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Celestial

A group of students use their knowledge of the forgotten art of celestial navigation in a prestigious sailing race to discover a pure form of sailing and a new connection to the sea.

  • Jack Gordon
    Director
    The Ocean Knows No Borders (2018)
  • Captain James Geil
    Featuring
  • Chip Connard
    Featuring
  • Connor Cook
    Featuring
  • Sofia Vakhutinsky
    Featuring
  • Jack Gordon
    Aerial Cinematography
  • Gary Lawrence
    Aerial Cinematography
  • Bijan Sharifi
    Re-Recording Mixer
  • Bijan Sharifi
    Dialogue Editor
  • William Sammons
    Sound Effects Editor
  • Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach
    Sound Supervisor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Sports, Adventure, Documentary, Sailing
  • Runtime:
    28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 4, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Jack Gordon

Jack Gordon is a documentary filmmaker and videographer. He is currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is a student-athlete on the Varsity Rowing Team. His film The Ocean Knows No Borders premiered at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival in 2019, and has since played at a number of film festivals around New England. Jack is also the Video Intern at the Pan-Mass Challenge, where he has led efforts to expand their marketing and outreach efforts through online video. Additionally, he has worked freelance creating films and videos for a range of companies, organizations, and bands nationwide. His first feature documentary film, released shortly after he graduated high school, highlighted and explored the one hundred year history of his high school’s rowing program.

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Director Statement

Like the main characters in the film, I attended Tabor Academy for high school and was introduced to celestial navigation through Captain Geil’s course my junior year. Throughout four years of high school, that class remained the most interesting and exciting course I had enrolled in. Though I have had a few opportunities to experience offshore sailing, I never got the opportunity to put my celestial navigation skills into practice.

As my documentary and video career has accelerated over the past two years, I’ve had an urge to eventually create a film about celestial navigation in the Marion to Bermuda Race. Growing up in Marion, I was well aware of the race and its unique character as the only race that maintains a celestial class. When I learned this past winter that there was a group of Tabor students preparing to compete in the celestial class of the race, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make my idea into a reality.

It is my hope that this film will raise awareness of the fascinating art of celestial navigation and grow an appreciation for a purer form of sailing that deepens one’s connection to the sea. The fact that Tabor Academy continues to give students the opportunity to learn such a unique and transformational skill is truly unique, and it is something that should be appreciated tremendously by those that have had the opportunity to take the course.

This film will speak to the deep connection people have to the sport of offshore sailing, the way it can intimately connect you to the sea and the stars, and the sense of freedom and adventure that it instills. To see the joy and passion of the students from racing and navigating the vessel will show the value in disconnecting from the technology around us and rediscovering this traditional form of offshore sailing.