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Old 18-09-2023, 14:33   #1
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Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

Found this movie at the Library in Norfolk.

Donald Crowhurst actually sailed 13,000 miles alone in 7 months before his end.

He sailed as for South as the Falkland Islands then back North to the latitude of Bermuda and ending up in the Sargasso sea

Quite a lot of sailing.

I wonder if he just had a decent boat to sail at the start ...................

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Old 18-09-2023, 15:00   #2
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

Check out the book The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (1970). There have been several others too.
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Old 18-09-2023, 15:07   #3
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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Check out the book The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (1970). There have been several others too.
I placed a hold on it at the Norfolk Library Network which means it will be delivered to my local library.

This avoids going into the inner city as my library I pass everyday on the way to work.

It's right on the coast of the lower Chesapeake Bay.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/No...vxkp?entry=ttu
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Old 18-09-2023, 15:10   #4
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

The bottom line for me is that he did achieve a lot, but was driven to madness by his own unrealistic expectations of what he wanted to achieve. He was a Type A personality trying to overwhelm the natural elements by the sheer force of will, which is always doomed to failure.
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Old 18-09-2023, 15:30   #5
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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The bottom line for me is that he did achieve a lot, but was driven to madness by his own unrealistic expectations of what he wanted to achieve. He was a Type A personality trying to overwhelm the natural elements by the sheer force of will, which is always doomed to failure.
I guess the unknown is what it would be like to be totally alone for 7 months facing the problems he had created for himself.
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Old 18-09-2023, 16:39   #6
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

"Oh what a tangled web we weave/when first we practice to deceive".
Sir Walter Scott.
He deceived himself with a plot that would have, (under scrutiny,) little to no chance of success.
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Old 18-09-2023, 17:35   #7
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

thom225 it came out here in Australia on the big screen and is well worth watching. I must have watched it three or four times since it came out on DVD. Whatever people say about Donald Crowhurst he still achieved more than a lot of his critics.
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Old 18-09-2023, 18:57   #8
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

Many of the boat problems would have been found if he had done a decent shakedown first.
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Old 18-09-2023, 19:11   #9
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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Many of the boat problems would have been found if he had done a decent shakedown first.
No doubt about that.
A previous post mentioned that he was a "Type A" person.
In reading the book you get the picture that he was obsessive over minute details that in the end didn't really matter.
He "Majored in minors".
As an example, fretting over thousands of an inch for a hole to accept a turnbuckle pin, (give it a break, a hole that's .004 larger is NOT the end of the world).
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Old 18-09-2023, 19:19   #10
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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Originally Posted by thomm225 View Post
I placed a hold on it at the Norfolk Library Network which means it will be delivered to my local library.

This avoids going into the inner city as my library I pass everyday on the way to work.

It's right on the coast of the lower Chesapeake Bay.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/No...vxkp?entry=ttu
Free on Kindle for me… maybe a couple bucks otherwise?
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Old 19-09-2023, 04:47   #11
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

Saw this short article on him yesterday.

https://www.yachtingworld.com/featur...e-mercy-123426

I read a horrible fictionized account of his voyage years ago, Outer Bridge Reach, but I won't read that one again.

It went into detail about this one crazy, religious station he could pickup on his radio and described the way it affected his thoughts.
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Old 19-09-2023, 11:07   #12
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

There was a 2006 documentary “Deep Water” of the race and Crowhurst specifically.
Gave a lot of insight from people who were involved with candid interviews and actual footage from the race.
If you’re intent on idolizing Crowhurst you probably shouldn’t watch it though I came away with pity.

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Old 19-09-2023, 11:38   #13
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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There was a 2006 documentary “Deep Water” of the race and Crowhurst specifically.
Gave a lot of insight from people who were involved with candid interviews and actual footage from the race.
If you’re intent on idolizing Crowhurst you probably shouldn’t watch it though I came away with pity.

Best Regards
Not idolizing just interested in the story.

Point is for a guy that had barely sailed before, Crowhurst sailed 13,000 singlehanded in the Atlantic Ocean over 7 months on a leaky boat.

That is a pretty good accomplishment.

He also had proper navigation for his fake voyage including his sextant readings which matched up with what the actual readings would have been for his position had he actually been at that spot
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Old 19-09-2023, 12:33   #14
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

Such a tragic story. He was doomed from the start because of his rushed "preparation", or lack thereof. Sad story, and could have been an inspiration for all the sail-the-world dreamers if he had actually completed the real race.
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Old 19-09-2023, 12:44   #15
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Re: Donald Crowhurst - The Mercy

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Such a tragic story. He was doomed from the start because of his rushed "preparation", or lack thereof. Sad story, and could have been an inspiration for all the sail-the-world dreamers if he had actually completed the real race.
That would have been nice, but his boat probably would have been destroyed in the Southern Ocean.

It was in such bad condition.

He should have simply come back and faced the music.

It would have been embarrassing, but he could have been there for his family.

His mind was going near the end so that wasn't going to happen anyway.
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