The Mercy

Are there horses in the Horse Latitudes?

No, sweetheart.

Story has it that many years ago when the Spanish sailed to the West Indies

they brought their horses with them to the New World

and sometimes they ran out of wind and then they ran out of fresh water as well.

I can only quote the mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary himself...

"Men do not decide to become extraordinary.

"Hey decide to accomplish extraordinary things."

Greetings. Welcome to the 25th Annual Earls Court Boat Show,

brought to you by "The Sunday Times" and John Courage.

Speaking of courage, without further ado,

I would like to welcome one of our greatest heroes,

the first man to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe,

and now a Knight of the Realm, Sir Francis Chichester.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So the only thing that I can imagine that would test a man

more than sailing around the world in a boat alone,

stopping only once, is not stopping at all.

And "The Sunday Times" has asked me here today

to announce just such a challenge.

There will be a cash prize for the man who comes first,

and a prize for the man who is fastest.

And I believe the details will be in tomorrows edition of the newspaper.

Will you be entering, Sir Francis?

No, no, I've had my fun.

Wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the sinister Southern Ocean.

I believe a man said that the waves there measured not in feet and inches,

but in increments of fear.

A man alone on a boat

is more alone than any man alive.

Then why would anyone go?

Well, that indeed is a fair question,

because to only do what has been done before

is to live ones life in the shadow of other men.

And for that reason alone,

we are blessed by the size of the sea,

and its siren call to men seeking adventure.

Thank you.

The question that any man who's dreamed himself beyond the horizon

must ask himself is, "Where am I going?"

Closely followed, I assume, by, "How in Gods name do I get back?"

Precisely, and this device answers both of those questions

because it places the latitude and the longitude

right in the palm of your hand.

The Navicator is every sailors most trusted companion,

The Navicator.

Developed and manufactured by Electron Utilization of Teignmouth.

Built by us. In our own backyard.

How does it work? Its ingeniously simple.

By comparing signal strengths of radio beacons on land,

you can tell where you are at sea.

James, over here, is a radio beacon at Lands End.

And Simon, over here, is transmitting from La Rochelle.

And you just point the Navicator and fire like so,

and, hey presto, you have your position.

And unlike other directional finders,

it has an incorporated compass, and it is so compact that...

It can be operated with just one hand.

Leaving this one free to hoist a spinnaker in a favourable wind.

Or hoist a drink.

The possibilities are endless.

Captain Chichester might've benefitted from this out in the Roaring Forties.

Perhaps. It appears Sir Francis managed to find his way around fine without it.

We cant all be Captain Chichester.

Dan...

Its very clever, but we don't go out to sea much.

We tend to stick more to the inland waterways.

Thank you.

What sort of vessel do you sail?

I was sure we very nearly had one there, boys.

Do we need to sell all of them before we go home?

Be nice to make Mummy happy, wouldn't it?

Maybe that one looks better on the stand.

South-southeast. Towards the Azores.

Gibraltar and beyond that. Africa. Oh, shall we go?

I don't want to go. Said wed meet the Milburns at the pub.

I guess well be late. Can we go home instead of Africa?

Which way is home?

Due east. According to the Navicator.

Very impressive. Tell your mother how it works.

The Navicator uses coastal radio signals...

Is it really finished?

The latest stroke of genius from Electron Utilization of Teignmouth.

And you think there's a market for it? Anyone who's lost.

Hm.

Its marvelous.

Someday Ill use the Navicator to find an island,

or a whole new continent, like in "Captains Courageous"

Be careful. The boy in that story fell overboard, remember.

Be careful. Come back here.

The problem is the entire planets been handled.

Corners inspected, clouds perused.

Hillary had scaled the heights.

Scott has braved the Pole. Cost him his life, didn't it?

But he made it.

In his diary he said, "All daydreams must go." Pity that.

"Dreams are the seeds of action." Wed all do well to remember that.

Prepare to come about.

Read it. A single-handed race around the world.

It sounds miserable. It sounds profound.

