1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Historians. As always, thank you for tuning in today's 3 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,919 Speaker 1: Today's episode has one of my favorite descriptions of someone's profession. Spoiler, Hi, 4 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: I'm Ben, Hey Ben, I'm no. Are you talking about 5 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: Donald Crowhurst being British? I am talking about Donald Crowhurst 6 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: being being British. He is an iconic person similar of 7 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: course in some ways, at least just through their iconicism. 8 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: To our super producer, Casey Pegram, You're right, Noal, Donald 9 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: Crowhurst the protagonist of one of the weirdest stories of 10 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: his day back in the late sixties. Here's the description 11 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: I like about him. So he is, as he said, British. Right. 12 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: He was in uh in The Guardian, which is itself 13 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: a British publication, and uh, like many British publications, it's 14 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: famous for it's it's kind of subdued snarkiness. They some 15 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: Donald Crewehurst up this way. They say he is occasionally 16 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: described as a businessman. Okay, I was talking about the 17 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: second part of that quote, but that is the more stark. 18 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 1: But you're right, it's so subdued that it almost takes 19 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: you a double take. To kind of figure out which 20 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: part is a diss The second part, UH struck me 21 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: as a bit of a of a low key dis 22 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: as well. Um Donald Crowhurst was British but really an 23 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: orphan of the Empire. Uh. And this notion came from 24 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: the fact that he was actually born in India when 25 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: it was under the rule of the British raj in 26 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, and his father was a superintendent of 27 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: the railways. UM. So he kind of grew up in 28 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: that very interesting and very problematic time in British history 29 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: in terms of the way people who were born in 30 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: India were treated, um natives, you know, Indian people, um. 31 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: And also the bureaucracy and the kind of rapaciousness of 32 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: the way the British Empire treated India as a surrogate 33 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: and as basically just another place to you know, strip 34 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: riches from um come hell or high water. It was 35 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: considered the crown of the British Empire, and terrible, terrible 36 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: things occurred there that are are the UK's fault. Before 37 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: we go on, I gotta mention, I don't know, uh, 38 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: casey Nola, I don't know whether this ever happens to 39 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: you or you listening along with this ridiculous historians. But yeah, 40 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: you get songs stuck in your head sometimes, right, Oh yeah, yeah, 41 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: And I think you have one stuck in your head 42 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: right now. Huh, I'll give We'll pass it on to 43 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: the crowd getting jiggy with it by Will Smith. Let 44 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: us know what that sample is. We think it's probably 45 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: a Stevie Wonder song. And uh. Sometimes in addition to songs, 46 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: I get words or phrases stuck in my head. And 47 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,239 Speaker 1: bungalow has been in my head for for a lot 48 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: of this week. Interesting, you know, I've had a very 49 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: similar sort of you could say, sister words stuck in 50 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: my head for the last few weeks. Chalet, okay, I 51 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: like it. So Bungalow, oddly enough comes from Hindi and 52 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: it comes it's a type of cottage that was built 53 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: for early European settlers slash invaders and Bengal India. So 54 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: did Crowhurst live in a bungalow? I don't know. I'm 55 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: just looking for excuses to say bungalow on air. Anyway, Bungalow, Bungalow, bungalow. 56 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: Back to Crowhurst, So India declared a dependence and the 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: family was able to take some of what they had 58 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: saved and scrimped together because they weren't wealthy. They weren't, No, 59 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: they weren't. Again he was. He was a bureaucrat, but 60 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: not like a high level one, right, Um. He was 61 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: a superintendent, which would essentially be like a supervisor, like 62 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: a mid management kind of position, wouldn't you say them? Yeah, 63 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: maybe a little higher than that, but still in the 64 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: grand scheme of British bureaucracy, but a cog in the machine. 65 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: They weren't nobility, and usually to have a very high 66 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: level position in the way that that society functioned, you 67 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: would have been nobility one thousand percent. So they took 68 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: those meager savings and they hooked it back to England. Um. 69 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: But they were not greeted with with the particularly warm 70 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: welcome when they got to Reading, in particular in the 71 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: suburbs of Reading. We have to remember that London is 72 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: a sprawling metropolis um with all kinds of suburban areas 73 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: and different townships and and villages and entire cities within 74 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: cities essentially, so they had kind of a route awakening. Uh. 75 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: They were they were expecting to home to some kind 76 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: of more peaceful, idyllic existence in in there what would 77 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: essentially be considered their home country. But the climate was terrible. 