0:00:11 > 0:00:13Britain is an island nation.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17The seas around us have framed our history,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21helped create our culture, made us who we are.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22HE SHOUTS
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I'm setting out to explore Britain's relationship with the sea,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35how it's inspired our literature and art.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45A mysterious sea full of wonder, full of danger.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52An exciting sea, taking us to distant lands,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54providing rich rewards.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01A protective sea - our front line of defence against attack...
0:01:04 > 0:01:07..and a romantic sea -
0:01:07 > 0:01:11a challenge to the brave since the dawn of time.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13This is a thrill for me.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21Ow!
0:01:55 > 0:01:58For my first journey around our island,
0:01:58 > 0:02:03I'm sailing my boat Rocket along the coast of Cornwall and Devon -
0:02:03 > 0:02:06one of the most beautiful shorelines in the country,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08and one of the most exciting.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Our starting point is the Helford Estuary,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28hidden away on the southern tip of the country.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36'To help me sail this coastline, I have recruited a crew.'
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- Josh, why don't you do drinks? - Sure.- Beer?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'Josh is a local sailing instructor.'
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Butter, bit of butter... What are you doing?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46- I'm just trying the cheese. - Don't try it, just buy it!
0:02:46 > 0:02:48'And with him his girlfriend, Eliza.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Yes, please, that's lovely.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Thanks very much, guys.- Bye!
0:02:53 > 0:02:54You all right?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- I'm good, I'm good. - I'll take the rum.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58THEY LAUGH
0:03:00 > 0:03:06- So, welcome to Rocket. Hi, John. - Hi, there. You all right?
0:03:06 > 0:03:11'John has years of experience as a sailor and boat-builder,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13'and he looks after Rocket.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16'Where he goes, Stanley goes.'
0:03:16 > 0:03:20So, life jackets - one, two...
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Rocket was built over 30 years ago,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31her design based on a Falmouth work boat of the late 19th century.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37She's 28 foot long, but 40 foot
0:03:37 > 0:03:42if you include the great pole sticking out front, the bowsprit,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46which allows us to carry plenty of sail and drive the boat hard.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03This corner of Britain gave birth to many of our most famous adventurers.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10From here they set off to discover the four corners of the Earth -
0:04:10 > 0:04:14voyages that would change our understanding of the world.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19That's one of Henry VIII's castles.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Falmouth was defended, look, by that castle there and that one up there,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Pendennis. You could fire a cannon from there, a cannon from there.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36'Our first port of call is the great inland harbour of Falmouth.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'It's not far, but we still need to plot the course.'
0:04:41 > 0:04:48All coastal sailing, which is what I mainly do, can be dangerous
0:04:48 > 0:04:50because you're, of course, close to the shore,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52therefore you're close to rocks.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57You have to watch out very carefully for tides, the direction of the wind
0:04:57 > 0:04:59and then use your chart.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01I mean, these charts are absolutely brilliant,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06they've got all the metres, depths, they've got all the buoys marked.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09But interestingly, several hundred years ago,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13mariners had to rely on a rather cruder way of navigating,
0:05:13 > 0:05:19and this is a copy of a chart of 1597.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The Helford River,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25where we came from, Pendennis Castle that we went past,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and here into Falmouth, which, when this chart was made,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31didn't yet exist. So all you've got is woodland,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35but some of the other places are marked here - Strongate Creek,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38St Mawes' Castle that had been built by Henry, there,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42so it was designed to show how well-protected Falmouth was.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44But it's also a work of art in its own right.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48I mean, the drawings are so fine - impeccable drawings
0:05:48 > 0:05:53of ships, lovely penmanship, the curve of the sails and the masts...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55A sea battle going on out there.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Great puffs of smoke from the cannon fire.
0:05:58 > 0:06:04Strange sea monsters. There's one there, with little jagged teeth,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09and here's something that looks more like a little dog with red eyes.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15And this idea of the land being a place that's relatively safe,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19with churches and houses, and out there, "terra incognita",
0:06:19 > 0:06:24the unknown seas, all the perils of the deep, was a powerful image
0:06:24 > 0:06:28for sailors at the turn of the 17th century.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36The sea has always inspired fear in the hearts of sailors...
0:06:40 > 0:06:47..tales of mermaids who lured ships onto deadly rocks, and sea monsters
0:06:47 > 0:06:51devouring whole vessels in a single gulp.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55It can be a dangerous place,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and sensible sailors treat it with respect.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00Stand by to jibe.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Steady, everybody.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08OK, here we are coming up. Jibe ho!
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Lovely, well done.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20- Josh?- Yep?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- Your reward is to come and take the helm.- Nice.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- It's just like a dinghy, OK?- Yeah.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- So we're heading... You see Falmouth?- Yeah.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33- So go straight as we are now.- Sure.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Today, Falmouth is a busy working harbour.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50Generations of seafarers have tramped these narrow streets,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53from a time when the terrors of the deep were very real.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Sailors back from distant climes amazed people at home
0:08:09 > 0:08:13with their stories of strange beasts and exotic fish.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20And every now and again, their stories got a little out of hand.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Falmouth Aquarium has taken delivery of a nasty little creature
0:08:26 > 0:08:31that used to strike fear into the hearts of our ancestors.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Agh!
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Huh! I bet it stinks.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Hm.
