Sailboat Resilience has "Supporting Role" in Netflix Movie!

One morning this summer, I got a call from a neighbor in the Petaluma marina where we moor our boat. He was in a hurry and said Ali Afshar’s movie production crew wanted to use our sailboat Resilience (aka IJsselmeer) to film a romantic dinner scene in a a Netflix movie with a release date of December 2021.

After confessing I didn’t know who Ali Afshar was, I learned he is a talented actor, writer, and producer who has been involved in 15 movies.

The out-of-the-blue request sounded like an adventure, so we accepted the invitation. Resilience, a Contest 42 ketch, has been an integral part of our family for 30 years, beginning with 7 years living aboard and exploring southeastern Alaska.

Petaluma’s 6th Street crossing operator raised the bridge so our boat’s 50-foot tall mast could clear.

To get to Petaluma’s downtown Turning Basin, we scheduled the short trip up river with a rising tide and arranged for the Smart Train and Sixth Street bridges to be raised for the passage.

Resilience had never experienced such a fancy table setting. (Location: Petaluma’s downtown Turning Basin.)

Before the film crew arrived, Jim and I left for dinner at a restaurant. When we returned at 9:30 PM, they were all set up, swarming the dock next to Resilience.

California Christmas, City Lights Cameraman

The cameraman did all the filming from the dock, using an elaborate movie camera mounted on a device he could mechanically raise and lower. I’d assumed they’d have to install scaffolding, since our deck is four feet above the waterline.

At the top of the dock ramp, Jim and I were met by the assistant director, who pulled out tall chairs—director’s chairs, in fact—for us to watch the monitor displaying what they were filming.

Callie (Lauren) and Joseph (Josh) dine on Resilience’s foredeck.

Josh and Lauren met in Ali Afshar’s 2020 movie, A California Christmas, a love story within a love story and the prequel to A California Christmas, City Lights. We briefly met Lauren in between sets. She, too, was friendly and lovely as she tried to warm up in a down coat. It was a chilly, breezy night.

Our boat was chosen to be in the recently released Netflix movie, A California Christmas, City Lights.

The afternoon of filming, two people from the Art Crew came aboard to measure the deck, then left to buy a table and chairs to fit the curved surface, with 3 hatches for an extra challenge. They were excellent problem solvers with great senses of humor, working on a tight timeline.

As we continued along the dock, I almost bumped into lead actor, Josh Swickard (General Hospital star). He knew who we were and stopped to say how much they appreciated Resilience. He told me he and Lauren, his wife (the lead in the movie and also the author of the screen play) were taking sailing lessons.

Josh and Lauren Strickland in dinner scene on the Resilience’s bow. (Roller furling in background.)

Josh helps Lauren climb on board.

Watching the monitor with real-time action on the dock in view was fascinating. We were impressed at how many takes they did for each component of the dinner scene, for example, five or more of the couple climbing onto our boat.

Ahh… the magical moment.

VIDEO: Actors Lauren Swickard and Josh Swickard climb aboard sailing vessel Resilience in the Netflix movie California Christmas, City Lights. (14 sec)

At 10:30, Ali Afshar who also stars in City Lights, arrived and we had the pleasure of meeting him. He was welcoming and thanked us for letting them use Resilience.

We were very moved by American Wrestler: The Wizard (2016)—a docu-drama of his early life, beginning in the 1980s when he was 17 and his parents had him smuggled out of Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. Sent to Petaluma because his uncle lived there, young Ali faced hostile discrimination because of anti-Iranian sentiments at the time.  From the documentary we learned what complex and challenging circumstances he has overcome.

You can watch California Christmas, City Lights on Netflix. If you do, let us know if recognize Resilience in the romantic dinner scene.

We thank Ali Afshar, Brennan Toleu, and Dan Aspromonte for giving Resilience a thrilling chance to play a supporting role.

Best wishes for a fulfilling and healthy new year!

Beth and Jim

It was an honor to meet Ali Afshar.

Letting our our sailboat be a movie prop was a fascinating experience that exceeded our expectations. We so enjoyed meeting people involved and we were impressed by the team’s professionalism, organization, and camaraderie.

Resilience and her handlers are even included in the movie credits! Ali Afshar’s production and filming team takes building relationships with local participants seriously.

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