Com-Central.net

Newish production of "The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst", a documentary (on "60 Minutes", I think) of which I'd seen in 1970 and then read the book in VN in 1971. One of the weirdest and most tragic tales of the sea ever.

The trailer looks terrific. The "Teignmouth Electron" still exists, but is rapidly detiorating and becoming part of the beach.

Official Website-Looks Riveting


The story of....

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._Crowhurst

The Electron:

www.caymannetnews.com/...reck.shtml

I haven't seen it and this is first I've heard of his adventures, but I'll keep an 'eye' out the release. It looks like a great story!...

- Shadow_Bshwackr

I haven't seen it and this is first I've heard of his adventures, but I'll keep an 'eye' out the release. It looks like a great story!...

Bushy,
It's out, been out for a while, I think. I followed the story at the time, but then more-or-less forgot about it. Crowhurst had film cameras aboard and filmed a lot of his own activities...until and during the time he went mad.

The Teignmouth Electron was found abandoned, adrift and more-or-less in order by a passing ship. Two of his logs and a diary left conspicuously out that they might be found. I've always wanted to see his "home movies" and this is where they are available. It's not a "re-enactment". The interview with Sir Robin Knox-Johnson (the eventual winner and first to sail around the world, single-handed and non-stop) would be enough reason to want to see it. The participant Moitessier's story was pretty strange itself, but Crowhurst is something out of Edgar Allen Poe.

Ratzzz.... I can't find any trace of the documentary on the 'usual' channels...

If anyone has this, I would like to see it...

i got this somewhere on disc i'll try n find it

- Shadow_Banshee

i got this somewhere on disc i'll try n find it

Had a chance to poke around yet? Were you referring to the 2006 film?

I've always been facinated with this story, since I remember it when it occurred. It's was forty years ago this year, and it was the first attempt to accomplish this feat. Only one of nine entrants even finished...a feat all the more remarkable when you consider that only conventional celestial navigation was even possible. Imagine tryng to take an accurate starshot from a heaving single-handed boat in Southern waters.

Now imagine trying to "back-calculate" those shots from places you had never been, accurate to the day and hour you "weren't there".

Yeah its the UK channel 4 "06" one, i should get time to search on sunday i got a feeling its on unmarked disc somewhere "DIVX", from what i remember it was intresting doc stlye movie.
once i find it i'll try n get it ripped back onto pc asap n give you a call on here..

Thanks Ban!

- Shadow_Banshee

Yeah its the UK channel 4 "06" one, i should get time to search on sunday i got a feeling its on unmarked disc somewhere "DIVX", from what i remember it was intresting doc stlye movie.
once i find it i'll try n get it ripped back onto pc asap n give you a call on here..

Sounds like it...it's definitely a documentary film with many of the principals from the event (Robin Knox-Johnson, Clare Crowhurst, etc). As Crowhurst took home movies and still pictures during his voyage, and his log and diary entries are almost characters themselves, it should be long the history, short on any "re-enacting".

It's an interesting and inspiring story (well, maybe except for the pending bankrupty, falling-hoplessly-behind, going-slowly-insane and throwing-yourself-into-the-ocean parts) but I think I recall this had an impact on other would-be competitive yachtsmen afterward, and sadly spawned it's own version of "copycat" sportsmen intent on their own claim to fame and, of course, the vast sums of wealth that come with any notable nautical event, as illustrated by Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Captain Krunch, Johnny Depp, and others.

There was even an event local to Southern California that made the papers some years afterwards. In his gambit to earn the (self-professed) title of Largest Solo Guy to Circumnavigate That Big O' Lake, Ed "Zippo" Humphries set out across Lake Perris in Southern California in his hastily-prepared mini sloop, stocked to the gunwales with a healthy supply of savory Lard Sandwiches, and in an epic 4-day voyage managed to drift almost 1/3 of a (nautical) mile across the lake before calling it quits. Unfortunately he had no radio, megaphone or signal flags and could only tell himself that he quit.

Several days later when an empty jar of Caswell's Sanitized Tapeworms washed ashore, a local bait shop proprietor recognized the jar as one purchased by Mr. Humphries prior to his launch, leading him to look offshore and spot the empty mini-sloop adrift in mid-lake. After a thorough search by a Coast Guard cutter which was specially flown in for that purpose, authorities were forced to call off the search & rescue attempt due to poor weather conditions for the area, when temperatures actually plummeted below 72 degrees due to a cold front.

An investigation revealed safety issues with the craft that likely doomed the endeavor from the start. Several years prior to this voyage, Lake Perris, being more or less located in close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, had been struggling with a heavy influx of Seagulls from the coastal region, who were attracted to the lake by it's geological features (there's an island in the middle they like to poop on) and easy availability of food, due in large part to Midwestern tourists who visited the area and mistakenly thought they had reached Santa Barbara, and then found there wasn't much there to occupy their kids' time except feed the seagulls scraps of baloney sandwiches and old potato salad.

The local Seagull population therefor flourished and without any natural predators (i.e., frisbee-slinging beachcombers) to contain their numbers, they quickly grew out of control and darkened the skies, leaving docks, catamaran decks, and co-ed filled sleeping bags on the evening shoreline amuck in Seagull guano. Ewwwww, gnarly!!!!

Lake Perris officials countered by requiring all small craft to be equipped with regulation strobe light and marker beacons, which they figured would scare the seagulls away, like multiple waterborne scarecrows. And this was the very shortcoming and safety violation that the investigation authorities believe led to the untimely demise of Ed's journey, as it was found that his craft was not fitted with these required beacons.

Yes, Mr. Humphrie's mistake was that he simply failed to use his Tern signals.

LOL!!!

Now there's somebody that should throw himself overboard!

OTOH, it would cause an explosion in the seabird population. They'd be feasting on the carcass for a month....

ok found it and ripped back to pc, now what???

Just PM, but I'm not techie.

ok np