0:08:42 > 0:08:51This is a monkey fish, brought home by sailors from the Far East.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Now the thing about this is that people got away with saying
0:08:55 > 0:08:58that this was a real monster from the deep
0:08:58 > 0:09:01because the sea was such a mysterious place,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06and people who went down to the sea came back with strange stories,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10that they really believed for over 1,000 years
0:09:10 > 0:09:16that a monster like this, a merman, a monkey fish, could have existed.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21This one is actually made in Japan, where they used to produce
0:09:21 > 0:09:25lots of these for sailors to bring home to their families.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28And for a long time it was thought actually to have a monkey's head,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32but they've studied them carefully now and they've revealed that this
0:09:32 > 0:09:37is kind of plaster, the fish's tail is true, and the monkey's head is
0:09:37 > 0:09:42made of papier-mache built up, and here there are little fish teeth,
0:09:42 > 0:09:48human hair, and the claws here, or the hands,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51are actually chicken or bantam's claws.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55But it does just show how gullible people were,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59or rather how terrified people were about the sea
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and the terrors that it contained.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12SHE LAUGHS
0:10:13 > 0:10:14JOSH LAUGHS
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Rocket's turned into a roller coaster.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26There's always a bit of a worry
0:10:26 > 0:10:32when the wind gets up that something might break or a big wave
0:10:32 > 0:10:37might come in, but we seem to be doing all right so far.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40We've just put our navigation lights on, so we can be seen
0:10:40 > 0:10:43by other ships.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Oh... It's all right. It's not a holiday.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Thing is, there comes a point... Watch it.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Hold on, everybody!
0:10:58 > 0:11:02..there comes a point when, if you've set off, you have to decide
0:11:02 > 0:11:07whether to go back or keep going and actually, when you've got the wind
0:11:07 > 0:11:14behind you and no tide against you, it's easier to go on than turn back.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28As suddenly as the wind had blown up and the sea become a bit rough,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30it had all calmed down again.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The moods of the sea are always changing.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36It's part of its fascination.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44The great painter JMW Turner came to this coast
0:11:44 > 0:11:46in the early years of the 19th century.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54For him, painting the sea was the greatest challenge of his life.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02All around the coast of Britain,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06he tried to capture the restless movement of the waves
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and the interplay of water and light.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Leaving Falmouth behind, we're making good speed
0:12:35 > 0:12:37towards our next destination -
0:12:37 > 0:12:42once the smuggling capital of Cornwall, Mevagissey.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Today, Mevagissey is a pretty seaside town.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56It makes the hundreds of visitors that come here each summer
0:12:56 > 0:12:57feel at their ease.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03200 years ago, it was a very different story.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06It was smuggling on which this little village depended,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10like villages all up and down the south coast of England.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Smuggling of tobacco, of spirits, of silks,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19anything that could be brought in and avoid customs and excise duty.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22The high-minded, of course, always complained about it.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The redoubtable Dr Johnson called smugglers "wretches",
0:13:25 > 0:13:28rather like our modern politicians call people
0:13:28 > 0:13:31who avoid their taxes morally indefensible.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34But Mevagissey lends itself to smuggling.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49Mevagissey is a town designed to confuse, a labyrinth of paths
0:13:49 > 0:13:52which snake the hillside -
0:13:52 > 0:13:55perfect territory for smugglers evading the authorities.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04The poet Rudyard Kipling, in his Smuggler's Song, had sound advice
0:14:04 > 0:14:08for anyone who happened to notice illegal activities -
0:14:08 > 0:14:09best turn away.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16"If you wake at midnight and hear a horse's feet
0:14:16 > 0:14:19"Don't go drawing back the blind or looking in the street
0:14:19 > 0:14:23"Them as asks no questions isn't told a lie
0:14:23 > 0:14:28"Watch the wall, my darling while the gentlemen go by
0:14:29 > 0:14:32"Five and twenty ponies trotting through the dark
0:14:32 > 0:14:35"Brandy for the parson Baccy for the clerk
0:14:35 > 0:14:38"Laces for a lady Letters for a spy
0:14:38 > 0:14:44"And watch the wall, my darling while the gentlemen go by."
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Smuggling was not even a guilty secret here in Mevagissey.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57200 years ago, you could have walked into the pub
0:14:57 > 0:15:02and found the locals openly hatching their illicit plans.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Local historian Geoff Pollard
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and his cousin Gary Mitchell know all about the bad old days.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Well, the whole town was involved.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I mean, 2,300 people,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- most of whom were involved. - Who would be involved?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Apart from the smugglers themselves.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Well, all the families that mattered were on to it.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- I mean, even local gentry were involved. Vicars.- Really?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Did people not think it was wrong to smuggle?
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Well, ask yourself the question, is it better to see people starving?
0:15:36 > 0:15:38My father always used to say,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42"You'd just as well be on the moon as in Cornwall",
0:15:42 > 0:15:47because of its extreme distance from the centre of things - London.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Was it kept to this community, to the people of Mevagissey?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53I mean, if a stranger came in, would they talk about the smuggling?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55- Would they know?- No, no.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57You don't know to this day what went on in this town.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01You don't, and nor anybody else, because nobody talks about it.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Tales of smuggling captured the imagination of painters, too.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21The artist George Morland developed a popular line
0:16:21 > 0:16:24in pictures of smuggling at the end of the 18th century.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30He embraced the romantic image of heroic figures
0:16:30 > 0:16:34flouting the law with their illicit booze and tobacco.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Sometimes, things went even further. Smuggling went hand in hand
0:16:42 > 0:16:47with "wrecking" - deliberately luring ships on to rocks
0:16:47 > 0:16:53with decoy lamps, and plundering their cargo as the crew drowned.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15The lure of the sea is irresistible in Cornwall.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21A few miles from Mevagissey is the castle of Caerhays.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Here, some of the most courageous journeys
0:17:28 > 0:17:33were planned in the early 1900s, crossing vast oceans.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40The expeditions of an intrepid adventurer, George Forrest.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47He spent years of his life trekking through
0:17:47 > 0:17:50the most remote mountain areas of China.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55He froze to death on mountain tops, he lost mules over precipices,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and worst of all, on his very first journey -
0:17:57 > 0:18:02and it didn't put him off - he was attacked by marauding Tibetans,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06who killed two companions, French priests, and cut open their bodies
0:18:06 > 0:18:10while they were still alive, took out their hearts, and ate them,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13because to eat a Christian heart was to get strength.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14He just managed to survive,
0:18:14 > 0:18:19he had nothing to eat for over a week, he escaped. Did it stop him?
