The Very Private Life of Mister Sim Page #3

- Samuel, this is Franois.

- Hello.

- Franois Sim, you know, I met him at the airport.

- Yes, yes.

My friends, dinner is ready!

And you, in which field are you working?

I was working in leisure articles, for kids. Toys.

- You know, I was working in a library,

I know children quite well...

- You are quite good at this!

- Well, it's my job... Because with 3% interest in a capital venture, it's OK...

But, but... 3% in a capital venture... It's without the interests, right?

- You don't work in finance, right?

- No.

These days, I'm in the toothbrush.

- The toothbrush?

- Yes, I'm taking care of a brand new product,

it's an eco-friendly toothbrush, a revolution for the market,

a great technological progress.

And you have faith in the technological progress

of a toothbrush?

- Well... Yes.

- OK. You do what in the company?

- I'm in sales. I'm actually going on a business trip soon.

You're a peddler.

(in french:
colporteur)

Cole Porter, you mean the musician?

Sorry?

Don't you know Cole Porter? Night and Day, I Get a Kick Out of You,

Near to me or far, I think of you...

I think of you, Night and Day... Right.

- It's me. The kid.

- Ah yes, of course.

- And him?

- Donald Crowhurst, the British navigator.

- Do you know?

- No... Well, I know Cole Porter.

This was taken on October 29th, 1968 in Portsmouth.

My parents were fond of sailing, and they took me to

the departure of the first round-the-world solo race.

- Donald Crowhurst was among the 10 competitors.

- Ah, OK.

This was the day before departure. He would never come back.

- He sank?

- He probably jumped out of the boat after 243 days on the sea.

For years, I collected everything about him.

I was obsessed with him.

Donald Crowhurst was an engineer, specialized in electronics.

He was sailing as an amateur.

Every other competitors were experimented sailors.

These are from a documentary

the BBC made about him at the time.

He wanted to prove his family he could cross the globe.

He found a sponsor, which was unusual for the time,

to help build a state-of-the-art boat, the Teignmouth Electron.

but from the very beginning, things looked bad.

but, under pressure from the sponsor, the spectators, the press...

He went for it.

Every competitors passed him by,

and he stayed there, in the middle of the ocean...

The BBC gave him a camera,

so that he could keep a diary...

... Here, he says he feels like a fool in the ocean...

He couldn't come back.

He took too much money from the sponsor,

and he had to finish the race.

He knew that if he continued until Cape Horn,

he would sink along with his boat.

So he stayed like this for weeks, drifting away,

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