The Lonely Voyage

On July 10, 1969, a trimaran was found in the middle of the Atlantic, drifting like a ghost at under four kilometers per hour, with no one aboard. The logbook showed that its owner was Donald Crowhurst, a competitor in the Golden Globe round-the-world sailing race. The race required sailors to complete a solo circumnavigation without putting in to shore, and was the most grueling maritime contest of its time. Before the race, Crowhurst's company was on the brink of bankruptcy, and he staked all his assets on this "hero's dream." The difficulties at sea far exceeded his imagination; he went ashore illegally to repair his boat, then began falsely reporting his position to the media, searching for a moment to confess while being pushed onward by an ever-growing lie. By a twist of fate, the other competitors dropped out one after another, and he might genuinely "win" first place; his hometown had already prepared a celebration to welcome a hero. The media's excitement, the sponsor's expectations, his wife's and children's eager anticipation, and the lie about to be exposed all bore down on him at once. On June 29, 1969, he stopped transmitting by radio and vanished at sea, leaving behind one of the greatest mysteries in the history of navigation. Drawing on the boat, the logs, and the recordings, two veteran British journalists reconstruct the whole of this sensational affair, exploring a person's struggle in extreme solitude and despair, and the dignity and the cost of an ordinary man.