0:18:19 > 0:18:21No, he went back and back,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and all because he was obsessed with finding this.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34George Forrest was a plant hunter.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38He undertook epic journeys of discovery
0:18:38 > 0:18:41in the pursuit of new varieties of flower.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Here at Caerhays, they've got wonderful records
0:18:49 > 0:18:52of George Forrest's extraordinary expeditions,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55five of which were funded from here.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58There he is, a brave, bold man.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02They have the map of all his expeditions, done in red,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06looking like blood stains on the mountains of China -
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and suitably so, because they were always in danger.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13There were always bandits, he lost guides,
0:19:13 > 0:19:18he lost bearers to bandits on the roads down bringing these seeds.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21It was a very perilous business.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24He always took a camera with him on his expeditions,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and his books are not sort of happy family snapshots,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32but pictures of trees, endless varieties of trees,
0:19:32 > 0:19:37that he took, all beautifully catalogued, volumes of that.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Everything that he collected was catalogued -
0:19:40 > 0:19:46books like Field Notes, Of Trees, Shrubs And Plants Collected In Western China,
0:19:46 > 0:19:47and the list is endless.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51He collected new acers and aliums and buddleias and clematis,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54camellias and gentians, jasmines and lilies,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58peonies and salvias, magnolias, 22 kinds of primulas -
0:19:58 > 0:20:03to say nothing of 200-300 different kinds of rhododendron!
0:20:08 > 0:20:14What we think of as the English country garden is anything but.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19It's built on plants and seeds shipped thousands of miles
0:20:19 > 0:20:21across turbulent seas.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Back on board Rocket, we're facing some turbulent seas of our own.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Well, it's quite rough, isn't it?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Um, well, this is what they call moderate to rough.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It may be bright and sunny,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47but the swell is proving a bit much for the crew.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- Eliza?- Yeah?- You feeling all right?
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- Um...- Not very? What?- Yeah, I'm OK.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01- Are you?- Just deep breaths.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Well, thing is, Josh, we wouldn't be going out in any worse than this.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Any worse than this and we'd be coming in anyway, so...
0:21:06 > 0:21:09How many of your sick pills did you take?
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Um, I took two but then I put these patches on as well,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13so I've overdosed.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16All right. Well, it can only get better.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24VOMITING
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- Whose idea was this trip? - Yeah, exactly.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45We'll soon be reaching Fowey,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48a childhood home to the writer Daphne du Maurier.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Du Maurier is most famous for writing Rebecca and The Birds,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07two novels made into Hollywood movies by Alfred Hitchcock.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Du Maurier spent many holidays here at Fowey in this romantic house
0:22:13 > 0:22:14on the banks of the estuary.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20She claimed Fowey and its relationship with the sea
0:22:20 > 0:22:22made her a novelist in the first place.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Today, the house belongs to De Maurier's son, Kits.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- How are you?!- All right!
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Kits lives here under the watchful eye of Jane Slade.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46She's seen here as the figurehead of an old trading schooner.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54In reality, Jane Slade ran a boatyard on the river -
0:22:54 > 0:22:56a woman in a man's world.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01And it was her story that inspired Du Maurier's
0:23:01 > 0:23:06first attempt at a novel, The Loving Spirit, written here in 1929.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I'm fascinated here by what it was about Jane Slade
0:23:11 > 0:23:13that caught your mother's imagination.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15And she was a girl of, what, 22 at the time?
0:23:15 > 0:23:1721, even, I think, yes.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Well, she loved walking, and one day she came across this derelict ship
0:23:22 > 0:23:24that was waiting to be broken up.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30And on her bow was this faded and worn figurehead called Jane Slade.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34It still had her name on it.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38So she became fascinated, and that's really how it all came into being.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42What was the character of Jane Slade that appealed to her?
0:23:42 > 0:23:45What did she discover about the kind of person she was?
0:23:45 > 0:23:49She was a very tough, small lady.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54And apparently ran the boatyard with a rod of iron, you know -
0:23:54 > 0:23:57she was really very, very tough.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00And I think this impressed my mum a lot,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04because she rather liked, you know, people who were tough,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and...especially the fact that she was a woman.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10And this was one of the things that appealed to her.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15So you've got that figurehead out there of Jane Slade,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and you've got her double in here.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19- No, this is the real one.- Oh, is it?
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- Yes, yes.- So we're all deceived by the one outside.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Yes, yes. Hopefully, everybody is deceived by it.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Because when we first bought the house back in 1993,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32she was somewhat the worse for wear.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35So what we decided to do is we found a man who said
0:24:35 > 0:24:37he could make a fibreglass model.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43A double. A stand-in. And now Jane is in happy retirement,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48whilst the double is up on the roof looking out towards the sea.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58"She longed for freedom as she saw a ship leave the harbour,
0:24:58 > 0:25:04"the sails spread to the wind, the spirit free and unfettered,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07"waiting to rise from its enforced seclusion,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11"to mix with things like the wind, the sea and the skies."
