Six-time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan says his next film, “The Great Storm,” will focus on the 1979 Fastnet Yacht Race tragedy and survivor Nick Ward’s account, “Left for Dead,” about the disastrous ocean race that claimed 15 lives.
Ward’s book tells the story of his experiences onboard the Grimalkin when a gale force 11 storm forced 24 crews to abandon ship near Fastnet rock, the most southerly point of Ireland.
For 13 hours and with a broken leg, Ward was left hanging onto the boat and his unconscious crewmate Gerry Winks, who eventually died in his arms. The ship’s skipper David Sheahan also died when knocked overboard.
The Irish film director Sheridan, best known for his films “My Left Foot,” “In the Name of the Father” and “The Field,” will write the screenplay and direct.
