Monday, September 10, 2012

So where are they now?

If you read this blog, you have probably seen these movies (or you should see them).  So, what about the boats which appeared in them?  Where are they now?  Here's a little information I have been able to find:

The African Queen

Our friends the Yoders found the African Queen (from the Bogart/Bacall movie of the same name) in the Florida keys. She is being rennovated and is available for day trips.  (They are seeking donations to get the original steam engine running again.)   I'd spring for a trip, if only the torpedos were fitted in the bow again...

Wanderer

Looking now much like she did in the opening scenes, this Formosa 51 was the focus of the must-see Captain Ron (Kurt Russell/Martin Short).  (Apparently more than one boat was used in the movie.)  Believe it or not, Wanderer is for sale - she can be yours for only $129,000!

Lea Fortis


This boat appeared briefly in Fifty First Dates (Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore), a bitter-sweet comedy.  The appearance was at the end of the movie and was brief - the primary reason that I include her here is that she used to be berthed across the dock from us, so we have a personal connection.  Sold by our friend Trevor to a Brit named Neal, she was chartered to a movie company who took her to Alaska for the filming.  She came back considerably damaged.  I don't know what Neal got for her rental, but he seemed pleased in spite of the damage.  The last we heard, he had taken her down thru the Panama Canal and then on to England.

Storm Vogel

This beautiful 76-foot schooner was featured in the blue-water thriller Dead Calm (Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane).  Storm Vogel is a world traveller.  In 2009, she was spotted in Tunisia.  And in August 2012, she was seen in Grenada by our friends Mike and Rebecca on s/v Zero to Cruising.
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THE floating house

The central location in the movie Sleepless in Seattle (Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan).  Don't tell me you haven't seen this movie - I know you have.  Not a boat, but still, it floats, it's local and it is a Seattle icon.  And it is still tied up right where it was in the movie.  Further, it is for sale!  You can live here and dream of Hanks or Ryan (your preference), and enjoy the Seattle waterfront lifestyle.  All you'll need is $2,500,000.
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7 comments:

Mike said...

Storm Vogel is currently in Grenada:

http://www.zerotocruising.com/a-very-fast-storm/

Mike

Robert Salnick said...

Thanks Mike -

Wow - how could I have missed that?

[corrected]

bob

Anonymous said...

FYI: Woodwind II was used in the movie The Wedding Crashers. She's very actively in use as a tourist boat in Annapolis: http://www.schoonerwoodwind.com/about/fun-facts/

Robert Salnick said...

Thanks Anon!

bob

Boyd Godfrey said...

If anybody is interested I've got some behind the scenes shots of a stink-bomb of a movie we shot in Vancouver and Squamish several years years ago. Go to my website www.grandbanks42.com and on the main index page select Off Topic...enjoy.

Mike Oswald said...

3Great blog.
But wasn't the "African Queen powered by a naphtha engine? Not that it makes a hill of beans yet that was a very popular source of light marine power during that time period-and often confused with steam.


Mike O.

Robert Salnick said...

Mike -
My memory says that it was a steam engine, which jibes with the website. But steam engines need fuel to boil the water - perhaps the fuel was naptha...

bob

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