WHITE SQUALL

WHITE SQUALL  

by

Todd Robinson

FADE IN:

SUPER: A TRUE STORY - MYSTIC HARBOR CONNECTICUT 1994

CREDITS OVER

Wind on the water. Soaring gulls and sand pipers glide

over the pilings and sagging bulkheads.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

Though I hadn't seen or spoken to

Sheldrake in over thirty years, it

seemed impossible that his heart was

the thing that had finally failed

him...

INT. LATE MODEL CAR - SAME

CHUCK GIEG, 49, thin, windswept and handsome, is behind

the wheel. He pulls down a narrow cobble stone street

that leads to the wharf.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

I never got close to him, nobody

did. But by the time we made Tampa,

I was sure I knew who he was, that I

understood what he saw, what

nourished his soul and tested his

faith...

EXT. WHARF - DAY

Chuck stares out across the harbor. In the distance, the

echoes of singing masts. Shrouds and canvas softly ping.

The small boats of Mystic tug restlessly at their

moorings.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

He had taken us to worship, where,

what was for him, the holiest of

holies. And, for us too by the

end...

EXT. DOCTORS OFFICE - LATER

Chuck stands silently on the periphery of a gathering of

people. They surround a small building, a neighborhood

clinic. A worn gray stone, long in the earth, dedicates

the structure.

IN MEMORY OF NATALIE "ALICE" SHELDRAKE M.D.,

CAPTAIN'S WIFE AND SHIP'S SURGEON OF THE

BRIGANTINE ALBATROSS - MAY 2, 1961

Next to the stone a funeral urn. A YOUNG MINISTER gropes

for meaning.

MINISTER

I didn't know Richard Sheldrake

personally, but his many friends who

knew and worked with him, wanted to

make sure that he was returned home,

here, to be remembered with his

beloved wife...

Chuck gazes out at the sleepy harbor, the minister's voice

fading away. The afternoon wind is coming up with the

tide. He quietly heads towards the water. Drifting,

drawn, lost.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

Though he had moved on with his

life, now even for the years, to

hear him eulogized by strangers,

seemed strange. He had been a

hewner of stones, a pilot by the

silent stars. Like me, alone among

many. But most of all for us, the

crew of the brigantine Albatross, he

was always and would forever be...

our Skipper.

A SHIP'S BELL turns him around. Ding ding. Ding ding. A

beautiful three masted schooner steady on the water slips

into port. A picture out of another time, another place.

It takes him away...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. FOREST - WATER TOWER - DAY

A towering monolith, surrounded by tall oaks and

sycamores. The tower is immense. A single ladder runs up

to the top.

AT THE TOP

Just above the tree tops, the view is spectacular. CHUCK

GIEG, 16, sits thin and unsteady. Chuck's gaze is drawn

upward -- to the building spring cumulus clouds. Chuck's

older brother WILL, 18, stout, self assured, pulls himself

to the top.

WILL

You gonna jump? Or are you just

having a last look?

CHUCK

I was just thinking that I never had

a new pair of shoes till I was

twelve.

WILL

It's no my fault I was born first.

Besides, nobody ever sent me on an

eight month vacation, so ease up on

the sad sack stuff.

CHUCK

It's not a vacation, it's private

school.

WILL

I thought this was your dream come

true.

CHUCK

That's not why he's sending me.

WILL

Why then.

CHUCK

Because it looks good.

Chuck looks out, yearning. Will considers him, troubled.

CHUCK

I'm just not like you. Ya know?

I'm never going to go to Yale. I'm

never going to be "William".

WILL

Nobody says you have to be like me.

CHUCK

He does.

WILL

You don't give him enough credit

Chas.

Chuck takes a last look at the building clouds. The sky

rumbles. Distant thunder.

WILL

We better go.

EXT. GIEG HOUSE - DAY

Maple street, USA, tree lined and quaint. The Gieg home

is a modest two story house with a covered porch. The

family station wagon is poised for departure. CHARLES,

45, a generally serious man broods as MIDDY, their mother,

40, soft and thoughtful, exits the house. Chuck and Will

appear from the woods.

CHARLES

(ticked)

You plan on making this plane or

not?

WILL

Don't take any wooden nickels

Kemosabe.

CHUCK

I won't.

Will shoves out a hand at Chuck.

WILL

And lighten up will ya.

Chuck hugs him anyway and walks to the passenger side.

Charles tosses him the keys, like he's doing him a big

favor.

INT. CAR - DAY

Chuck sits in the drivers seat. Middy is in the back.

Charles slams the trunk and gets in. Before Chuck turns

the ignition...

CHARLES

Now just take it easy. We're not

going to a fire.

