White Squall Page #8

SKIPPER:

Take the wheel.

EXT. FORETOP - SAME

Dark clouds blot out the sky and stars. Thunder rumbles

far away. The seas have built but there's no wind... yet.

With no steerage, the ship is tossed.

Tod hangs high above the heaving deck continuing to furl.

The mast swings from side to side, but the air has gone

dead calm. Skipper looks up, anticipating.

SKIPPER:

Everyone out of the rigging NOW!

BILL:

Everybody down! ON THE DOUBLE!!

TOD:

(shouting)

HERE IT COMES!!

ON THE DECK:

The crew in the rigging scamper down to the safety of the

deck.

SKIPPER:

Bill, on the wheel with Chuck.

Bill joins Chuck and takes hold of the wheel. Then it

hits.

A wall of torrential rain drums the deck amid a tympany of

thunder and flashing lightning. The bow explodes through

twelve foot swells. This is what the Albatross was born

to do.

INT. MAIN CABIN - SAME

It's all the crew can do to stay in their bunks. Pots

crash, books and personals go flying. The guys are

scared.

ON DECK:

The main and jib sheets tighten. Skipper looks at Chuck

and Bill. It all comes down to moments like these and he

loves it.

Suddenly, there is a loud CRACK! A violent flapping

noise. Skipper leaps to the port and looks forward. Tod

comes running back.

TOD:

We blew the inner!

ALICE:

I'll go.

SKIPPER:

Bring it down and run up the storm

jib. We'll fix it later. Stay out

of reach of the blocks!

Tod and Alice disappear.

SKIPPER:

(with a twinkle)

Well, we're in it now.

Chuck studies him, frightened, but reassured.

EXT. BOW - SAME

The shredded jib and rigging whip violently in the wind.

The block smashes into the gunnel rail, shattering it. No

one dares go near it. For a moment, it seems to hang

there seductively. John, naive of its power, leaps for

the rail and grabs it.

ALICE:

NOOO!!!

Suddenly, the wind cracks the sail instantly hurling John

high off the deck and over the side. He holds on for dear

life, screaming.

AT THE WHEEL:

SKIPPER:

(to Chuck)

Hold her steady.

Skipper bolts forward.

AT THE BOW:

Alice uncleats the jib halyard, leaving one turn on the

pin and shoves it into Tod's hands.

ALICE:

Release this when I tell you!!

Skipper joins Tod as Alice scrambles along the deck and

pulls herself into the bowsprit netting. When the block

and jib swing inboard, she grabs for the leach of the sail

yelling...

ALICE:

NOW!!!

As John is snapped inboard Alice leaps up, grabbing the

sail, leaning out over the open water. Waves explode

through the netting. As Tod releases the halyard, John

falls to the deck, bruised, humbled, but alive. Lawford

and Skipper pull Alice from the bowsprit.

Skipper looks her over. Relieved. No broken bones. Good

work. But then this is what he expects. He respects her

and now, everyone can see why. He looks at John sprawled

on the deck.

SKIPPER:

Be careful will ya?

JOHN:

What ever you say Cap...

SKIPPER:

Let's get that storm jib up.

Skipper gives Alice a private look, then returns to the

stern where Chuck holds tightly onto the wheel.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

The storm lasted sixteen hours and

it set us all on equal footing. It

was the first time that we shared an

episode on an even plane. As we

stood our watches we were equally

out of control of our situation,

regardless of our physical abilities

or social backgrounds. And though

our real feelings lay hidden beneath

bravado and defiance, we were no

longer strangers.

EXT. DECK - DAY

The crew is cleaning up. Alice supervises repairs to the

jib while others stow line, scrub the deck and chip paint.

Lawford paces.

LAWFORD:

You know what they say in the Navy

don't you?

RICK:

What's that, Big Daddy?

The more experienced crew members have heard this all

before.

LAWFORD:

"If it moves, salute it. If it

doesn't move, pick it up. If it's

too big to pick up, paint it!"

The boys mockingly salute Lawford as he walks by. John

stands before a porthole combing his Brylcreem hair into a

"D.A."

Mike and Chris climb on deck with several large boxes.

MIKE:

Ladies, gentlemen and

hermaphrodites, Mr. Corry and I are

happy to announce the grand opening

of Trans-Border Enterprises.

They start opening the boxes. One is a case of Coca Cola,

another is full of cigarettes and candy.

CHRIS:

All of the creature comforts and

vices you could possibly want, at

home or abroad, available twenty-

four hours a day.

MIKE:

For a price, of course.

ROBIN:

If you've got "a broad" available

I'll take her.

JOHN:

Like you'd know what to do with one.

The crew shakes their heads, mutter and check out the

goods.

TERRY:

You got Marlboro's?

CHRIS:

Absa-f***in-lutely.

CHUCK:

Toss me a Cola.

CHRIS:

Fifty cents.

CHUCK:

What?!!

MIKE:

Contraband's hard to come by out

here son.

John is still grooming at the window.

PHIL:

Hey Goodall, you got a date or

something?

John continues to comb.

JOHN:

Yeah. With your mom.

EVERYBODY:

Oooooooo.

Phil slinks away.

CHRIS:

We also have a few rental items...

Chris displays a Playboy magazine. Everybody clamors to

get a look.

MIKE:

There's a penalty for any material

returned to the Trans-Border Library

with sticky pages.

John walks by, snatches the magazine and heads for his

bunk flipping through the pages.

MIKE:

Hey, you can't do that!!

(to Chris)

He can't do that!!

John flops in a deck chair. Chris shakes his head and

starts closing up the boxes.

CHRIS:

Sure he can.

EXT. STERN - LATER

Chuck sits alone, away from the others, reading. On cue,

half of the crew descend, dragging him kicking and

screaming into the bowswain's chair, and over the side.

The guys cheer.

CHUCK:

Come on you guys, this isn't funny!

The seat spins, twists and swings from behind the boat.

CHARLIE:

Come on Chucky. Show us a little

grit.

They lower the chair so it glides just above the surface.

When the boat noses into a swell Chuck gets quite a ride.

Once he has the hang of it, fear turns to elation.

CHUCK:

YEEE HAAAA!!!!!

CHARLIE:

Okay, who's next?

PHIL:

You gotta be kidding? He's a human

chum line!

RICK:

No self respecting shark is gonna

take a bite out of you.

Chuck's hauled back in and Terry pushes his way to the

front of the line.

TERRY:

I'm next!

Terry goes over the side. Once he gets the hang of it, he

gets into it. He maneuvers the chair like a plane,

forcing himself deep into the waves and then blasting back

to the surface.

OFF THE PORT SIDE

Robin is trolling. The line takes a tremendous hit and

Robin's reel screams. Tod is at the wheel and turns.

TOD:

There she blows!!

Two hundred feet out something large and pissed has taken

the bait. The crew turn and look. Skipper looks out at

Terry still in the bowswain's chair.

SKIPPER:

Get him in.

Bill waves at Terry to come on in.

BILL:

Come on in!!!

Terry waves him off and disappears back under the waves.

They can't pull him up while he's going under the water.

SKIPPER:

Do it now Bill.

Terry pops up, pissed that they're reeling him back in.

Suddenly the animal on the other end of Robin's line

explodes out of the sea. It's a six foot Thresher shark.

Terry sees it too and freaks, suddenly thrashing and

screaming.

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