78 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: Um money was was very hard to come by, and 79 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: uh Crowhurst, the father, UH senior pretty quickly just dropped 80 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: dead of a heart attack. Really almost like a Torments 81 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,600 Speaker 1: of the Damned kind of situation for young Crowhurst. And 82 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: it's a it's a huge change for his father, you know, 83 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: to move from India to this completely different place, which 84 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: may have seemed unfamiliar or strange because he had spent 85 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: so much time in India. So it turns out that 86 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: Charles Dickens, while he wrote fiction, was based in it 87 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: on some fairly common situations in the United Kingdom. In Britain, 88 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: uh Donald had to leave school early, just like a 89 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: Dickens character and get a job, so he became an 90 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: apprentice at the r a E. The Royal Aircraft Establishment. 91 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: He was broke, he was ambitious. He was like eminem 92 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: in the beginning of eight Mile or like Alexander Hamilton's 93 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: in the beginning to Hamilton's he said, I'm gonna make 94 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: something to myself. I'm gonna do better. I will not 95 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: accept this life that has been thrust upon me and 96 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 1: so he uh he gets a commission for Royal Air Force, 97 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: goes to the army. But then he goes out and 98 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: the parties, I imagine, some drinks were had and uh 99 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 1: he steals a car and he asked to resign. I 100 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: mean he had to get home somehow. Yeah, that's true. Um. 101 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: He he got he got pinched for it and had 102 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: to appear before the magistrates there in reading. Um. And 103 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: he you know, it didn't totally derail his life, but 104 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: it certainly was was a black mark on his record. Um, 105 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: and his carefree days were were to be put behind him. Um. 106 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: He did grow up a bit. Uh. He married um 107 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: shortly after, a lovely lay by the name of Claire Leary, 108 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: who was a Protestant Um from kill Arnie, uh in Ireland. 109 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: She was an Anglo Irish Protestant Um. And uh that 110 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: is where he actually started his own business, a small 111 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: computer business. What's that the computers? Electron utilization limited utilization. 112 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: Excuse me, but it's spelled were wouldn't there be a Z? 113 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: It spelled the British way. Ah, there you go, Ben, 114 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: there you go, Electron Utilization Ltd. And Uh. He basically 115 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: invented a computer. He invented a lot of stuff right, 116 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: but because he was he was one of those guys 117 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: who's always messing around with something in his workshop. He 118 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: created a radio direction finding device called the Navigator with 119 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: a C and now it's according to the Guardian, it's 120 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: pretty common for a lot of weekend sailors. And he 121 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: thought this would make his fortune and that he and 122 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: Claire would you know, be living the high life, never 123 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: have to work again. But that money didn't come as 124 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: as quickly as he had hoped, and so it came 125 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,679 Speaker 1: to pass that when the Sunday Times announced their Golden 126 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: Globe race with five thousand pounds as the as the prize, 127 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: that's about sixty five thousand pounds today. Uh. He thought Crowhurst, 128 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: that is, thought this would be the perfect way to 129 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: stave off bankruptcy, at least until the sales of his 130 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: Navigator took off. I think his first problems with the name, 131 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: because I'm gonna hear me every time I hear you 132 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: say navigator, I want to correct you and say it's 133 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: pronounced navigator, Ben or whomever. I feel like people pronouncing 134 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: it this way would be would be you know, immediately 135 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: not taken seriously. Uh, but it was a clever invention 136 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: and very ahead of its time. But perhaps the need 137 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: wasn't there, or the demand wasn't quite there, or the 138 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: marketing was lacking. Right. So the Golden Globe Race, which 139 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 1: has nothing to do with the Golden Globe Awards so 140 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,319 Speaker 1: far as we know, does have does have some backgrounds. 