THE story of a Teighmouth sailor is set to be played by Hollywood actor, Colin Firth, who is rumoured to take on the role of doomed Westcountry sailor, Donald Crowhurst, in a new film to showcase his fake voyage around the world.
The Royal Air Force veteran never made it past the Atlantic when is boat was found adrift the ocean, minus the sailor who is thought to have committed suicide after his failed attempt.
Mr Crowhurst, who was the owner of a fading electronics business that sold marine navigational equipment, entered the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race to sail nonstop around the world in 1968, with the dream of winning the £5,000 prize to save his failing business.
However, the South Devon based resident, who set sail on October 31, pulled out of his quest early after getting into difficulties. He then continued to fake results before ending radio contact while he sailed around the Atlantic for 111 days.
It is thought humiliation and failure were the reasons for his false log entries and radio silence, and by December 8 he had claimed to have travelled more than 240 miles. But luck soon ran out for the British born sailor when his wife informed him seven other sailors had dropped out of the race due to extreme conditions. It was then the game was up for Crowhurst, who decided taking his own life was his only option. His craft was eventually found by a Royal Mail ship, 600 miles west of the Azores, with the yachtsman nowhere to be seen.
The race was won by Sir Robin Knox Johnson, who donated his £5,000 prize money to an appeal fund for Mr Crowhust's widow. Mrs Crowhurst said she had believed for many years that her husband had survived and was in hiding, and admitted that even decades after the incident, she still thought of him every day.
The saga has inspired several novels, poems, plays and even an opera. A previous attempt to depict it in film was abandoned in the 1970s, but a documentary, Deep Waters, was released in 2006.
Discussing his role in the upcoming production in a recent interview, Mr Firth cautioned that nothing was ever "set in stone until it's ready to go".
With filming set to start in the Spring, word is the true story will be written by Bourne Ultimatum writer, Scott Z Burns. There are whispers Mr Firth will be joined on set by Oscar winner, Kate Winslet. The blockbuster movie will be directed by The Theory of Everything director, James Marsh.
