Best Sailing Documentary Movies: sea, ocean, racing, sailor, survival, yachting

Paul Johnson sailed the world all his life. He loved, drank and lived foolish, never truly living on land. Now he is turning 80. He drinks a liter of vodka a day and contemplates his life, his death. What is at the end of such a journey?

A high spirited, poetic adventure documentary that chronicle's a young person's rites of passage, from novice sailor to expert in three years of life aged in salt, sun and wind. Shot on-board and also on location around the globe, Between Home displays the panache of Nick Jaffe's ocean odyssey from Europe to Australia, and what happens when you dare to follow your dream.

A real-life, modern-day sailing odyssey, with a deep universal message of resiliency, hope and second chances.

Mike Plant burned his way through life by an unconventional set of rules, leading him to dark corners of the world before finding his passion and the pinnacle of a sport that celebrates individuals who race around the world on a sailboat.

The story of a small group of modern seafaring gypsies, following them as they strike out across the largest expanse of uninhabited geography on earth, in search of adventure, awe and whatever else lies at the far side of the world.

Red Dot on the Ocean is the story of Matt Rutherford, a severely troubled youth, who became a sailing legend. Departing Annapolis, MD in a scrappy old 27-foot fiberglass sloop without fanfare, 30-year-old Rutherford braved the icebergs of the arctic and mountainous waves of Cape Horn to become the only person to ever sail single-handed, non-stop around the Americas; a 27,000 mile journey many professional sailors declared "a suicide mission." As a youngster, Matt's ADHD and tics made life at home and at school near-impossible. At age 13 he was in drug rehab and he spent his remaining teen years more on the streets than in school. Then, at age 17, locked up in a cell, he had an epiphany and decided to turn his life around. Matt attended and excelled at a special high school for troubled youth where he developed a desire to explore the world. After graduating, he bought his first sailboat - sight unseen on the Internet. Over the next few years he bought boats on the cheap, fixed them up, and learned to sail on the fly. In 2008, Matt embarked on a single-handed voyage from the USA to Europe, West Africa and back across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. He'd found his calling. In 2011, Matt took on his biggest challenge: a solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the Americas. He did it for himself, and to raise money for disabled sailors. After 309 days at sea, Matt achieved his goal and sailed into Annapolis to a hero's welcome. Matt's story is told through his own words and interviews with his family, sailing experts, and others. We use family photos and video of his childhood; Matt's own footage of his early sailing days; and video, audio logs, and stills from his historic around the Americas voyage. To this we add additional ocean footage; archival visuals of earlier explorers Matt admires; and re-enactments from Matt's troubled past. Matt Rutherford's story is full of surprises. It is truly inspiring and makes us all feel we can do more than we ever imagined.

The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989.

In 1973, with almost no experience, Mexican captain Ramon Carlin raced against the superstars of sailing in a 9 month deadly round the world regatta winning the overall prize.

A documentary about the journey and spirit of Alex Rust, a farm boy turned day trader from Indiana who, at 25, abandoned his yuppie life in Chicago, bought a modest sailboat, and set out to sail around the world, learning as he journeyed.

Set in one of the most complex waterways in the world, showing the hardships and dangers in the Race to Alaska. Many will succumb against winds, currents, whirlpools, fear and fatigue as both character and watercraft are tested.

A sailing family makes 20 ocean voyages over two decades, sometimes following the path of Captain Cook, but more frequently following nothing but their own hearts and the siren call of adventure.

A FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.

A documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

A documentary about the disastrous 1968 round-the-world yacht race.

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

In 1947, with five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4,300 miles across the Pacific.

A look at the life, passions, achievements and tragedies surrounding the famous explorer and environmentalist Jacques Cousteau, featuring an archive of his newly restored footage.

This documentary chronicles the Lewis and Clark expedition and breathtaking landscape they crossed while searching for the northwest passage. (Source: Netflix)

After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.

A true story of survival, as a young couple's chance encounter leads them first to love, and then on the adventure of a lifetime as they face one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in recorded history.

It tells the story of Yann Kermadec whose dreams suddenly come true when he has to replace the DCNS star skipper at the last minute before the start of the Vendée Globe (a round-the-world non-stop single-handed yacht race). After several days of racing, Yann, who is in the lead, has to stop to repair a damaged rudder. This will disrupt his round-the-world journey...