141 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: So it's around the world yacht race. And in nineteen 142 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: sixty seven, the year before this, this race began, a 143 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: guy named Francis Chichester. What do you think, No, Chichester, 144 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: chi Chi Chichester, Chichester, Chichester, che Chester. Uh, this guy, Francis, 145 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: will call on Francis. He had sailed his boat problematically 146 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: named the Gypsy Moth with an eye and DEPLOYA gypsy 147 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: moth is a real is a real moth? Yeah? Yeah, 148 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 1: well it is. It spelled g I P S Y. 149 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: I don't know, we're not supposed to say gypsy anyway. Well, 150 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 1: but it's I think it's a species of moth. Though, yeah, 151 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: I believe you. I just don't think you know, there's 152 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: probably a better name for it at this point. Oh 153 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,959 Speaker 1: and it's it. Hold on. Now, the main thing that 154 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: comes up is the name of that ship and spell 155 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 1: with the g I uh, the the you're right, then 156 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: you're right. The actual moth, which is a species of 157 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:15,439 Speaker 1: Lymntrea dis bar is pronounced or spelled g y p 158 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: s y. So when you spell it with that I, 159 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: that makes it not nice. Well it's not nice either way. Yeah, 160 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: but you know, if at least at least one of 161 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: them is a science Oh yeah, yeah, I see what 162 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 1: you're saying. But so when this guy Francis, when he 163 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: has sailed into ployment, there's a media frenzy. Everybody welcomes him, 164 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,599 Speaker 1: the Queen knights him. Uh. And the idea is that, 165 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: you know, think about you know, late nineteen sixties. The 166 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: idea is that sure, people cross the pond in the 167 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,199 Speaker 1: US might be exploring space, but here on Earth, the 168 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: British are still ruling the waves, empire or no. And 169 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: so of course the media says like, okay, we have this, 170 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,439 Speaker 1: we can understand when there's a trend here, there's an opportunity. 171 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: And Francis's book about his journey the Lonely Sea and 172 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: the Sky becomes a best seller. And so it comes 173 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: to pass that during spring of n the Sunday Times 174 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: launches their own challenge in direct competition with the observers 175 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: existing Transatlantic race and the Sunday Times challenge is called 176 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:28,199 Speaker 1: the Golden Globe around the World Yacht Race. So this 177 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: was supposed to be a place with a race with 178 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 1: even higher stakes. Right, because Francis had kind of broken 179 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: his journey down in Australia and around the world, most 180 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: people believed that a solo voter, a solo yachtsman, could 181 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: not deal with all the problems you would face sailing 182 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: by yourself for months and months on anti. That's right, 183 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,319 Speaker 1: you need a team. There's a lot of mechanics that 184 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 1: go into sailing, right. You gotta tie the jib and 185 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: hoist the the main and and and all. Then the rudder. 186 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: Someone has to man the rudder. You know who who's 187 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: demand the rudder if you're if you're tying the jib 188 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: or the boom or what have you. I'm making up 189 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: all these terms, but uh, it really does. I can 190 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,199 Speaker 1: say for a fact that it is very helpful to 191 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 1: have two individuals at the very least because there are 192 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: separate locations for different very key parts of the sailing situation, 193 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: especially if it's a yacht, which I think by the 194 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: very nature, would be larger than just a small sailboat, right, 195 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's sort of the the idea here. Yeah, 196 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 1: it's it's a tough proposition, you know. However, again, the 197 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: national mood was so bullish on this that nine sailors 198 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:45,079 Speaker 1: actually did step forward to compete for these prizes. The 199 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: deal was this, they could set off any time before 200 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: October thirty one and the first person home would take 201 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: the honors a golden globe, while the fastest one would 202 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:03,199 Speaker 1: also get five thousand pounds. So the competitors are are 203 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: all pretty much except for Donald, they're all pretty much 204 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: well known in the in the yachting world. There are 205 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: people like Transatlantic Oarsbon Chay Blythe and John Ridgeway, and 206 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: there's some veteran French sailors. There's next Merchant Seaman. It's 207 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: a well known Italian sailor to former naval officers. And then, 208 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: of course one of the latest entries was this uh 209 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: little known electronics engineer from the West Country, Donald Crowhurst. Yeah, 210 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: I mean he wasn't really seen as a contender as 211 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: whomever originally said that line in a film at some 212 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: point in history about boxing might have said, Um, he was, 213 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: you know, this kind of young, upstart, very driven, something 214 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: seen as something of a romantic in search of making 215 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 1: his name. Uh and perhaps his nut because he, as 216 