Heroic. Never attempted before. No stopping this time.

This is the highest rung.

Anyone who enters needs their head examined.

Examine it till your hearts content. I've already sent in my entry form.

Clare, did you know this?

Examine it or give it a proper thrashing? Donald, what do you mean...?

I shall claim the prize for you, my love. 5,000 quid.

Alone on a boat for nine months? You're either drunk or mad.

We should have another drink, so that we can rule out madness.

As Chichester said, "Any damn fool can circumnavigate the world sober.

"It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk." Same again?

Why not? Yes, please.

Er, three quids worth, please. All right, sir.

Hows business, Mr Best? Huh!

Er, these things seem to sell themselves.

Everyone wants to go somewhere else,

and have somewhere to sleep when they get there.

Brilliant product, the caravan. Makes anywhere your home.

Yes, I suppose it does.

How far are you going today? Staying locally.

Practicing for a longer haul, though. Really? Any place in particular?

Round the world.

Hmm.

Darling, may I point out a few things about this particular adventure

that may prove problematic?

Well, firstly, you don't have a boat capable of such a voyage.

Not yet, but such matter is subject to change.

I didn't have a wife at one time.

And now I have a beautiful one.

Secondly, you have never been much further than Falmouth.

I've also never walked to London,

but I imagine the same stride I employ daily would carry me there.

Given enough time. Sailing is no different.

Well, then there is the fact that this man who is "striding to London"

has a wife and children,

who have come to rely on him for this roof over their heads,

and plates of food in front of them, three times daily.

Of course.

But those are the givens in the equation. Ones obligations.

How romantic, says the "obligation" sitting here.

What have I done in all these years?

Don...

You have done so much.

You've served your country.

You've held a post on the borough council. You've... invented things.

You've engineered them into existence from pure imagination.

I don't want to make devices that allow others to have all the adventures.

All right, but then what about the company?

What happens to Electron Utilization if you just sail away?

Well, consider for just a moment the recognition of such a voyage.

Would not all that accrue directly to the value of the company?

Hmm. To us?

Larger house, larger bank accounts.

Oh, Don, we hardly need a larger house.

More than the material gains,

it would result in children who are proud of their father

for doing what no other man in the county would even contemplate.

I think I can win this race, Clare.

Dons not still talking about making a boat?

Yes. Clare, you have to stop him.

Stop him from... dreaming? Well, how would you suggest I do that?

No, not from dreaming. Dreaming's one thing.

But leaving in a boat on some sunny day is quite another.

Well, I have complete faith that he will wake up from this dream

before that sunny day actually arrives.

He usually does. You think hell change his mind?

Well, that's what I admire about Don.

He has a mind that's capable of change.

You want to build a boat?

This boat, it'll be a trimaran.

A three-hulled vessel based on the Piver design.

It'll feature a treasure trove of technical innovations,

all pioneered by Electron Utilization,

incorporating the Navicator and a dozen other major innovations.

It'll feature an inflatable buoyancy device at the top of the mast.

So, if she gets into trouble,

the CO2 cartridge is triggered by the capsizing event,

shoots up the mast, and inflates the buoyancy bag at the top.

So if she goes over, shell just pop back up again.

Without question, it'll be the fastest boat in the race.

We enter it in the Golden Globe.

The biggest sailing race ever becomes our advertising campaign.

"We" enter it?

I didn't come here asking for charity, Mr Best.

Im offering something new.

Who pilots the boat? I do.

You? Have you ever done anything like that before?

No, but that's the point. That's the business proposition.

If I can do it, then so can the bloke who stares at the horizon in wonder.

If Im putting in the money...

...what are you putting in?

Everything else.

So you're not really a sailor?

Seems to me the act of sailing makes one a sailor.

How about you, Mr Hallworth? How did you come to be a press agent?

Oh, I was a reporter for a time. A crime reporter.

So your experience as a press agent appears to rival that of mine as a sailor?

Touché, Mr Crowhurst.

But, you see, publicity can be done from the safety of a desk chair