"We are all human beings...and we have dreams."
In 1968, the British Sunday Times newspaper sponsored an international yachting competition, known as the Golden Globe Race. Nine men entered. Their task? Circumnavigate the world under sail, single handed (the Yachtsman's term for solo), without stopping. Nobody knew if a human or boat could withstand the stress of such a voyage.
Most of the men who entered the race were experienced sailors. Among the favorites were a 29 year old Englishman, Robin Knox - Johnston, and a quiet 43 year old Frenchman named Bernard Moitessier. There was also one "mystery man" among them. His name was Donald Crowhurst.
Louise Osmond explores the story of this race, and Donald Crowhurst's ill - fated voyage, in a documentary film titled "Deep Water." Through a combination of crude hand - held footage shot by the yachtsmen themselves, touching interviews, and dramatic narration by Tilda Swinton, she portrays Donald Crowhurst as a man who sailed off on a quest for self fulfillment, only to become a prisoner of both his own ambitions, and those of his sponsors.
At the time of the race, Crowhurst was a 35 year old father of four children, with a struggling marine electronics business. While he was, as one of his friends puts it, a man of "great brains," his business ventures had never validated him. While his wife and children had home and food on the table, they had little else. He saw the Golden Globe Race as a potentially transformative experience - one that would finally provide the self - actualization he had yet to discover.
There was only one problem - a lack of funds. To secure the necessary financial backing for his voyage, Crowhurst turned to a wealthy businessman, Stanley Best. He also hired a veteran journalist, Rodney Hullworth, who served as his press agent. As part of their agreement, Mr. Best stipulated that if Crowhurst either quit or failed in the early stages of the race, he would be forced to buy his boat back. This meant Crowhurst would be forced to sell his house, and he and his family would become mired in financial ruin. He had, in short, staked his (and his family's) life on being successful in the race.
Osmond chooses to depict Crowhurst as a man who became trapped both by his own dreams, and the financial ambitions of his sponsors. Best and Hullworth knew that if Crowhurst succeeded, they stood to make a lot of money, through book deals and interviews, among other things. As such, they transformed the mild - mannered Crowhurst into somebody he wasn't. Donald had no choice but to play the role in which he had been cast.
As his departure date neared, Crowhurst battled increasing self - doubts. On one hand, he wanted to be in the race. But he was also a realist, and he knew he was far behind schedule. His relative lack of experience, combined with the fact that he was custom building a boat from scratch with limited time, led to numerous errors. On the eve of the race, he confided to his wife and friends that the boat "wasn't ready." When he approached his sponsors and told them of his predicament, Osmond leads us to believe that they gave Crowhurst no choice but to sail before the departure deadline. He was, in short, already trapped.
Ultimately, his boat began leaking badly, and in his haste to depart on time, he had neglected to pack supplies needed for repairs. He was faced with a terrible dilemma. If he quit the race, his family faced an uncertain future. However, if he continued, his boat would likely be destroyed by the mountainous waves of the southern ocean. It was this dilemma that led to him deciding to fake his voyage. He drifted aimlessly in the South Atlantic for hundreds of days, all the while maintaining two logs - one true, and one false. He radioed in false reports of his position. In short, he played the character he was expected to play. However, the stress and internal turmoil of faking his voyage led to a severe mental breakdown, and his voyage concluded in suicide.
When contemplating Crowhurst's journey, the main question that arises is one of motive. Was Crowhurst's voyage and suicide an act of selfishness? Or was it something else?
Osmond seems to suggest it is the latter. She implies that Donald's decisions were driven by a deep, heartfelt love for his wife and children. Above all else, she suggests, he didn't want to fail them. Further, the restrictions imposed by sponsorship put him in a position where he couldn't afford to fail them.
In the latter portions of the film, Osmond faces an artistic choice. She can either ponder the question of who is to blaim for Donald's failure, or she can look beyond it for greater meaning. The fact that she chooses the latter is what makes the film especially strong.
The most compelling portions of the film are her interviews with the families of Crowhurst and Bernard Moitessier. Both faced a sense of loss and abandonment. Moitessier was close behind the race's leader (and eventual winner), Robin Knox- Johnston. He had a strong chance of winning. However, shortly after rounding the Cape Horn, Moitessier abandoned the race, and chose to continue sailing alone, all the way to Tahiti. His journey had proven transformative and fulfilling, but it meant that his home was no longer in France. Home was the sea, and his boat.
His wife and children were devastated by his decision to not come home. However, in a beautiful moment, Moitessier's wife, Francoise reflects that "I was expecting something, I knew him too well. Before the voyage, Bernard said 'Anyone who does this race for money or fame will come to grief.' He was happy at sea, he was content. He found himself."
While their marriage eventually ended, Francoise nonetheless accepts the fact that Bernard needed to go to sea. As she puts it, "A man can decide to take part in a motor race or go to the moon. You can't stop him. You can't stop a bird from flying."
Claire Crowhurst and her son Simon echo Francoise's sentiments, and, at least to my mind, help validate Osmond's suggestion that having great dreams and choosing to pursue them is not, in and of itself, an act of selfishness. Near the end of the film, as she reflects on Donald's death, Claire notes that
I feel that I failed. I didn't stop him from going, and I didn't help him when he needed it. But people need to dream. I think Donald needed that. And he had a right to have it.
In sum, "Deep Water" implies that daring to dream isn't selfish. It's something every human must do, in order to grow. However, Osmond reminds us that while dreams are a necessary part of life, they always come at a cost.