Chuck reacts.

OUTSIDE

Will watches as the car pulls away.

CAR - MOVING

The Giegs drive in silence. Middy reads from a brochure.

MIDDY

Honey, did you know that the

Albatross was captured by the

Germans during World War II?

CHUCK

No, I didn't.

MIDDY

It says she was originally Schooner

rigged, but Captain Sheldrake turned

her into a brigantine. I think

square rigs look so much more

romantic.

CHUCK

Me too.

CHARLES

Appearances aren't everything. Keep

your mind on the road.

Chuck pulls over to the side of the road.

CHARLES

What are you doing?

Chuck hands him the keys.

CHUCK

I don't feel like driving. Okay?

Charles regards him oddly.

EXT. AIRPORT GATE - DAY

The National Airlines Boeing 707 is bigger than anything

Chuck has ever seen. Passengers begin boarding. Charles

stands away, detached.

MIDDY

Do you have your ticket?

CHUCK

Yes.

MIDDY

Passport?

CHUCK

Look, I just better go.

Middy hugs her son.

CHUCK

Goodbye Mom. I'll be okay.

MIDDY

I know you will.

Chuck faces his dad.

CHARLES

Make us proud.

CHUCK

Yes sir.

Charles extends his hand. They shake. Then Chuck hurries

away into the crowd. Charles and Middy watch until he is

out of sight.

INT. PLANE - DAY

Chuck settles into his seat next to the window. He

watches as the world slips away beneath the wings of the

707.

EXT. AIRPORT CUSTOMS - BERMUDA - DAY

Another world. Chuck stands in line at the customs booth.

He cranes his neck to see the brilliant blue water and

coral reefs beyond the runway.

Three other boys are ahead of him in line. The CUSTOMS

AGENTS go through every piece of luggage. TOD JOHNSTONE,

16, thin and blonde, is in a heated argument with one of

the agents about his spear gun.

RICK MARCH, 17, wise-cracking and confident, shakes his

head, smiling. He spots Chuck, moves through the line and

shoves out a hand.

RICK

Albatross?

CHUCK

Yeah.

RICK

Rick March. Who the hell are you?

CHUCK

Gieg, Chuck.

RICK

Look, meet us out front when you're

through. If they try to take

anything away from you like Johnny

Quest up there, just make a list and

we'll have 'em send it down to the

boat.

CHUCK

Whatever.

One of the agent starts pulling things out of Rick's

duffel bag. He finds a dive knife.

RICK

Hey, hey!! That's my stuff!!

EXT. AUSTIN CAB - MOVING - DAY

The car whizzes through the narrow streets of Bermuda.

CALYPSO MUSIC sings from the radio. The streets are lined

with small coral houses and exotic palms.

INT. CAR - SAME

The boys are jammed inside with their things. In addition

to Chuck, Rick and Tod, is CHARLIE STRATTON, also sixteen.

TOD

Well Ricky boy, spear gun or no,

it's sweet to be back in the world

of rum and honey.

RICK

I gotta admit I never thought you'd

be back after the great "Bowsprit

Affair".

TOD

Me and Skipper had a meeting of the

minds.

CHARLIE

How's that?

TOD

I begged.

CHUCK

(warming a little)

What the "Bowsprit Affair"?

RICK

Well, Romeo here was on harbor watch

and managed to sweet talk one of the

local girls to have a go in the

bowsprit.

TOD

Not just any 'local' girl.

RICK

The 'local' mayor's 'local'

daughter.

Tod smiles, reminiscing.

CHARLIE

Thing is, the net in the basket

isn't very comfortable, so Tod-o

wraps them up in the jib. After the

deed was done...

RICK

He says they did the deed...

TOD

Trust me, we did the deed.

CHARLIE

After the "alleged" deed was done,

they fell asleep. Big Daddy Lawford

comes on deck at four bells and

hears Casanova sawing logs.

TOD

Believe me, I needed the rest...

CHARLIE

He gets the whole crew on deck, gets

us on the halyard, and orders the

old "heave ho...".

RICK

Up goes the jib and out roll Tod-o

and the mayor's daughter, naked as

pilot whales...

CHARLIE

(to Tod)

I don't know who was more surprised,

you or Big Daddy.

TOD

To tell you the truth, I think it

was her father.

At the top of a hill, the harbor comes into view.

RICK

Well gentlemen, there she is.

The cab stops. Besides many colorful fishing boats, is

the ALBATROSS. At ninety-two feet, she dwarfs everything

in the harbor. Her white hull glows like ivory and her

twin masts and yard arms tower above her deck.

Breathtaking.

CHARLIE

Home sweet hell on the water.