how to identify problems quickly and be able to put them right whilst on the move. I found her happy all the time, which was strange! I can understand she didn’t want to document bad things but I like to see that, too. As someone who hasn’t experienced much sea sailing I was surprised how much the auto pilot is used. Now I know, my Kindle needs a few more downloads to pass the time! I liked the happy ending. It was a very uplifting movie for me, an informative and eye-opening film.”
It was so cool to find this in my inbox the day after the movie went live. A BIG thanks to Carl & Jenny for taking the time to watch and write a detailed review and a little more about these two crazy wildhearts:
Carl and Jenny Sailing Adventures is about, yes, you’ve guessed, Carl and Jenny and the adventures they get up to in their sailing lives. Carl has been a keen sailor for quite a few years whilst Jenny is relatively new to the sport. However it has been a dream for both of them that one day they would sell up and buy a yacht and move onto it as liveaboards. Well after serving Queen and Country for 30 years, as one of the boys in blue, as well as running their own businesses, Carl finally retires in March 2017, so the dream is coming to fruition. Over the past few months they have been doing as much sailing as possible, doing training courses and chartering boats ready for the adventure starting. Their plans are to spend a couple of seasons sailing around the Mediterranean, before making their own Atlantic crossing down to the Caribbean. They have started a Youtube channel documenting their journey. http://youtube.com/c/CarlandJennySailingAdventures. To assist in their preparation they have subscribed to quite a few sailing channels of cruisers on YouTube, “Have Wind Will Travel” being one of their favorites, as well as becoming a Patron to Annie & Phillip’s channel.
“What appealed to us was the fun way in which Annie presents her videos, and at the same time in an informative and entertaining format. Even better as a Patrons we get a sneak peek of Annie’s videos before they go on public release so we had notification of the forthcoming “Crossing the Atlantic” video some time ago. Jenny and I have been looking forward to watching the full length feature film after seeing the trailer a couple of weeks ago.” — Carl
Captain Ryan Rayfield
Offshore Sailing and Adventure Cruises
“Annie, the movie is really great. I really have nothing bad to say, and no criticism. I was entertained the whole time. There was never a dull moment. You captured all of the stuff that really happens out there and the mechanics of keeping the boat moving forward while everyone maintained a positive attitude. The Azores were great. That boat is smoking fast! Even the Captain explaining the dynamics of the rotating mast were dead on. He was second guessing himself a little, but it’s all physics and you could tell he knew it well. You have captured the reality of a voyage like this and that is what people want.”
Joe Howell
Self-Proclaimed “Video Annie” fanatic
Chuck Klima
HaveWindWillTravel Die-Hard
Many thanks to Carl, Jenny, Ryan, Joe and Chuck for sending me these early reviews. If you are now (as my Dad would say) “chomping at the bit” to watch the Atlantic-crossing movie, too, jump on Patreon for an early viewing. Otherwise, she’s a-coming out for rent on YouTube Oct. 7th! Hooray! A heartfelt thanks to my followers and supporters who motivate Phillip and I to keep sharing our journey, our lessons and our experiences.
Get inspired. Get on board.