Enjoy the enduring appeal of touring
COLIN FIRTH’S new film, The Mercy, tells the story of Donald Crowhurst’s (not so) round-the-world voyage in a trimaran in 1968-69. Amateur sailor Crowhurst’s main sponsor was Taunton caravan dealer Stanley Best, who was apparently flattered into backing the ill-fated enterprise by Crowhurst likening a trimaran to “a caravan of the sea”. Best is depicted in his petrol station cum dealership in the film, and contributes one memorable line. “Caravans,” he says, and I’m paraphrasing a little, “allow you to visit faraway places and have a proper bed when you get there.” Crowhurst’s boat was found abandoned in the Atlantic 240 days after he left Teignmouth, becoming one of the causes célèbres of the day. Much has changed since 1969, but one thing has certainly endured: the appeal of caravanning. Enjoy the issue.