White Squall

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.

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