i remember the events of this movie and the ill fated cruise of donald crowhurst in 1968 and in the golden globe single handed around the world yacht race. i was a 13 year old and living in england. the previous year francis chichester (later sir francis while he was knighted for his exploits) had completed the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. i remember it mostly because we were given time off school to watch his return (on a grainy black and white tv. ) and then his knighting by the queen. it provoked a huge outpouring of patriotic fervor in the uk. it all seems so quaint now. chichester became a national hero and but he had stopped half way and in australia and to re fit his yacht and so the next logical step for yachtsmen was to attempt the journey without stopping. it important to remember that this was a world pre gps and when communications on land were still pretty erratic and never mind in the middle of the ocean. now with gps receivers that fit on a key chain and calculate a position within a metre anywhere on earth and it hard to recall a time when you could go to sea and quite literally and vanish. as donald crowhurst did. a number of yachtsmen signed up (all men back then) and including mystery man and crowhurst. essentially a weekend sailor and crowhurst had not been a spectacular success in any previous enterprise and including careers in the british army and the air force and as an electronics entrepreneur selling navigation aids. he wanted to do something big with his life and and he saw the five thousand pound first prize (well over $100 and 000 in today money) and the ensuing publicity as a means of kick starting his business. he signed a deal with a sponsor that proved more watertight than his boat and and which meant failure would bankrupt him and and soon found himself a popular figure with journalists as he prepared for the race. now the brits always love the idea of the gutsy amateur taking on the pros. (think eddie the eagle losing endless olympic ski jump competitions and and the amateur riders who regularly start the grand national horse race. ) the public queued up to see him set off and but his boat wasn not really ready and and even as he started (the last competitor to leave the uk) crowhurst must have known he do not seriously have a chance. but too much was riding on him to quit. in the wonderful archive footage we see doubt written all over his poor wife face. left behind with their 4 children and she is interviewed movingly throughout the film and together with one of crowhurst sons. she was in a no win situation. had she attempted to stop him and she would have been considered a spoiler and but afterward she was riven with doubt and as to whether she could have saved his life by stopping him. faced with the certain truth that his boat was leaking and would never make it through the southern oceans and and unable to turn around and face ridicule and bankruptcy and ignominy and crowhurst devised a plan to cheat. laid up offshore argentina and brazil and out of radio contact and he waited for the leaders to round cape horn and start back up the atlantic and thinking he could sneak in at the end of the line and pretend he had sailed all the way around the globe. he elaborately falsified his logs and and made 16mm films and audio recordings to back up his plan. but as one after another the other competitors dropped out and he realized that in fact he would come in 2nd and his logs would be scrutinized. unable to face certain detection and his journal suggests he lost his grip on reality and eventually committed suicide. his yacht was found. he never was. this beautifully edited film also follows the journey of bernard moitessier and an experienced and enigmatic french sailor and who was in second place and certain of the fastest journey prize and when he abruptly left the race and unable to deal with the clamour and publicity he knew he would face and and sailed into the wide blue yonder and eventually pulling up some 10 months later in tahiti. having spent some seven years working at sea myself and (albeit on very different ships to these) i well understand the pull of the ocean. standing on deck and seeing water in every direction to the horizon and knowing there a couple of miles of water below you and nothing between you and oblivion but a thin metal hull and without easy access to tv or radio (even nowadays on most working ships and you feel pretty isolated) and it possible to truly escape from the responsibilities of everyday life for a while. there is some thoughtful analysis of what drives people to attempt this kind of very long and lonely journey and the effect it has on the human mind. most people would think that attempting to raise 4 children is adventure enough and but much is made of the need for self discovery in the hardships at sea and the search for self. i strongly suspect that robin knox johnston and the ex navy guy who won the race (and many since) probably knew pretty well who he was before he set off and which was why he succeeded not just in winning the race but also retaining his sanity en route. those who went searching for something profound within themselves and may not have entirely liked what they found. the marvelous archive footage of britain in the late 60s is almost reason enough to watch this and (did it really look quite that bad. i do not remember it looking quite so dowdy and but perhaps we blot out the worst aspects of the past. ) but overall and it is an excellently well made and engrossing movie. highly recommended. 