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: as you know, was really out out for for cash. 217 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: He needed to save himself from bankruptcy because of his 218 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: ill fated attempts at the Navigator, right the na remember 219 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: that movie Flight of the Navigator. No, I remember Fly 220 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: of the Navigator. That's how it's pronounced. I'm sorry, I'm 221 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 1: getting confused. Uh. Crowhurst had to kind of con his 222 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: way into into the into the competition. He was able 223 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: to persuade a local dealer, a caravan dealer, which I 224 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: believe is sort of like like it's like an RV, 225 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: that's right. Um. He was able to convince him to 226 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: sponsor his entry, a guy by the name of Stanley Best, 227 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: who also happened to be quite wealthy. Um, and he 228 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: commissioned a boat for him. A Norfolk boatyard built him 229 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: a Trymran, not to be confused with a catamaran, which 230 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: is more than try What his cat like? Four? What's 231 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: the catamaran? Is that the one with the two two 232 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: pieces like it's like two boats side by side connected 233 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: in the middle with like a platform. I think that's 234 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: what I think. So like, uh, like the is that what? Yeah, 235 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: it's kind of like what Kevin Costner had. No, No, 236 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: catamaran is too. Oh, trimer And is three and a 237 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: trimaran is three. And I'm trying to think of, you know, 238 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: my favorite part of water World, the Kevin costume vehicle, 239 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: which I know casey Adores is uh is the trimar 240 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: Ran boat that the the unnamed mutant drives. It just 241 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: looks so awesome. I want to live on the sea 242 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: in a trimaran. So once again, though, this really does 243 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: show I mean this, this does elevate it beyond just 244 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: a sailing boat. Right. This is uh, you know you 245 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: you can see these trimar Rans now associated with very 246 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: luxurious yachts. They would be up high off the water, 247 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: floating on these three um kind of pillars, these three 248 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: sort of canoe things with struts, and then the the 249 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: deck of the yacht where you would you know, son 250 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: and you know, do whatever the wealthy do on yachts. 251 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: Um would be up high, but this would have been 252 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: low to the water, right with three and then the 253 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: center one would have been where the deck was and 254 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: where you have like a hole and stuff. Yeah, these 255 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: things can pick up a lot of speed. Totally. Yeah. 256 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: The As a matter of fact, as recently as December 257 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: of nineteen there was a trimer and out attempting to 258 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: break the world record for circumnavigation of the Earth. Here's 259 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: where crowhurst story begins to take a little bit more 260 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: of a tragic turn. So he can hear the clock 261 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: ticking TikTok, TikTok, TikTok, and he needs to seriously put 262 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: this plan in action. He needs the rubber to hit 263 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: the road, or should I say, the trimer and to 264 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: hit the water. He hires a publicist, a guy named 265 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: Rodney Hollworth. Ulworth was what you would call in the 266 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: world of writing a hack. It was a former crime 267 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: reporter and he fed Crowhurst in his fantasy life, and 268 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: he said, Donald, you know you're you're gonna win your 269 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: dark horse. The public loves you. You've got to take 270 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: this seriously, and he gets uh. He kind of persuade, 271 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,920 Speaker 1: or not not so much, persuades him to take certain actions, 272 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: but makes his dream of winning the race increasingly feverish. 273 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: The guy gets race fever. He mortgages his house and 274 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,880 Speaker 1: his business and This is a huge gamble because again 275 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: remember if you're a competitor, you have to be on 276 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: the water sailing around the planet before the thirty one 277 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: of October. Some people have already left. This guy is 278 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: a boat that he's never tried out. He's not super prepared. 279 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: He doesn't have the equipment, he doesn't have the capital, 280 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: he doesn't have the background. And you know what if 281 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: he loses, he also probably doesn't have a house. At 282 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: least he has his boat. You know, you can always 283 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: just live live on that and on the on the deck. Um, 284 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: but he probably get pretty bad sunburn. I heard he 285 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: was kind of pasty. Uh so yeah, I mean he 286 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: did test sit out a little bit what's called a 287 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: sea trial. Um. He took it from East Anglia to 288 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: uh the West County um of Ireland, where his wife 289 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: was from. And um he called it the the Teignmouth 290 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: Electron and it really um pooped the bed as as 291 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: as as were wont to say on the show, because 292 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: as Ben says, we're a family show. Um, but everybody 293 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,199 Speaker 1: poops and and and his boat absolutely did that thing. 