Find out what the story is takes time and lots of research.
Back in 1985 I’d done a documentary about racing on San Francisco bay. It covered everything from the the three America’s Cup teams that were practicing on the Bay that year to one design fleet and even a short segment about the Master Mariners Regatta that year. That gave a place to start since I’d featured both Brigadoon (60 years old then) and Freda (100 years old that year). I needed to broaden the base. I needed to find people who both had a good story to tell and were good story tellers. With 40+ interviews under my belt, I knew there was a compelling story.
Check out the article about “Progress on Wooden Boats Documentary” in the 2025 Shellback Winter Magazine.