i remember the events of this movie and the ill fated cruise of donald crowhurst in 1968 and in the golden globe single handed around the world yacht race. i was a 13 year old and living in england. the previous year francis chichester (later sir francis while he was knighted for his exploits) had completed the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. i remember it mostly because we were given time off school to watch his return (on a grainy black and white tv. ) and then his knighting by the queen. it provoked a huge outpouring of patriotic fervor in the uk. it all seems so quaint now. chichester became a national hero and but he had stopped half way and in australia and to re fit his yacht and so the next logical step for yachtsmen was to attempt the journey without stopping. it important to remember that this was a world pre gps and when communications on land were still pretty erratic and never mind in the middle of the ocean. now with gps receivers that fit on a key chain and calculate a position within a metre anywhere on earth and it hard to recall a time when you could go to sea and quite literally and vanish. as donald crowhurst did. a number of yachtsmen signed up (all men back then) and including mystery man and crowhurst. essentially a weekend sailor and crowhurst had not been a spectacular success in any previous enterprise and including careers in the british army and the air force and as an electronics entrepreneur selling navigation aids. he wanted to do something big with his life and and he saw the five thousand pound first prize (well over $100 and 000 in today money) and the ensuing publicity as a means of kick starting his business. he signed a deal with a sponsor that proved more watertight than his boat and and which meant failure would bankrupt him and and soon found himself a popular figure with journalists as he prepared for the race. now the brits always love the idea of the gutsy amateur taking on the pros. (think eddie the eagle losing endless olympic ski jump competitions and and the amateur riders who regularly start the grand national horse race. ) the public queued up to see him set off and but his boat wasn not really ready and and even as he started (the last competitor to leave the uk) crowhurst must have known he do not seriously have a chance. but too much was riding on him to quit. in the wonderful archive footage we see doubt written all over his poor wife face. left behind with their 4 children and she is interviewed movingly throughout the film and together with one of crowhurst sons. she was in a no win situation. had she attempted to stop him and she would have been considered a spoiler and but afterward she was riven with doubt and as to whether she could have saved his life by stopping him. faced with the certain truth that his boat was leaking and would never make it through the southern oceans and and unable to turn around and face ridicule and bankruptcy and ignominy and crowhurst devised a plan to cheat. laid up offshore argentina and brazil and out of radio contact and he waited for the leaders to round cape horn and start back up the atlantic and thinking he could sneak in at the end of the line and pretend he had sailed all the way around the globe. he elaborately falsified his logs and and made 16mm films and audio recordings to back up his plan. but as one after another the other competitors dropped out and he realized that in fact he would come in 2nd and his logs would be scrutinized. unable to face certain detection and his journal suggests he lost his grip on reality and eventually committed suicide. his yacht was found. he never was. this beautifully edited film also follows the journey of bernard moitessier and an experienced and enigmatic french sailor and who was in second place and certain of the fastest journey prize and when he abruptly left the race and unable to deal with the clamour and publicity he knew he would face and and sailed into the wide blue yonder and eventually pulling up some 10 months later in tahiti. having spent some seven years working at sea myself and (albeit on very different ships to these) i well understand the pull of the ocean. standing on deck and seeing water in every direction to the horizon and knowing there a couple of miles of water below you and nothing between you and oblivion but a thin metal hull and without easy access to tv or radio (even nowadays on most working ships and you feel pretty isolated) and it possible to truly escape from the responsibilities of everyday life for a while. there is some thoughtful analysis of what drives people to attempt this kind of very long and lonely journey and the effect it has on the human mind. most people would think that attempting to raise 4 children is adventure enough and but much is made of the need for self discovery in the hardships at sea and the search for self. i strongly suspect that robin knox johnston and the ex navy guy who won the race (and many since) probably knew pretty well who he was before he set off and which was why he succeeded not just in winning the race but also retaining his sanity en route. those who went searching for something profound within themselves and may not have entirely liked what they found. the marvelous archive footage of britain in the late 60s is almost reason enough to watch this and (did it really look quite that bad. i do not remember it looking quite so dowdy and but perhaps we blot out the worst aspects of the past. ) but overall and it is an excellently well made and engrossing movie. highly recommended. ---------------------------------Answer Question Below----------------------------------

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