A Mental Breakdown At Sea And The End Of The Teignmouth Electron
Wikimedia CommonsThe Teignmouth Electron was a trimaran sailing vessel designed specifically for British businessman Donald Crowhurst.
The tragic story of the Teignmouth Electron begins and ends with Donald Crowhurst, a British businessman and amateur sailor.
In 1968, Crowhurst decided to compete in the Golden Globe Race, a non-stop solitary yacht race across the globe. His vessel Teignmouth Electron was specifically designed for this purpose, and he hoped to win.
Unfortunately, Crowhurst’s voyage was plagued with problems from the start. His vessel even started taking on water. But instead of returning home to admit defeat — and face financial ruin, as he had staked nearly everything on the race — Crowhurst began fabricating data on how far he’d traveled.
Crowhurst likely assumed that he would “finish” the race in last place, meaning that no one would take a close look at his phony data. But as the months went on, he learned that other sailors had dropped out of the race, or that their vessels had begun to sink and they had to be rescued.
According to The Guardian, Crowhurst seemed poised to take the prize for the fastest circumnavigation, meaning that his data would be analyzed closely and that his deception would likely be revealed.
By the spring of 1969, Crowhurst’s mental health had begun to deteriorate, partly due to being alone on the waters for so long and partly due to the fact that his fabrications were about to come to light. In June 1969, he had a complete mental breakdown and penned a 25,000-word manifesto about transcendence and the nature of the cosmos.
Then, on July 10, 1969, the Royal Mail ship Picardy discovered the Teignmouth Electron drifting in the mid-Atlantic. The vessel was unmanned, and it appeared that it had been abandoned several days before.
Crowhurst’s log books, his falsified data, and his bizarre manifesto were soon discovered, painting a chilling picture of his final days.
It’s assumed that he died by suicide, but his body was never recovered.
