A LEGENDARY BBC star who solved a baffling mystery has died aged 86.
Craig Rich joined the BBC’s Spotlight team in Plymouth in 1978 and held the position for 25 years.
3
Craig Rich was the veteran BBC meteorologist who uncovered the truth about yachtsman Donald CrowhurstCredit: BBC
3
Rich passed away at the age of 86
3
Donald Crowhurst makes final preparations for his ship, the Teignmouth Electron, before setting sail on his ill-fated voyage in 1968.
The former presenter died on December 1, leaving behind his wife, Pat, with whom he had been married for 62 years, and their three children, Jo, Sarah and Thomas.
His family said he “died peacefully” and now is the time to celebrate his life.
Craig was the first and longest serving regional forecaster.
In 1968 he was appointed navigation consultant to The Sunday Times, sponsor of the round-the-world yacht race.
The race was the first non-stop round-the-world yacht race and, in a time before GPS and auxiliary crews, was a grueling test of physical and mental endurance.
Then he famously discovered the truth about Donald Crowhurst, a yachtsman who mysteriously disappeared from his trimaran in the mid-Atlantic.
A Devon inventor hit the headlines by breaking speed records while piloting his plywood boat in a race, using navigational aids he designed himself.
Crowhurst looked set to win a £5,000 prize – worth £85,000 today – for posting the fastest solo time, plus global publicity for his contraptions.
But for the past month there has been radio silence from his permeable vessel, the Teignmouth Electron.
It was found floating in the South Atlantic on July 10, 1969, with no one on board.
Rich’s suspicions that Crowhurst’s claims of good progress are not all they seem are fueled by “some very strange messages and hard records”.
Sunday Times editor Harold Evans asked him to look through the diaries.
Tony Young dead at 71: Man Utd pay tribute to former star as he dies
Rich revealed that Donald’s diaries revealed he lied about his position in the race – before apparently taking his own life.
Rich was later involved in helping Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall write The Strange Journey of Donald Crowhurst, and was interviewed about the tragedy for the documentary.
Crowhurst’s body was never found.
Craig Rich was born in Plymouth on 3 February 1938 and attended Devonport Boys’ High School.
At just 16, he went to sea as a cadet with Ellerman Lines and became a navigational officer at 20.
Before joining the BBC in 1978, Craig served in the Merchant Navy – a post he held for 12 years.
The main routes he sailed were between South Africa and the United Kingdom.
He then taught navigation and meteorology at the Sir John Cass School of Navigation, City of London Polytechnic for five years.
At the BBC, his contribution to Spotlight went far beyond his time responsibilities.
Rich often found newspaper stories and his expertise was used during coverage of events such as the 1979 Fastnet Race tragedy and the 1981 Penlee disaster.
In the 1980s, he hosted That’s Rich, a late-night regional programming series.
He was a commentator at the start of the 1998 Tall Ships Race on the destroyer Nottingham, where he interviewed the Princess Royal as part of the BBC South West live broadcast.
Rich was also a fully qualified Chief Seaman and Extra Seaman.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education