294 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: It underperformed. It did not deliver what should have been 295 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,159 Speaker 1: a three day trip, took two weeks. It was a 296 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: real embarrassment and a real setback for for our boy Crowhurst, 297 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 1: kind of like Gilligan's Island, right three Uh, a three 298 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: hour tour turned into a whole lovely you know, legacy 299 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: of television, which I'm fine with. Yeah, yeah, Now because 300 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: of this, because of this delay, he's got no time 301 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: to get all the provisions he needs for his vessel, 302 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 1: and he also has no time to give it all 303 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: the proper equipment he needs. But he's up against the 304 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:08,680 Speaker 1: deadline again. TikTok, TikTok, TikTok. So he says, Look, I've 305 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 1: got to set sail with what I have now, or 306 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 1: I have to withdraw myself from the race, which means 307 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: I'll embarrass myself publicly, and there's no question about it. 308 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: I will be bank erupt. I will be as broken 309 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,120 Speaker 1: as a joke without a punchline. So, in the afternoon 310 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: of October thirty one, the very last day, the last 311 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: possible moment he can leave, uh, he sets out and 312 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: he has a false start at the beginning. Uh. He 313 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: whispers famously to his son, look after your mother, And 314 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: no one could anticipate how strange his voyage would become 315 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: Now now we have to we have to set the 316 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: scene here too, right before we go on the race. 317 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 1: It's very important to note that although Donald Crewehurst may 318 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: have been under prepared, this was still a very difficult race. 319 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: There were very few things you could do to prepare 320 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: for this in such a way that it was going 321 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,919 Speaker 1: to be safe. It is the nineteen sixties. There's no GPS, 322 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: there's no satellites. You could maybe have a worse code 323 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,120 Speaker 1: transmitter or something. You have to use a sextant when 324 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: you're out in the open water. This is tough, you 325 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,640 Speaker 1: know what I mean, even if you're those very well 326 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 1: prepared veteran sailors the other eight guys. Yeah, I mean 327 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: it was it was super old school because that's just 328 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: what the school was, um. And and really your best 329 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: bet was going to be to navigate using the stars 330 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: and using those Sexton calculations. Here's the thing, Um, Donald 331 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: never was really a contender in this race at all. 332 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: Like he just he wasn't competing. He never reached the 333 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: Southern Ocean. Um. He had problems from the get go, 334 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,360 Speaker 1: and he just kept falling further and further behind UM 335 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: and he had to you make a real decision. It 336 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:04,880 Speaker 1: was a real kind of come to Jesus moment where 337 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: he had to decide to continue on and likely perish 338 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: or go on back home, um and face financial ruin, 339 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: societal humiliation, absolute outcast type status. UM. Because like we said, 340 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: he had he banked everything on this race. We had 341 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,120 Speaker 1: we had locked all of his wealth of any kind 342 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: into this race. Or right, there's a third way that 343 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: he comes up with, right, Yeah, I mean he was 344 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,239 Speaker 1: sort of, by his very nature, kind of a fabulous Uh. 345 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: He was one who was not unused to big upping 346 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: himself and being something of a carnival barking self promoter. 347 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 1: And he took some of those skills to the nth 348 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: degree um by fabricating reports uh and in an entire 349 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: narrative behind this grand venture that he was going to 350 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: set out. Uh. He pretended to circumnavigate the globe, which 351 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: was a big deal to be able to claim that 352 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: um in those days, still still not as difficult as 353 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,880 Speaker 1: actually circumnavigating the globe, but it takes it does take 354 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: some effort. This is where you know, when we're doing 355 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,359 Speaker 1: research for this, this is when uh, he started to 356 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: remind me of the main character and uncut gems. It's 357 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:33,400 Speaker 1: just a escalating stakes, increasingly desperate, very very few winds, 358 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: but just a way to delay the losses exactly, delaying 359 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: the inevitability. Lies, we get lies, and it all kind 360 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: of spider webs out of control eventually. But yeah, you know, 361 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: if you're a guy like this who's got I don't know, 362 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: let's call it a positive attitude for lack of a 363 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: better term, Um, you just kind of keep pushing forward 364 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,120 Speaker 1: and in the hopes that if you don't pay attention 365 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: to what's coming your way, maybe it'll never happen in 366 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: terms of the negative stuff, right, And so his his 367 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: plan is to his plan is incredibly unethical. He's going 368 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: to fake the race and he's going to lap these people. 