SHEILA YEATES
IN THE NAME OF OUR DAUGHTERS & WIVES
The full video of the Loss of the Sheila Yeates
In the Name of Our Daughters and Wives (edited and published September 2011 by Richard Olsenius) Photographed by crew members Óli Lindenskov and Hjaltur Poulsen on the Kiviuq 1, July, 1989.
Geoff Pope had a dream. At 65 he wanted to build a 50' top-sail ketch and sail her to adventurous places. This is the story of the final adventure of that graceful ketch - the "Sheila Yeates", named for Geoff's daughter. Caught in pack ice off the coast of Greenland in the summer of 1989, the Sheila Yeates sent out a Mayday. When nearly all seemed lost, the voice of a Danish fishing captain came over the VHF answering the distress call. The Kiviuq turned course and slowly pushed through pack ice to save the seven-member crew of the Sheila Yeates,
This film documents the dramatic events of that fateful August day as viewed through the gritty video footage shot by the crew of the Kiviuq.
Before Geoff died, he sat down with filmmaker, Richard Olsenius, to talk about the event that changed his life and gave Richard the tapes of the daring rescue. His recount of the rescue of the crew, combined with earlier footage of the Sheila Yeates on Lake Superior and the dramatic footage of the eventual loss of the Sheila Yeates in heavy seas, offers a poignant story of dreams, adventure, life and loss.
As Geoff reflects on his feelings of watching the sinking of the Sheila Yeates, he tries to explain the closeness a sailor has to his ship - it is why, he says, "We name them after our daughters and wives." In The Name of Our Daughters and Wives music and video ©2020 Richard Olsenius. Kiviuq portions of video ©1989 by Óli Lindenskov and Hjaltur Poulsen.