Talkback
Director Louise Osmond says: "I think the great tragedy of the story is watching events close in on him [Donald Crowhurst]. At each turn when the chance arises to make the right decision—to turn in, or turn back, or even admit the deceit—he doesn’t. And each time he doesn’t, his position becomes more difficult, more complicated, more deceitful."
Do you think Donald Crowhurst made the right decisions involving the race? Why or why not? Share your response and your reactions to DEEP WATER.
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Fantastic story and well done film. It was amazing to learn about this piece of history I had never heard of. Kudos to the filmakers to finding this story and bringing it to life to the viewing audience.
I don't think I'll ever look at sailing in the same way again, but at the same time have a new appreciation for it and what it was like for Crowhurst on his fated jouney.
This was a very intense, well-crafted and at times surreal documentary. The cinematography itself was fantastic, and sometimes juxtaposed the beautiful with the eerie in a surrealism that rivals that of any great mind-expanding film. Couple that with the story of Crowhurst's demise, particularly his whacked-out journal entries that quickly waned like so much flotsam and jetsam, and ultimately Deep Water left me with the feeling of viewing the debris field of a very "lost sailor" or an "abandoned hospital ship". Couldn't help but be glued to the TV set even at a very late night/early morning hour, and it has had a lasting effect as I continue to read more about this Crowhurst guy. Anyone know if Crowhurst's jopurnal entries are available in print? I found only small bits in a book called Strange and Dangereous Dreams.
I was absorbed by this story. I love sailing, and have sailed from Long Beach to Lanai on a 28-foot sloop, so I have some idea of the circumstances of long-distance voyaging.
Two things bother me about Crowhurt's story. The first is that difficulties with the boat design type are brought forth as important. Yet Nigel Tetley sailed the same design and completed the circumnavigation. Tetley, faced his own serious problems with his boat yet pushed on, believing himself to be really racing Crowhurst. As a result, his boat sank. Obsessed with actually completing his voyage, he tried unsuccessfully to raise the money to do so and ended up committing suicide.
So Crowhurt's cheating not only cost Tetley victory, it cost him--at least indirectly--his life.
The second thing that bothers me is that, once Crowhurst decided to commit suicide to avoid the consequences of his cheating, why didn't he destroy the film, tape and log books so that no one would ever know what happened? Had he done that, he would have spared his wife and children the the shock, shame and humiliation they could have no chance to escape. Why didn't he do that?
Lastly, why is this despicable human being given repeated "artistic" treatment? Why not a film about Tetley--who actually did something against great odds, or the very interesting Bernard Moitessier?
I don't get it.
If you want immortality, don't actually do anything, accomplish something--no; instead, cheat, lie, cause the death of another, shame your family and leave them destitute: then you will be famous. BahHH!
because of that film i am begining to rethink my whole concept of we humans as being truly unique in the grand scheme.men and women sailing our vast oceans centuries before even this puts me back at square one we CAN adapt to anything we CAN get beyond any obstical .Thank you for that.L.O.L. We are at the center of creation . All other,seek what earthlings have done.
To answer your original question, no, I don't think he made the right decisions (leaving, staying in the race, cheating and so on), and I do think that people around him should have stopped him from going in the first place. That being said, I'm canadian, born in 1975, and it's now 2008. I'm judging from my own perspective. I do think this must have been an utterly crazy idea at the time, but what do I know?
On another note, what a fantastic and haunting documentary. Thank you!
What a magnificent film. I first watched part of it on PBS yesterday, and was so engrossed that I had to watch it a second time today to see the entire story. Crowhurst's story ultimately seemed a tragic one to me--a man so driven by fear and pride that he betrayed all of those who believed in him, and ultimately payed with his life.
Thank you to the filmmakers who brought us such a moving and thought-provoking story.
I just watched "Deep Water" on PBS-Channel 13. I was so impressed with the honesty and integrity of this program and the tragedy of the story that I had to write and tell someone. Thank you for providing a program that makes television worthwhile and is a gem amid the dross. Thanks again.
One of the most moving films I have ever seen. The last sceen with the boat beached on Cayman Brac after years of neglect was very poignant to me.
How many of us have made one bad decision out of desperation and had it lead to consequences we never could have expected?
What a metaphor for life to see the boat that was once the pride of a sailor and a country end up a neglected wreck. How many lives end up the same way through bad choices.
Mr.Crowhurst's motive was to provide for his family. I respect him for that.
Thank you PBS for airing such a thought provoking film and to the makers of the film for capturing human adventure at its highest and lowest points.
