SYNOPSIS
On a sunny day in November 1938 a magnificent white schooner set sail from Greenwich with 14 people on board. Among other wealthy passengers from US, Canada and England there is also a young an Estonian Captain Ahto Valter, his Scottish-American wife and their 1,5 years old son Teddy "Baby in cage" Walter.
With a crew of adventurers chosen from 5,000 applicants in the United States, the 70-ton auxiliary ketch Ahto starts a memorable and adventurous voyage around a world, flying the Estonian flag. Voyage that lasted 18 months and was full of happiness, love and joy, but also betrayal and war. After arriving from a long trip back to America Ahto founds out that world he left 1,5 years ago is not the same anymore - he can't return to homeland Estonia never again...
This colorful journey around the world will open to us thanks to Ahto's diary and unique footage that was shot during the trip. A dramatic story of a man who overcomes a mutiny on a ship, accidents at sea, headwind, reefs and the beginning of a World War II. Everything to fulfill his dream.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Ahto Valter was a restless soul coming from the shores of the Baltic Sea, who could not stand still for a second. For him, stepping on one place was moving backwards. Europe, Africa, the U.S.A. and the Atlantic Ocean become his new home. When the 17-year-old Estonian boy had enough money to buy a little sailboat and introduces his plans to his family, his father has only one demand - the young man should take his older brother with him to this dangerous journey. In spite of the fact that the officials condemn the boat as improper for such a journey, the youngsters set sail secretly and finally get over the Atlantic Ocean. After arriving in New York City, they become a headline news and "Pathe" and other film companies notice them. The reception at the New York City Mayor James J. Walker's office, radio interviews and posing for the reporters' cameras are everyday things for them. In 1930 to 1937 Ahto crosses the Atlantic five times. The trips arouse the media attention on both sides of the ocean, he breaks the speed records and is still restless. In a moment when one could say that this restless soul has finally calmed down (by 1938 Ahto has married the daughter of a wealthy American Even Mc Even Duff and they have a one and a half year old son) Ahto announces that he plans to fulfill finally the biggest dream of his life - "to sail around the globe"... A dramatic story of a man who overcomes a mutiny on a ship, accidents at sea and the beginning of a war. Everything to fulfill his dream.
DIRECTOR'S VISION
As a director of this film I don't want just to tell a story of one man but to feel the hard path of conquering the world and chasing one's dream. I want to know the world in the unique changes that took place in the 1930s. In the last century, the 1920s and 30s was the period when those became famous who conquered something unconquerable. Charles Lindeberg, Amelia Earheart and the Frenchman Alain Gerbault achieved something that had never been achieved before... Ahto´s all life is just an attempt to sail around the world ALONE. But for all his life he is forced to sail with somebody else - his brother on the first journey or the wealthy passengers on his journey around the world in 1938 to 1940. I wonder - did he actually ever fulfilled his dream? This whole story is supported by memories of Ahto Valter's son Teddy who traveled around the world as a one and a half year old boy and who lived on a coast of St. Thomas Island surrounded by Caribbean Sea. Besides Ahto's diaries, archive footage and lots of photographic material, Teddy's recollections of his father help us discover the secrets of this charismatic man and a restless soul.