0:25:13 > 0:25:15"To become part of these things
0:25:15 > 0:25:21"and move away like a silent phantom across the face of the sea."
0:25:32 > 0:25:35- How's the fishing going? - Yeah, good, fine!
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Have you caught anything? - Uh, not yet.- Not yet.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- You'll probably end up with all the seaweed in the sea.- No!
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Get off! Josh, I can do it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46No, they're doing very well with their fishing.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Nice, nice, isn't it? Look at the light there.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59It's said that there's no greater challenge for an artist
0:25:59 > 0:26:01than painting the sea.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02Too true.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06The thing about the sea is it's very difficult to capture
0:26:06 > 0:26:10because it's so fast-moving all the time. Nothing stays still.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14If you're doing a human portrait, at least the sitter is there -
0:26:14 > 0:26:17if you're doing landscape, the trees basically are there,
0:26:17 > 0:26:18the fields are there.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Actually trying to capture the sea,
0:26:22 > 0:26:27these little wavelets all shuffling about...
0:26:27 > 0:26:29I don't know how.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31I think I'd better take a drawing course.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39This great rock coming down.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49And this is a very calm day, so I suppose it's cheating a bit.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53And also, I'm what's called a Sunday artist.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59If I could just capture even one wave, just one...
0:27:02 > 0:27:06I'm as bad at capturing the waves as you two are at catching fish.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I've put in Rocket's boom here to show that we're at sea.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Charcoal is lovely stuff. It's sort of forgiving and it's messy!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19You can't rub it out, though.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22No, but that's a good thing, you have to be bold with it.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Rocket At Sea.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- It's yours.- Oh, thank you!- Yeah.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52We're heading for Plymouth Sound,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56the name given to the deep water bay and natural harbour
0:27:56 > 0:27:59that's given Plymouth its place in maritime history.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Over the last 400 years, this stretch of water has witnessed
0:28:10 > 0:28:15our greatest adventurers set out to establish our mastery of the seas.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24It's still one of the Royal Navy's three operating bases in the UK.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34I'm going ashore at Mount Edgecumbe, to pay homage to someone
0:28:34 > 0:28:37who put the sea at the heart of our national life.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Most visitors here head for the big house up the hill,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54but what I'm looking for is along the shoreline,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56hidden among the trees.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08They built this very pretty little pavilion as a memorial
0:29:08 > 0:29:13a poet who's now virtually unknown - the Scot James Thomson.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15In his day he represented everything
0:29:15 > 0:29:18that people admired about Britain and the sea.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And this particular poem is about British men of war.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24"Ribbed with oak to bear the British thunder
0:29:24 > 0:29:29"Black and bold, the roaring vessel rushed into the main."
0:29:29 > 0:29:33Curiously, the poem that he's probably best known for
0:29:33 > 0:29:37is one that many people think would be better as our national anthem
0:29:37 > 0:29:40than the rather dreary song that we have.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44It starts "When Britain first at Heaven's command
0:29:44 > 0:29:47"Rose up from out the azure main."
0:29:47 > 0:29:49You probably know the rest.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54# When Britain first at Heaven's command
0:29:54 > 0:29:59# Rose up from out the azure main
0:29:59 > 0:30:05# Arose arose arose from out the azure main... #
0:30:05 > 0:30:10Written in 1740 and set to music by Thomas Arne, 'Rule, Britannia!'
0:30:10 > 0:30:13became a rallying cry for a nation that was beginning to believe
0:30:13 > 0:30:16it owned all the seas of the world.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19# Rule Britannia!
0:30:19 > 0:30:22# Britannia rule the waves
0:30:22 > 0:30:26# Britons never never never shall be slaves. #
0:30:26 > 0:30:29What a spectacular view this is!
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Looking right across Plymouth Sound,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34the site of so many great events of our history.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37You could have stood here and watched our fleet set off
0:30:37 > 0:30:40to chase the Spanish Armada up the Channel.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44You could have stood up here and seen the Mayflower,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47with its pilgrims, setting off for America.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50You could have stood here just 30 years after Rule, Britannia!
0:30:50 > 0:30:53was written and watched Captain Cook
0:30:53 > 0:30:56setting off for the southern hemisphere,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00full of curiosity about what that part of the world was like,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02taking with him scientists
0:31:02 > 0:31:06and botanists and artists to record everything he saw.
0:31:13 > 0:31:19Cook sailed thousands of miles across uncharted areas of the globe.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22And the artist William Hodges went with him
0:31:22 > 0:31:24to capture the sights he saw,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27from sultry Polynesian islands...
0:31:29 > 0:31:32..to the frozen wilds of Antarctica...
0:31:33 > 0:31:39..even the mysterious lost civilisation of Easter Island.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46But there was one discovery that had a bigger effect on our visual arts
0:31:46 > 0:31:52than any landscapes, and was first brought home by Cook's own sailors.
0:32:06 > 0:32:07What is this?
0:32:07 > 0:32:10This is a smuggler girl, a pirate girl.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12We've got the fisherman on the inside,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16you've got the two swallows, the traditional sailor tattoos.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19When did you first have a tattoo?
0:32:19 > 0:32:22My mum made me promise not to get anything done until I was 21.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24And then what did you have done at 21?
0:32:24 > 0:32:27I got my gran's initials on my wrist.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30And what about these socking great things here? Chinese?