369 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: He's fallen far enough behind from what he can tell 370 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: that it's not like these folks can see each other 371 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: every day, Right, So he says he's going to rejoin 372 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: the race when they're on the way back, and he thinks, 373 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: I'm not going to be the first to arrive my 374 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: not record the fastest time, but I am going to 375 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 1: save face and ultimately I'll be able to save my house. 376 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 1: Ben really quickly was the purpose of this race to 377 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: circumnavigate the globe? Was that the idea? Yes, okay, I'm 378 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: sorry I missed that part and I acted like he 379 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: was kind of going rogue and deciding to do his 380 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: own thing. But I see now that that was a 381 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: big part of the race. So we've got Robin Knox Johnson, 382 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: who was a favorite. Uh he came in first, and he, 383 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: you know, was the first to circumnavigate the world all 384 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: by himself. Then we had Nigel Tentley who came in 385 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: a close second. Uh, or looked like he was that's right, 386 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: but but then he uh he would have potentially claimed 387 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: the prize for the fastest time. But is she sank 388 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: yep suddenly out of the clear blue sky, and then 389 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 1: and then and then was was was pulled from the 390 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: watery jaws of death. And the rate of attrition in 391 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: this race was pretty high. Crowhurst is the only other 392 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 1: competitor left in the race, and it looks like because 393 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: of that he was going to get the prize for 394 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: being the fastest. So we claimed the Golden Globe and 395 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: become a national hero. I love this next line in 396 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: this Guardian article that were following year um the notion 397 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: that so much of this was on the honor system, right, 398 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: because the lack of technology. Because of the lack of 399 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: they weren't like follow vehicles or helicopters to prove that 400 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: these uh, these men had had actually completed what they 401 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 1: said they were going to. It was all paper log 402 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: books and journal entries and uh, you know, recording those 403 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: sex stant measurements in the right right and and and 404 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: and his would would really start to be uh given 405 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: a pretty close eye after after this happened, because he 406 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: was such an underdog and such a kind of upstart entry. 407 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: But here's here's the twist. You see, they did find 408 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: the log books, they did find the vessel, but they 409 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,399 Speaker 1: never found Donald Crowhurst. He never made at home. The 410 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: Tagnmouth electron was found drifting abandoned Mary Celeste style. People 411 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,159 Speaker 1: found the books that charted his actual voyage, along with 412 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: the records uh that he was cooking up the books 413 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: that he had cooked showing he made false claims about 414 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: the speed of his vessel and that he had worked 415 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: up a fake navigational account. There are also heroine writings 416 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: that show us his psychological state. The last page as 417 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 1: the most ominous, comes from July one and It had 418 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: the following words, I have no knee to prolong the game. 419 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: It is finished. It is finished, all caps. It is 420 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: the mercy that is kind of spooky had been that 421 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: last page had been torn out, although his son Simon 422 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 1: Crowhurst has this page. He thinks that the captain of 423 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: the ship that found the electron ripped it because he 424 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 1: thought it would be unbearable for the family to see, 425 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,360 Speaker 1: which makes sense. So he never came. He never got 426 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: his accolades that he was seeking. He uh, technically would 427 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: have because of all of the bad things that befell 428 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,920 Speaker 1: the other you know, entries in the race. But he 429 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: did not cross the finish line. He just he was 430 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: lost to see essentially, right, Yeah, he disappeared. And that's 431 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: the thing that you know, they've never found a body, 432 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: never found any proof of what happened to him. Uh 433 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,480 Speaker 1: when he they were found right, so we said his 434 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: last his last written account was July one. On July 435 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: t just nine days later, the Royal mail vessel the 436 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: Picardy finds the boat. It's um It's in the mid Atlantic, 437 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,240 Speaker 1: near the Caribbean. It's like a ghost ship, exactly like 438 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:13,960 Speaker 1: a ghost ship. It was cluttered, there were dirty dishes, 439 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: the bedlining was filthy, but there was no sign of Crowhurst. 