Vertical Sailing
Directed by: Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll 2011 Belgium 58 minutes
Showing:     Saturday February 18th 2012 - Finale evening.
Location:     Centennial Theatre
Tickets $18 online / $20 doors   Buy Tickets Here


In the spring of 2010 four climbers (who are also musicians), Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Nicolas Favresse, and his brother Olivier (all from Belgium) Ben Ditto (USA), and 75 year old Captain, the Reverend Bob Shepton (UK) sailed around the cold waters of the North Atlantic in search of big walls on the west coast of Greenland in the 30 foot Dodo's Delight.

Long synopsis:
In the spring of 2010 four climbers (who are also musicians), Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Nicolas Favresse, and his brother Olivier (all from Belgium) Ben Ditto (USA), and 75 year old Captain, the Reverend Bob Shepton (UK) sailed around the cold waters of the North Atlantic in search of big walls on the west coast of Greenland in the 30 foot Dodo's Delight.
They succeeded in climbing what Bob had named the "Impossible Wall", 850 metres high and shooting straight out of the sea. The climbing proved to be "very wild, and never simple, with grassy cracks, guano covered slabs, mossy offwidths, vertical kitty litter, and vomiting seagulls". However, midnight sun was a huge advantage, there was never any pressure of getting caught up in the dark. Seven long days of climbing later (actually 11 calendar days!) they topped out on "Devil’s Brew" (E7 6c or 5.12d) which gave 19 sustained pitches of a high standard. Three other routes were also climbed.
They then sailed down to the south of the country and did more new routes including one which Bob climbed (E2 - not bad at 75!) before sailing back to Europe through a fortnight of fairly atrocious weather.
The expedition won a Piolet d'Or in 2011.