0:32:30 > 0:32:33These are for my gran as well. Yeah, it's a Japanese tattoo.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35So you really choose these very carefully.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37- You must've really thought out... - Yeah, I mean,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41some are very meaningful and some are kind of...
0:32:41 > 0:32:44the same way that someone collects art for their walls, I suppose.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Just collecting art on your skin instead.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Captain Cook was fascinated by the tattoos
0:32:55 > 0:32:59he saw on his first voyage to Polynesia in 1768.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05The word itself comes from the Tahitian word "tatau",
0:33:05 > 0:33:07meaning to mark.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Today, the tribal tattoos that Cook
0:33:13 > 0:33:17and his crew first came across are back in fashion.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Do you know what it all means? These type of symbols?
0:33:20 > 0:33:26Some of the symbols, yeah. These symbols represent birds. The sea.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Arrows as in hunting arrows, something like that...
0:33:29 > 0:33:34All of those are Polynesian. It's family, love, nature.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36You also have to be hairless, don't you, on your arms?
0:33:36 > 0:33:40- I couldn't have a tattoo because I've got hairs all over my arms. - Well, shave them.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42Yeah, but you have to keep shaving them.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Well, I'm going to ask you, man, would you ever have a tattoo?
0:33:45 > 0:33:46I've only... I've thought about it,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49but I don't think I ever would, really.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Well, there's a seat here for you. What would you have?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Well, that was the problem - what do you put?
0:33:55 > 0:33:58If you had something small, what would you have?
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Well, I'd have my own star sign, which is a scorpion.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02That's what I'd have.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04- It's a bit late now, though. - It's never too late.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Only person who'll see my tattoo will be the undertaker.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14'It took me some time, but in the end, I succumbed.
0:34:14 > 0:34:15'And why not?
0:34:15 > 0:34:17'Secretly, I'd always wanted one.'
0:34:23 > 0:34:25- Ah.- We'll remove just a little hair there.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27I've got rather a hairy back.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Doesn't hurt so far.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33"Name of artist."
0:34:33 > 0:34:34So you're the artist, are you, Paul?
0:34:34 > 0:34:35Yes, I am.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37"Am I pregnant or breast-feeding?"
0:34:37 > 0:34:40No, contrary to appearances, I'm not.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42"Are you prone to fainting attacks?"
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- We're just about to find out! - We'll wait and see!
0:34:58 > 0:35:01- How's that?- That's fine. It's like being cut by a razor blade.
0:35:03 > 0:35:04Ow!
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- Is the pain worth it? Stiff upper lip!- That's it.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14So what's this actually doing? Drilling the ink into the skin?
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Under the skin?
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Yeah, so the needle breaks the surface of the skin and the ink
0:35:19 > 0:35:22sits in a little reservoir and runs down between the needles -
0:35:22 > 0:35:26and there's actually seven needles in what I'm using here -
0:35:26 > 0:35:29and stays just above the dermis of your skin.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31You mustn't talk too much cos you'll lose concentration
0:35:31 > 0:35:33and I'll end up with a three-legged scorpion.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36No, it was a seahorse, wasn't it?
0:35:36 > 0:35:37No, it was a mermaid!
0:35:42 > 0:35:45People paint kind of life stories on them, don't they?
0:35:45 > 0:35:47The death of a member of the family or...
0:35:47 > 0:35:50- I saw somebody with their children's names.- Yep.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54It's a good way to mark a time, remember a time in your life.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57- Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing...- Ow!
0:35:57 > 0:35:59- We found a little sharp spot? - Yes. Ow.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- All right.- Is it done?
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Yes, take yourself a look in the mirror.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08I really can't bear to look.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10- Come round.- Oh, yes!
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Ah.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Oh, you've done it incredibly well.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20That is, I have to say, fantastic.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23- Thank you very, very much. - No problem at all. Enjoy.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26- And it didn't hurt - not much!- Good.
0:36:26 > 0:36:27Can we take it off now?
0:36:40 > 0:36:43We're motoring inland up the River Tamar
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that separates Cornwall from Devon.
0:36:47 > 0:36:52Up this river is the home of one of Britain's greatest adventurers.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01Sir Francis Drake could claim to be Devon's most famous son.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08Everyone remembers Sir Francis Drake as the man who defeated the Spanish
0:37:08 > 0:37:11at the Armada, the first Englishman to sail right round the world.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14What some people are always a bit embarrassed by
0:37:14 > 0:37:17is what the real Drake was like.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19They forget that he was a man of his time.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23That's to say, he paid for these trips around the world
0:37:23 > 0:37:28by pillaging and thieving and murder and mayhem. He traded slaves
0:37:28 > 0:37:32across the Atlantic, he stopped Spanish ships, killed as many people
0:37:32 > 0:37:36as necessary and stole the gold, he went ashore and destroyed villages
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and forts. In other words, he did what was expected at the time.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42He didn't go around the world just for the fun of it or "let's see
0:37:42 > 0:37:44"whether it's really round" - he went round to make money
0:37:44 > 0:37:47and make his fortune, and fortune he did make.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49When he came back, ship laden with gold,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52he did what all buccaneers, even the modern ones, do
0:37:52 > 0:37:55when they've made their fortune - he bought himself a great country pile.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Buckland Abbey was a religious foundation
0:38:05 > 0:38:08until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13It was on the market in 1581 when Drake bought it for himself.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19It was a fit home for a hero -
0:38:19 > 0:38:22he'd just returned from his circumnavigation of the globe
0:38:22 > 0:38:26with treasure and new territory for his queen, Elizabeth I.