440 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,120 Speaker 1: And because he disappeared, because there was no closure, because 441 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: this was a mystery, he became famous worldwide. And what 442 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: happens when people become famous across the world for disappearing, 443 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: They're seeing everywhere. Elvis is still getting sighted for Pete's sake. 444 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: Totally yeah. And so the captain of the Picardy, which 445 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: was a royal mail ship, um hoisted uh Crowhurst's electron 446 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:50,439 Speaker 1: trimaran onto his ship and took it along with them. 447 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,680 Speaker 1: And that's when he started to read the entries in 448 00:27:54,840 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: those those three different log books himself. And this is 449 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: you know, everyone loves a good mystery, Everyone loves a 450 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,159 Speaker 1: good disappearance. In the same way we talked about the 451 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,880 Speaker 1: Mary Celeste, that famous ghost ship that was found adrift, 452 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: and all of the different theories as to what happened 453 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: to the the crew of the Mary Celeste. Uh, this 454 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:24,200 Speaker 1: similarly got the public's imagination going running wild. This gets 455 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: us to a painful, tragic point because of course there 456 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: is a search mission called right and people are attempting 457 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:37,880 Speaker 1: to find some sign of Donald Crowhurst. His children are 458 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: puzzled because pretty soon a few days after they find 459 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: the stuff about the log books, the searches called off 460 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: and they think, why is no one? Why is no 461 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: one looking for our father? And the reason they stopped 462 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: the searchers because they solved the mystery. It was all 463 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: there in those log books. It was clear as day 464 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: he had tried to perpetrate this hoax and failed, and 465 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: and and therefore probably just you know, it wasn't so 466 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,000 Speaker 1: much an issue as to what did he fall overboard? 467 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: What happened? You know, they know that he was up 468 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: to no good, and therefore I guess it became less 469 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: of a priority. Or what do you think them? I 470 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: think they they figure the most likely cause was suicide, 471 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: but they didn't they didn't find the body. And this 472 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: is where this is where the Sunday Times does something 473 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: that's um Honestly, I've used the word before in this episode. 474 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: But the Sunday Times themselves become a little unethical because 475 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: they want to extract maximum publicity from this story. So 476 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: they send a reporter named Nicholas Tomlin to interview the 477 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: captain of that Royal mail vessel to Picardy and to 478 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 1: inspect the electron and to collect whatever he can find 479 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: on board, and instead of getting some thrilling front page 480 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: story of adventure on the high seas, they get this 481 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: immensely tragic, heartbreaking tale of an amateur yachts and who 482 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 1: had fooled Fleet Street completely. But then Tomlin, being an 483 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: expert reporter, turns this into a sensational tell all scoop 484 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: and they started unraveling the mystery of the log books 485 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: and published a book called The Strange Last Voyage of 486 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: Donald Crowhurst, which today is considered the most comprehensive account 487 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 1: of this tale. But it's by far not the only 488 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,760 Speaker 1: work of literature or film uh that has been mentioned. 489 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: It's in popular culture now. Yeah, and I think a 490 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: Studio Canal is as a favorite production house of I 491 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: think Casey's as as well as as mine and Ben's 492 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: um responsible for a lot of David Lynch's best work 493 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: and a lot of French films. Um. They have put 494 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 1: out two in two thousand eighteen. I haven't seen either 495 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: of these and didn't see a lot of publicity about them. 496 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:53,720 Speaker 1: But one of them starts Colin Firth and it's called 497 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: The Mercy, and the other one is called Crowhurst and 498 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: stars Justin Salinger, who I'm not familiar with, but very 499 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: interested in seeing either of these because it really is 500 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: a pretty harrowing story. It combines a lot of interesting 501 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: things that we we talked about on the show, from 502 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: kind of just blind opportunism to just sort of lack 503 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: of self awareness to you know, adventure and fraud. It's 504 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: that says a recipe for a good story. So I'm 505 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: definitely interested in checking out those two films from Studio Canal. 