Morning Light

"Morning Light," sailor's delight.

All others be forewarned. This documentary chronicling the crew of young adults who participated in the 2007 "Transpac" — a yacht race from California to Hawaii — seems destined to leave most landlubbers in its wake. Notwithstanding the gorgeous cinematography of cavorting dolphins and sunsets on the open sea, there's not a lot for non-sailing fans to dive into. Much of the film deals with tacking and jibing.

Oh, sure, there's the requisite theme of personal growth, too. The film follows the recruitment and training of 15 college-age sailors, 11 of whom were ultimately picked to man (and, in one case, woman) the titular 52-foot sailboat, competing against a flotilla of more-experienced yachtsmen in one of sailboat racing's most grueling competitions. Over the course of the months-long process, they grow up, and together.

That's a given in any film that tells us not once, but twice, that it doesn't really matter who ultimately wins. "It's about the journey," coos Roy E. Disney, the film's executive producer and Hawaiian-shirt-clad Buddha. (Wait a minute. I think I've heard that tidbit of wisdom somewhere before, and I didn't need to cross the Pacific Ocean to get it.)

But I'm being churlish. "Morning Light" is a sunny, saltwater-splashed tale of inspiration. The kids — a couple of whom have cute nicknames like "Troll" and "Turtle" — are all likable. And the boating scenes are beautiful. As for the white-knuckle suspense of the race itself, well, how much of a life-or-death matter could it have been — despite the con-

stant reminders about drowning from the crew's coaches — when you stop to think that another boat had to be following along with a camera crew, recording it all for posterity?

"Morning Light" is rated PG and contains one or two mildly crude words. Running time: 97 minutes.