0:38:29 > 0:38:35And she gave him this. It's called the Drake Cup.
0:38:35 > 0:38:41It's made in silver gilt. At the top it has this constellation,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44showing the stars, the position of the stars,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47of course, the way that sailors would navigate across the oceans
0:38:47 > 0:38:51of the world. Below it the globe itself,
0:38:51 > 0:38:57etched in very, very clear and distinct -
0:38:57 > 0:39:00you can see Africa, Europe and India -
0:39:00 > 0:39:04but interestingly the bottom part of this, the terra incognita,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08where nobody had yet been, still not showing on this globe,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and instead there are sea monsters and all the usual depictions
0:39:11 > 0:39:14of the horrors of the deep, the terrors of the unknown.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17But what an extraordinary trophy.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20He must have been thrilled to get this from the Queen.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23If he'd been a modern man, he'd have picked it up
0:39:23 > 0:39:26like they do with the football trophies or the Olympic gold medals
0:39:26 > 0:39:28and kissed it for the photographers,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30but the impact must have been the same -
0:39:30 > 0:39:33it must have been sheer thrill, delirious excitement
0:39:33 > 0:39:38to have this the great trophy to celebrate his circumnavigation.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46History has been kind to Drake.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50He's remembered as an explorer, adventurer and pioneer,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53the embodiment of a self-made man.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57He proved how mastery of the seas could make you rich and powerful.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Drake had planned to live out his days here,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08in the splendour of Buckland.
0:40:09 > 0:40:10But it wasn't to be.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Francis Drake died far away from here of fever.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Aboard his ship, in the bay of Panama, his sailors buried him
0:40:19 > 0:40:23in a lead coffin and made a note of exactly where the coffin lay.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26And I was involved in a mad scheme, a few years back,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29to try and recover this coffin with Drake's body,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34bring it back on a Royal Naval ship in great glory to Greenwich
0:40:34 > 0:40:35and then up the river in a barge.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39And I had this picture of him being buried in St Paul's Cathedral.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41When we came to look at it in detail, there was
0:40:41 > 0:40:44one group who you might have thought would be enthusiasts for it,
0:40:44 > 0:40:50who were completely opposed to it - the Royal Navy - and why?
0:40:50 > 0:40:58I think it was because though he is a national hero, Drake was a pirate!
0:41:06 > 0:41:10For as long as there have been ships, there have been pirates.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13And in the 17th and 18th centuries,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16they were as feared at sea as highwaymen on land.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22But our image of the pirate owes more to romantic literature
0:41:22 > 0:41:23than to the real thing.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Stepping aboard, it's impossible to resist
0:41:31 > 0:41:36the image of swashbuckling, rum-swilling rogues.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39This ship certainly has an authentic look to it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43It's played the pirate ship in countless movies and TV,
0:41:43 > 0:41:48including Treasure Island, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
0:41:50 > 0:41:51No pirate ship, of course,
0:41:51 > 0:41:55complete without its skull and crossbones
0:41:55 > 0:41:58flying at the yardarm there.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Originally, the skull and crossbones was a sign you had fever on board
0:42:02 > 0:42:05the ship, or plague, and therefore people should keep clear of you.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09And then they quickly discovered that if you hoisted it
0:42:09 > 0:42:11you could gain on your prey
0:42:11 > 0:42:13because they thought, "Well, they're not going to touch us."
0:42:22 > 0:42:27With her immense area of sail, it takes all of her crew of 17 -
0:42:27 > 0:42:30make that 18! - to hoist the mainsail.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47The exploits of British pirates have long since been the stuff
0:42:47 > 0:42:54of legend and no pirate has inspired more stories than Henry Avery.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Legend has it he was the richest and most ruthless pirate
0:43:00 > 0:43:05in history, although no-one is sure where fact ends and fiction begins.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09His exploits captured public imagination
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and the eager eye of popular novelists of the day.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19The most famous of all Avery's exploits was the capture of one of
0:43:19 > 0:43:23the great ships of the Muslim Mogul empire, which, with a princess
0:43:23 > 0:43:29on board, was sailing from Mecca back to India, laden with treasure.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33And the story was told romantically by Daniel Defoe,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe, in a book called
0:43:36 > 0:43:37The King Of Pirates,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40which was published about the same time as Avery was alive.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44That raid was in 1695, this was published about 15 years later.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49And this is what he has Avery say about getting on board
0:43:49 > 0:43:53and finding the princess sitting on the side of a kind of bed
0:43:53 > 0:43:57and covered with diamonds. "And I, like a true pirate,
0:43:57 > 0:44:02"soon let her see I had more mind to the jewels than to the lady."
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Avery, at least in fiction, is the lovable rogue
0:44:11 > 0:44:14who leaves the princess' honour intact.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Quite what the truth is, we shall never know.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24But at least his origins may have come to light,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and the evidence is nearby.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Newton Ferrers, to the east of Plymouth,
0:44:41 > 0:44:43looks peaceful enough in the summer sunshine.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51But the records of the local church suggest it may have been
0:44:51 > 0:44:56the birthplace of Britain's most villainous pirate.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07This handsome bound volume in parchment starts at 1600.
0:45:07 > 0:45:14But in the middle, there's the entry for the year of 1659,
0:45:14 > 0:45:20and the third entry, "Henry, the son of Mr John Avery,
0:45:20 > 0:45:29"and Anne his wife, was born the 23rd day of August, 1659."