506 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: And here's the thing, personally, I don't know whether I 507 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: will check those out. I'm conflicted because the family doesn't 508 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: want the story told and at this in in this 509 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: specific instance, I don't know if I would. I don't 510 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: know how on board it would be, because they change 511 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 1: details about the studio has changed details about something very 512 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: personal for this family. They even cut one of the 513 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: kids out of the story. In the film, there are 514 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,120 Speaker 1: three Crowhurst children instead of four. They cut one of 515 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: the brothers. Um. I know, you have to make changes 516 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: when you adapt stuff into action, but that's that's a 517 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: problem that does seem a little agreed to s been. 518 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,480 Speaker 1: I'm with you on that. I'm just I do like 519 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: Colin Firth and the still that I see from this 520 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: first one the mercy seems pretty interesting. Hopefully one of 521 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: them or the other did a better job at sticking 522 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: to the facts. But I guess it's true too that 523 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 1: we don't know all of the facts because what we 524 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 1: have is sort of a forged log book, um, and 525 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: it's sort of tough to know exactly what happened. And 526 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: this brings us to the end of today's tail, but 527 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: not the end of our show. Donald Crowhurst is one 528 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 1: of many, many, many adventurers who have sailed across the 529 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: world off the edges of the proverbial or figurative map. 530 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: We want to hear your stories of other other adventurers 531 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: or other mysterious disappearances. One that's a little more conspiratorial 532 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 1: is that of Lord lucan uh the the aristocrat who 533 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: likely committed homicide and then escape to live in obscurity. 534 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: He got away. I don't know about this one, man. 535 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: I'm talking about it with you and finding out some 536 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: stuff myself in the meantime. If you want to find 537 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: out a little bit more about us, you can check 538 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,040 Speaker 1: our show out on all the social media as we 539 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,239 Speaker 1: are ridiculous history on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can 540 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: check out our Facebook group the ridiculous historian, just by 541 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: going and answering a very simple questions naming any of 542 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: the members of the show team here, including the folks 543 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: that we think in the credits h including any reference 544 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: to anything related to the show, or just give us 545 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: a good old chuckle with some kind of history related 546 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: pun or otherwise. You can also find us as individual 547 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 1: human people on social media. I am on Instagram exclusively 548 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 1: at how Now Noel Brown. You can contact me a 549 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: variety of ways. My name is Ben Bullen. Always loved 550 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 1: to hear from you. You can say my name three 551 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,239 Speaker 1: times in a mirror in the dark, or you can 552 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 1: find me on Instagram where I'm at ben Bowland. Where 553 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 1: you can find me on Twitter where I'm at ben Bowland. 554 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,440 Speaker 1: Hs W, thanks as always the super producer Casey Pagram, 555 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,000 Speaker 1: Thanks to our great composer Alex Williams, and of course 556 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 1: our top notch research associate Gabe. Thanks to Christopher aciotis 557 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: here as always in spirit Jonathan Strickland, who now exists 558 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 1: in two forms. He's the quister first and foremost in 559 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,320 Speaker 1: my mind, but I still have to listen to these episodes. 560 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,280 Speaker 1: But he's also been a lovely stand in guest host 561 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: for the show, um as his non evil, non bizarro 562 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,200 Speaker 1: world self, which I can also appreciate. Oh yeah, good note. 563 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 1: On night Soil asked people to name the best slash 564 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:43,800 Speaker 1: worst songs to play when you're in the restroom in 565 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:45,840 Speaker 1: a delicate position you don't want people to hear you. 566 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,239 Speaker 1: So thanks to everybody a ridiculous historians he's written in 567 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 1: with their uh, sometimes wonderful and sometimes just frankly disturbing 568 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,239 Speaker 1: suggestions and has always been thanks to you for being 569 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: a pal and a confidant back at you. We'll see 570 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:09,959 Speaker 1: you next time Fox. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 571 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,640 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever 572 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,360 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.