The Far Side of the World is a full-length 2017 documentary film about, as the tagline states, “a rambunctious crew of wanderers,” sailing from New Zealand to Patagonia by way of Antarctica.
We open on a storm off Cape Adare, late in season. The ship fights massive waves, while the Ross Sea threatens to close over with ice any day. The engine is broken, and the fuel is freezing. A man stands on the heaving deck and flashes a mittened thumbs-up at the camera. Everything going wrong, the narrator explains, is part of the adventure.
Their planned route covers nearly 13,000 kilometers. Photo: Screenshot
Their vessel is the Infinity, a 36m ketch captained by German father Clements Gabriel Oestrich. His girlfriend, Sage Livingston, joins the crew as well. The rest are a motley collection of self-described wanderers, including our narrator. Nico went to sea when he “found himself growing grim about the mouth,” introducing himself with a quote from fellow sailor-narrator Ishmael.
Infinity also has no ice reinforcement or insurance for the journey to Antarctica. She’s got a used engine, and every item aboard her was purchased on the cheap. Then again, most of these things are also true of famous polar ships. Terra Nova was a leaky old whaler that nearly sank off New Zealand. Right where they’re heading now, actually.
This shot reminds me of an Ivan Aivazovsky painting, except the horizon is slightly tilted. Photo: Screenshot
New Zealand to Patagonia
Once at sea, we become better acquainted with the crew, like French sailmaker Ayack and German carpenter Ole. They take us along for the sometimes chaotic, sometimes peaceful day-to-day aboard the ragtag vessel. As she passes through the Pacific, Infinity is not isolated from broader problems. We see mountains of trash covering the beaches of small islands, and watch the line drag in the water for days without a fish.
Past 60˚ South, they begin trying to get the heater on. It doesn’t work, but that’s just as well; they need the boat to freeze in order to kill the termites. They make it to Cape Adare and enjoy a brief shore leave harassing some rumpled penguins.
The ‘Infinity’ approaches Antarctica. Photo: Screenshot
They have no permission to be there, so it’s not especially surprising when a boat of people approaches the ketch in the night and boards her. It is surprising when they reveal why they’re there: They’re an environmental group who need help. They’re looking for a secret, illegal whale butchering ship, but a harpoon boat is on their tail.
Infinity agrees to switch places with their vessel, the Steve Irwin, leading the harpoon boat on a merry chase while the environmentalists slip away.
The gambit ultimately fails, but the grateful whale defenders still gift them much-needed diesel. Photo: Screenshot
Then the Infinity is alone in the Ross Sea, running before the storm, exactly where the film opened. The ship takes on water, and they are in a warren of icebergs with limited steering. But the more dangerous things get, the more exhilarated the crew seems, the more they are struck by the beauty of the place.
They pull through. Repairs hold, workarounds are found, Lady Luck does not send a growler ripping through Infinity‘s 50-year-old hull. As they approach Patagonia, Captain Clements pulls up a chart, gesturing enthusiastically at blank patches of the map. Those, he resolves, are where the Infinity and her crew will go next.