0:45:29 > 0:45:34So that's the claim - that Henry Avery actually came from here.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37But there's another intriguing document, equally mysterious,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39which is this little piece of paper
0:45:39 > 0:45:45that came from a family collection of records of things.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49Now, it's headed "Avery The Pirate" and it says,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51"On his return from India,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55"he either landed or was shipwrecked on the Lizard where he buried
0:45:55 > 0:45:58"three chests or boxes full of treasure
0:45:58 > 0:46:00"in the sands of the seashore."
0:46:00 > 0:46:04And this is the exciting bit - "The three boxes made of wood,
0:46:04 > 0:46:10"large rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topaz and diamonds, 120 ingots
0:46:10 > 0:46:16"of gold, 40 thick flat pieces of gold, 3,000 pieces of eight."
0:46:16 > 0:46:20Well, no wonder treasure-seekers have been looking for this
0:46:20 > 0:46:22ever since this document was found.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24And people still go down to the Lizard
0:46:24 > 0:46:26in the hope that they can crack the mystery.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Well, actually, crack open the boxes
0:46:28 > 0:46:30that Henry Avery is meant to have left behind.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39All of Avery's victims were foreigners,
0:46:39 > 0:46:44which may account for his popular status in British legend.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48But there's a surprising postscript to the story of piracy.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51And this time, it was the people of Devon and Cornwall
0:46:51 > 0:46:53who were the victims.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56This time, the threat came from abroad.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01It came from pirates from North Africa -
0:47:01 > 0:47:04the so-called Barbary Coast.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07They came down here, took men and boys off ships,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11and took them captive to turn them into slaves in North Africa.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14But worse still, they went ashore, often at night,
0:47:14 > 0:47:18to these villages, and seized people - boys and men.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23It got so bad that in 1685, the authorities in Devon and Cornwall
0:47:23 > 0:47:27said that over 1,200 men and boys had been taken captive.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31It was so bad that the fishermen had stopped putting out to sea
0:47:31 > 0:47:32for fear they'd be taken.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47Barbary pirates continued to be a threat to the British coast
0:47:47 > 0:47:51for over a century, until the British government took action.
0:47:55 > 0:48:00A fleet led by Lord Exmouth attacked the city of Algiers
0:48:00 > 0:48:02to put an end to the kidnappings.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09After a day-long bombardment, the city fell,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13and 3,000 Christian slaves were freed.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Lord Exmouth returned a hero.
0:48:30 > 0:48:35The success of the bombardment was celebrated with this great trophy,
0:48:35 > 0:48:39a monumental trophy, called the Exmouth Tablepiece.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46It's made of silver gilt, and it was done by a famous engraver
0:48:46 > 0:48:52at the time, Paul Storr, and it shows, first of all, at the centre,
0:48:52 > 0:48:58the lighthouse itself at the port of Algiers with guns all round,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00three layers of guns.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06And on the top, the lantern of the lighthouse, and, above it,
0:49:06 > 0:49:12you can just see the crescent and the star of the ruler of Algiers.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18And then these vivid scenes around the four corners -
0:49:18 > 0:49:26here the Muslim pirate being put to the sword by a British sailor,
0:49:26 > 0:49:31having his hat pulled off and a knife about to cut his throat.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37And on this side, a Christian slave being freed,
0:49:37 > 0:49:42hands in supplication to the heavens as a sailor frees him,
0:49:42 > 0:49:48and has the chain from his handcuffs or his leg.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51At the bottom, the coat of arms of Lord Exmouth,
0:49:51 > 0:49:56the word "Algiers" at the bottom, a lion, and on the other side,
0:49:56 > 0:50:02a slave with a crucifix in one hand and his chains in the other.
0:50:02 > 0:50:08And then relief panels here, on either side, of the battle itself
0:50:08 > 0:50:11in progress - the ships bombarding the city.
0:50:16 > 0:50:17"This tribute of admiration
0:50:17 > 0:50:22"and esteem is most respectfully presented by the rear admiral,
0:50:22 > 0:50:26"the captains and commanders, who had the honour to serve under him
0:50:26 > 0:50:30"at the memorable victory gained at Algiers on the 27th August 1816."
0:50:30 > 0:50:33It's a truly astonishing work.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Yeah, if you try and... If you hold up the knot...
0:50:49 > 0:50:53- Through the hole.- Through the hole. - Round the tree.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55- Round the tree.- No, round this tree.
0:50:55 > 0:50:56Oh, this is the tree.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00- Round the back of the tree. - That's a granny knot.- Oh!
0:51:00 > 0:51:02Through the hole, round the tree,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05then back down through the hole the same way.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09I think the easiest knot to get wrong is a reef knot.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11I don't know why.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14You quite often do them.
0:51:14 > 0:51:15That's a good bowler!
0:51:15 > 0:51:17Without even looking, though.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19- Good job.- Good bowler, Dave.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20Thank you!
0:51:23 > 0:51:27We're approaching our final destination,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30to see how the adventurer spirit lives on today.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37For me, this is the climax of our journey.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48In the harbour at Dartmouth, we're coming alongside Gipsy Moth IV.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51This is the boat in which Sir Francis Chichester
0:51:51 > 0:51:55circumnavigated the globe single-handed in 1966.
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Nice boat.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Hi. Hi - you OK, everyone?
0:51:59 > 0:52:03On board is one of my heroes, Dame Ellen MacArthur,
0:52:03 > 0:52:08who did the same solo circumnavigation in 2005,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11breaking all the records for the fastest time ever.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14- Hello.- Nice to meet you. - Very, very nice to meet you.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16This is a thrill for me,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18like when I danced with Margot Fontaine.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21And when I danced with Margot Fontaine I had a plate put on
0:52:21 > 0:52:24the floor where I danced with her, saying I danced there, and I'm going
0:52:24 > 0:52:28to have a plate put on Rocket saying "Ellen McArthur came on board."
