Donald Crowhurst | |
|---|---|
 Crowhurst in 1968 | |
| Born | Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst 1932 |
| Died | July 1969 (aged 36–37) |
| Known for | The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race |
| Spouse |
Clare Crowhurst (m. 1957) |
| Children | 4[1] [2] |
Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst (1932 – July 1969) was a British businessman and amateur sailor who disappeared while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race held in 1968–69. Soon after starting the race his boat, the Teignmouth Electron, began taking on water. Crowhurst secretly abandoned the race while reporting false positions in an attempt to appear to complete a circumnavigation without actually doing so. His ship's logbooks, found after his disappearance, suggest that stress and associated psychological deterioration may have led to his suicide.
Crowhurst's participation in the race has exerted a fascination over many commentators and artists. It has inspired a number of books, stage plays and films, including a documentary, Deep Water (2006), and two feature films, Crowhurst and The Mercy (both 2017), in which Crowhurst is played by the actors Justin Salinger and Colin Firth, respectively. Teignmouth Electron ended its days as a dive boat in the Caribbean and its decaying remains can still be found in the dunes above a beach in the Cayman Islands.
- ^ Donald Crowhurst’s Son Tells his Story Fiona Wingett, The Sunday Times, 3 Feb 2007, accessed 25 January 2021
- ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (27 October 2007). "The sins of the father". The Guardian.