麻豆社

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It's a story which has been told before, but is now being told again in a documentary film, Deep Water.

The 90-minute film, first released in December 2006, features never-before-seen footage, audio tapes, and interviews with Crowhurst's family. His widow, Clare, still lives in Devon.

Some of the film archive was unearthed at the 麻豆社 in Plymouth and has been 'cleaned up' to reveal some remarkable images of Crowhurst on board Teignmouth Electron.

Crowhurst was given a 16mm camera by the 麻豆社 to record his video diaries, and although these - together with audio tapes and log books - were recovered from Teignmouth Electron, it was feared they had been thrown out by the 麻豆社.

Deep Water uses original archive footage

The original footage forms the basis of the film, released on 15 December 2006 by Pathe Distribution. It means that the stars of the film are the race competitors themselves.

And, as the film-makers say, you just couldn't make this story up.

Co-director Jerry Rothwell said: "It's an incredibly compelling story. It's a story which says something about all of us. About ambition, and the costs.

"In 1968, no-one had ever sailed non-stop around the world alone. He was truly sailing into the unknown.

"And he was squeezed by two forces, I think - the forces of the media and the press and sponsorship which in a way had forced him out there, and the force of nature which he encountered when he was there.

"It was the desire for celebrity and fame and what happens when everything is stripped away from you.

Clare Crowhurst and the children

"For sure, Crowhurst is being very disingenuous, but in the end what we started to discover was that it was a much sadder story than that. The story is also his family's story.

"It was very important to involve his family in the film. The access they gave us was was incredibly important. It was a painful process for them to re-live it...it gives the film its emotional centre."

Rothwell says that this "emotional centre" would have been lacking, had the film been a drama rather than a documentary.

"We decided the story would be told by first hand witnesses," he told the 麻豆社.

"So we started to look into the various archives around the world. What seemed to be missing was film of Donald Crowhurst.

"His boat was found in mid-Atlantic when he was about two weeks from home. On board was found film, tapes and log books. Finding those was central to telling the story.

"At first it seemed they had disappeared. It took about two years to find. Suddenly, we found the archive in the 麻豆社 at Plymouth through the diligence of an archivist there, Paula Griffiths.

"And the (audio) tapes were found in a box in as 麻豆社 warehouse. In the box was nine hours of tapes.

"If we had gone down the road of a reconstruction, it would have undermined the authenticity of the archive. What's incredibly strong about this archive is that it's shot by the guy at sea who is under incredible stress and strain. It's unique, you couldn't recreate it in drama."

The film includes interviews with Crowhurst's widow, Clare, and one of his sons, Simon.

Nearly 40 years on, and Clare Crowhurst still vividly remembers the night before her husband set sail. She recalls how he broke down in tears and now believes he could have been persuaded to call the adventure off.

But she was afraid of standing in the way of his dream: "You think well, I didn't stop him and I should have done," she says.

It's one of the many instances of 'if only' in the sad story of Donald Crowhurst.听

* Deep Water was released on 15 December 2006.

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