0:52:28 > 0:52:31- Will you come on board? - Oh, I'd love to.- Excellent.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33- Welcome.- Thank you. - Big, big welcome.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36- She's lovely.- She's beautiful, isn't she?- Beautiful.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39All John's doing. He looks after her.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42- Hiya.- Hiya.- And good to see a dog on board as well.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Yeah, I'm not so sure about the dog.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Ow. Rather grander than Rocket.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It was this very boat, Gypsy Moth IV,
0:52:55 > 0:52:59that first ignited the young Ellen MacArthur's passion for sailing,
0:52:59 > 0:53:04and inspired her to attempt her own gruelling circumnavigation.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07It's always been seen as a man's world, hasn't it, the sea?
0:53:07 > 0:53:09I never really saw it as that.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12I've never really considered myself to be any different
0:53:12 > 0:53:14from the other sailors, I was just someone growing up
0:53:14 > 0:53:17who had a dream to sail around the world who made it happen.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20People would say, you know, you're not huge,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23you haven't got great muscles, you know.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27You're a shrimp compared with some of the men who go to sea.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30You know, that it must've been physically actually
0:53:30 > 0:53:31very difficult for you.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33It's physically difficult for anybody.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36My biggest challenge out there was living with
0:53:36 > 0:53:39the amount of stress that I had, with a boat powering through
0:53:39 > 0:53:43the water 24 hours a day, seven days a week, knowing that one mistake
0:53:43 > 0:53:46would have you upside down and then you probably wouldn't survive.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Living at that speed with that adrenaline with that little sleep, that's what makes it very hard.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54Oh, it's not fair!
0:53:54 > 0:53:57'And it's actually more frightening afterwards than during.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59'During, you deal with it.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01'During, your body's full of adrenaline,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03'you just find the way to get out of the situation.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07'But afterwards is when you realise actually, that was pretty close.'
0:54:07 > 0:54:09I think you're mad as a hat!
0:54:09 > 0:54:13And brave beyond... beyond belief to have done that.
0:54:13 > 0:54:14I just can't believe it.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19- I don't think...- I get nervous when we go out here at force five,
0:54:19 > 0:54:21thinking Rocket's going to sink.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23"Ooh, I'm going to die!"
0:54:23 > 0:54:27And there are you off Cape Horn in a force ten!
0:54:27 > 0:54:31If you choose it, it's not bravery. It's your choice.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34- I think they're quite different. - So what is it?
0:54:34 > 0:54:35If you choose to do it?
0:54:35 > 0:54:39If you choose to do it, probably madness. You're probably right!
0:54:44 > 0:54:47- You're doing all the work. - You've done enough.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57I just love the adventure of being on the water.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01The adventure of being at sea, the fact that, you know, we could literally say,
0:55:01 > 0:55:03"Oh, we're not going back to Dartmouth,
0:55:03 > 0:55:04"why don't we just go to France?"
0:55:04 > 0:55:06or, "Why don't we go to America, right now?"
0:55:06 > 0:55:09There's nothing to stop this boat doing that. I find that amazing.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14How would you compare what you did with what, say, Francis Drake did?
0:55:14 > 0:55:17If you sail on a boat today or 500 years ago,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19when you look out across the southern ocean
0:55:19 > 0:55:22and you see the white caps and the waves, they're just the same.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26You may look back at a different boat, but it's the same place.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27Doesn't change with time.
0:55:42 > 0:55:47Our trip ends at one of Britain's great monuments to sea power -
0:55:47 > 0:55:53the Britannia Royal Naval College, standing majestic on its hill,
0:55:53 > 0:55:54looking down on Dartmouth.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05Built in 1905, at the height of Britain's domination
0:56:05 > 0:56:10of the seas, it's been described as a great battleship on land.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15It was designed by the same architect who created
0:56:15 > 0:56:18the front of Buckingham Palace, Sir Aston Webb.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27This is where naval officers are trained for their life at sea.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39This building breathes power.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42It was opened on the 100th anniversary
0:56:42 > 0:56:44of Nelson's famous victory at Trafalgar,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48which finally established Britain's command of the seas.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51And at the beginning of the 20th century, it was our idea
0:56:51 > 0:56:55to have a Navy at least twice the size of any of our rivals.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00And this place was designed to inspire the officers to run it.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Eyes front!
0:57:23 > 0:57:26We've been on a relatively short journey by sea,
0:57:26 > 0:57:31but a long voyage through time from "terra incognita"
0:57:31 > 0:57:34and "here be dragons", to the pirates,
0:57:34 > 0:57:38to the daring exploits of the Elizabethan sea dogs,
0:57:38 > 0:57:43to end up here with Britain dominating the oceans of the world,
0:57:43 > 0:57:47and proud, even arrogant, about it.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21'Next time, we set sail along the southeast shore of Britain,
0:58:21 > 0:58:26'our frontier coast. For centuries, the first line of defence
0:58:26 > 0:58:27'against invasion.'
0:58:27 > 0:58:29Watch that dog!
0:58:31 > 0:58:35'We'll discover how we built the most powerful ships.'
0:58:36 > 0:58:38Let me down about a foot.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43'The greatest defensive fortifications.'
0:58:45 > 0:58:50'And how writers and painters have used their arts to nourish
0:58:50 > 0:58:52'our sense of independence.'