Truly compelling. The human spirit is amazing what it can endure and what it conjures. I can't get Donald Crowhurst, his wife, and children off my mind. Thank you for this brilliant film. It makes me think of another story that could be in the same league as this story: The book is Bold Spirit written by Linda Lawrence Hunt about Helga Estby and her forgotten walk across America in the late 1800,s. Check it out Louise. You have a great talent.
Any of us who have bitten off more than we can chew, can certainly identify with Donald Crowhurst, It is great thing to persue your dreams, but know your limitations, be prepared, and have an exit strategy!. Fear of failing is a great motivator, however it can cut both ways!
This story was powerful and the documentary was fantastic - well done! I couldn't help but be angry at Crowhurst. I understand the despair and shame he faced, but what a selfish bastard - save your own life for the sake of your family and children. They grew up without a father because he couldn't step up and admit his many mistakes.
I also find the mental issues that go along with solitude fascinating. What a surreal journal entry about becoming a cosmic being. Isolation is apparently more powerful then LSD.
What a magnificently done documentary. I had never heard of this story, but the film told an unflinching story of how self-forgiveness is such a troubling thing to learn.
My wife and I watched the documentary last night and neither one got up or said a word for an hour and a half-we were totally ensconced in the story. It was chilling.
It was such a tragedy that this man chose to pull this stunt rather than give up and come home to his family. What a waste of life and how sadly this has affected his son and wife.
No one knows how the solitude and isolation may have affected his reasoning and caused him to go over the edge.
The vision of the haunting abandoned boat,conquered by nature sums up the movie so well. It is a peacefull serene vision of the sand dunes and grass that after watching the show is embueded with a deep spirtual warning and epilog of mans courage, fraity and in the end folly. The indiferent benign Caribean beach seems to be laughing at the inevitability of natures strength over man.
Daniel Crowhurst was a cheat and a liar. He misrepresented himself and his abilities, and abandoned his family. He's no hero, and no tragic any-man. He was a self-important fool who got caught in a web of his own deceit, and finally took the coward's way out.
Riveting tale of a mans dream consumed by conquest. I give this man all the credit in the world not only because he was caught between a rock and a hard place (as you all know the situation he was facing) but as he wrote in his daily log journal that the gods have been consumed by all men.
It was the act of the gods which had led him to win the voyage (ironic) incredible that he almost pulled off what he intended to do that fateful day when he decided to save himself and his families fortune by sacrificing the “TRUTH” in which the gods tore him up for!!
Brilliant! What struck me was that both Moitessier and Crowhurst had spiritual or religious experiences while in isolation and solitude.
Newton said that "Truth is the offspring of silence and unbroken meditation." This film was truly touching because it demonstrated how this sort of profound human experience is potentially a universal one: when we realize our non-duality or oneness with everything else. Bravo!
Like so many, I struggle daily with the region where madness & reality merge. That leaves me to seek the most difficult subjects, especially in art & literature. And to find Louise Osmond's & Jerry Rothwell's profoundly affecting & brilliantly observed film about the tragedy of Donald Crowhurst.
I've viewed 2 (fiction) films by NY filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan ('Clean,Shaven' -1993 & 'Keane' -2004) which deal with spiritual desperation & isolation, grief & loss, to a similarly affecting degree. My favorite American film is Wim Wenders 'Paris,Texas'.
"A story of sailors"- has anyone ever given thought to salvaging Crowhurst's boat. It is as significant as Moitessier's vessel, isn't it? Great work.
This is a story of immense pathos treated very artfully and tastefully. Like "Touching the Void", I think will haunt me for a great long time.
Donald Crowhurst provided an object lesson for the old saying, "Those who go for broke usually get there."
Crowhurst should have selected the obvious and prudent solution to his immediate problems by admitting defeat before he ever settled on the hare-brained scheme of committing negligent suicide by going on a round-the-world jaunt. Had he done so, he might very well be alive today to enjoy the happiness of being a father to his family. In Crowhurst's case, fame, money, and success were false gods.
First, thank you for bringing Donald Crowhurst's story back to life again via [i]ndependentlens. I was seventeen in 1969 and remember some foggy bits of this story, but wasn’t able to appreciate its larger lessons. Today this story strikes me of the caliber of a timeless Greek tragedy. Rather than respond to your questions regarding right, wrong, and why; I would just like to comment on how difficult it is for any of us to see clearly enough to not make regrettable decisions. Seems the whole world was vicariously invested in Crowhurst’s adventure. That alone gives me pause as I struggle to understand how we humans fall short in our ability to effectively care for ourselves, and each other.
i was absolutely moved by this documentary. tragic story told in such a compelling manner. i was flipping the channels when i came across a shot of a boat rocking on the high seas. it gripped me: i loved it!
It was all about human fraility. Thats all it was.
