Now and again,I like to talk about something different here.In this case,the late Donald Crowhurst.
Donald was a participant in the Sunday Times sailing around the world race in 1968.The prize money for winning back then was £5000;a small fortune.£80,000 in 2019.
Donald decided to enter,building his own yacht:Teignmouth Electron.Unfortunately,Donald encountered many problems and the boat wasn't quite ready on the deadline day to sail.
Sadly,the people who sponsored him forced him to go,despite Donald's protests about the boat's problems.To me,that showed they only cared about the money,not for Donald's safety.
Donald reached the South Atlantic,but sure enough,the boat began to show problems and he decided it was too risky to take the boat into the extremely dangerous Southern Ocean,before rounding Cape Horn.
This was where Donald decided to use a plan of deception.He would make a second log-book to falsify his positions,whilst he had another log-book to write down his true position.Here,Donald planned to wait until the other competitors would come back into the South Atlantic to slip in behind them,and finally continue home.
Of course,Donald had no intention of winning the race Had he done so,his log-books would have been scrutinized and he would have been exposed.Instead,he juzt wsnted to slip in quuetly behind the main group.
Of course,things didn't go to plan.Damage to his yacht forced Donald to make landfall in Argentina to make repairs,something which the race didn't allow.When his boat was fixed,Donald headed back out to sea,to carry on with his plan of deception..
When Donald reached the open sea,he maintained radio silence,as this would give away his true position,so nothing was heard from him for weeks.Added to this,the isolation was slowly beginning to affect Donald's mind.
Finally,there was good news.The other competitors were now making their way back home to Plymouth.Donald finally broke radio silence to say he had no chance of over-taking one of the participants,but things were going well.He must have been elated.
Sadly,disaster struck.
The participant who Donald had planned to finish behind,suddenly lost his boat which sank.Although the chap was rescued,this put Donald into an impossible position.He would now win the race,but in doing so,he would be no doubt exposed as a fraud and a cheat,when the judges would closely examine his log-books.They needed this evidence to see that all the participants in the race had actually sailed around the world.
Realising he would be exposed,Donald just put himself in the middle of the Atlantic,and his mind worsened.There are his notes,which clearly showed his mental imbalance He desperately tried to get in touch with hus wife,but rhe radio equpment failed him.This was a devastating blow for Dinald..Eventually, his boat was found,but there waa no sign of Donald.It remains unknown if he fell overboard due to his mental state,or if he deliberately committed suicide.
His body was never recovered.
I think in hindsight,I don't really blame Donald for his deception.Yes,he did cheat,but he knew the boat wouldn't survive the dangerous storms,and shame on the people who ignored his protests about the boat's unreadimess.The consequences for not finishing the race also put Donald in an impossible situation.I thought that was despicable what they did to him.
In any event,the winner of the race:Sir Robin Knox-Johnston,was kind enough to donate all of the £5000 winnungs to Donald's family.
It's a story which fascinates me to this day,but a very sad and tragic one.Donald was one of the good guys,but alas:the consequences were very severe.
Rest in Peace,Donald.
