In 1968 man had conquered Everest and the Poles – one of the last great wildernesses was the oceans and Francis Chichester became a national hero when he became the first man to sail around the world solo.
In this atmosphere of bravery and daring, The Sunday Times launched a round the world race to find the first man to complete a circumnavigation without stopping. There were no satellite phones, no internet and no sophisticated meteorological readings available. Months of isolation and days of nerve-shattering terror awaited.
Nine men entered – eight experienced sailors and one wild card, Donald Crowhurst, a marine electronics engineer who re-mortgaged his house to enter the race fired with enthusiasm and self-belief.
Using footage shot by Crowhurst himself, his diaries and interviews with his family, this extraordinary documentary charts his journey, as well as providing an acute and sensitive dissection of masculinity and cultural identity.
This seems like a very particular moment in our history, as well as being a heart-breakingly poignant study of one man’s journey to a point of no return. Akin to Touching the Void in its depiction of an experience we can only ever imagine, and the emotional and spiritual ramifications of such journeys, Crowhurst’s story and that of the family he left behind will stay with you for a long time.
