0:00:02 > 0:00:05GULLS CRY
0:00:05 > 0:00:06WAVES CRASH
0:00:12 > 0:00:14This is Coast.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49You never master the sea, but you can work with her.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56Rope and canvas can...can take you anywhere.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Every voyage...is an adventure.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Now the Coast crew are casting off.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11While I soak up the drama of competition on the waves,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15historians Ruth Goodman and Nick Hewitt
0:01:15 > 0:01:18relive the sea's darker days,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22when our briny depths concealed weapons of war.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27There was a time when British waters were infested with German mines.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33This is a Soviet Foxtrot submarine.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35So if the Cold War had gone hot,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37they planned to swamp the North Atlantic
0:01:37 > 0:01:38with hundreds of these boats.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Mark voyages back to the days of sail
0:01:43 > 0:01:48for a scandalous tale of savagery at sea.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51This was a case of cannibalism.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53But even though the men had killed one of their crew,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57they fully expected to walk free.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04And I'm eating up the opposition in the toughest race of my life.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Unbelievable. Unbelievable!
0:02:09 > 0:02:12On this journey, we're all at sea.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20I'm embarking on a circumnavigation.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Not of the globe but the Isle of Wight.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29This stepping stone in the Channel
0:02:29 > 0:02:33is the perfect base for adventures all at sea.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46The island's world-class sailing has a right royal reputation.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52King Edward VII became Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron
0:02:52 > 0:02:55while he was the Prince of Wales.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Edward's mother, the Queen,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05had fallen in love with the Isle of Wight.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11"It's impossible to imagine a prettier spot."
0:03:11 > 0:03:14That's a quote from Queen Victoria.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18She and her husband Albert were so taken with this pretty spot,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20they bought the land
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and built themselves a summerhouse.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Built in 1851 in the Italian style,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Osborne House was the royals' holiday home,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42where Prince Edward got his taste for competitive sailing.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And that's why I've come.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50I'm told his mother's regal residence
0:03:50 > 0:03:53affords majestic views over the Solent,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56where my own sailing challenge awaits.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59That's the Solent.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03The stretch of water between the island and the mainland.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Very shortly, I'm going to be down there in a 40ft yacht,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10taking part in the Round the Island Race.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14It's enormous. There are 1,600 yachts taking part.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18And unusually, amateurs can race against professionals.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I'm very much in the amateur camp.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23I'm nervous and I'm excited.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26# Sailing
0:04:28 > 0:04:30# Sailing. #
0:04:31 > 0:04:36For over 80 years, on the last Saturday in June,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40crews have braced themselves for a test of skill and strategy.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Racing around the Isle of Wight, boats must battle each other
0:04:46 > 0:04:48and notoriously tricky waters.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53The course is strewn with navigational hazards.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57One of the first are The Needles on the western point of the island.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01A jagged reef of rock protruding into the course.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Right at the end, there's a submerged wreck you've got to avoid.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Then it's down to the southern tip of the island,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Saint Catherine's Point,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11where the waters get very churned up.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15So much so that they've ruined many a racer's chance of finishing.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Then it's around the eastern end of the island,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and then just as you're entering
0:05:20 > 0:05:22what you might think is the final straight,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24you've got to avoid a sandbank,
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Ryde Sands here, before coming up here to finish at Cowes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And then there's the sea itself.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36It's a complex puzzle of tides and currents
0:05:36 > 0:05:39buffeted by unpredictable winds.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49The water sloshing around the island creates fearsome rip currents.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56These rips can carry a yacht off course like a matchstick.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00The sea winning out over wind.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Racers must be wary of riptides,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07as veteran competitor Graham Sunderland knows.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11We're right where the tide is flowing at its fastest
0:06:11 > 0:06:15out towards the open sea by this... this is Sconce buoy, isn't it?
0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's one of the fastest rips we find here on the island.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20So, what's the effect of this tide on a boat, say, like this rib?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22We should be able to show you that
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- if we ask our rib driver Jason to cut the engine.- OK.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26You should see the effect on the boat.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29So Jason's cut the engine.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33We've now been gripped by the tide.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34In that short period of time,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37we're already doing a knot and a half into the breeze.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39The wind's trying to push us back.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The tide's forcing us into the wind. It's that powerful.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47The tide's pull defeating the wind's push.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52These conflicting forces will be my challenge tomorrow.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55To add to the fun, further along
0:06:55 > 0:06:59the first leg of the course are The Needles.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Graham, we're approaching one of the most famous
0:07:03 > 0:07:07but also lethal landmarks in British waters.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Tell me about the race tomorrow.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Typical hazards you've got here are The Needles itself,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and then you've got a further hazard in the Varvassi wreck.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22The Varvassi, a 4,000-tonne Greek steamer,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25was dashed onto The Needles in 1947.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31The broken-up ship lies just a metre below the surface.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36But navigating around her means losing precious time.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Do people try to cut inside the wreck, between the wreck and the lighthouse?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It's a good question.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47The decision is down to each individual skipper to get that right.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And the conditions that prevail will help them make a decision.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54It's high risk. There is room but not much.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Rocks, wrecks and ripping currents
0:07:57 > 0:08:01make the Isle of Wight a stupendous sailing challenge.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06With the race less than 24 hours away,
0:08:06 > 0:08:11I'm starting to realise what it means to feel all at sea.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27For me, taking the helm's a daunting prospect.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32But all around our shores, dazzling displays of seamanship
0:08:32 > 0:08:36are part of the day's work for hard-grafting skippers.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45From little coastal craft to ocean-going giants.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Boats buoy us up with the trade we desperately need.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00One third of all our food floats into Britain.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Strangle our shipping and we'd soon be on our knees,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09as our enemies have always recognised.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11FOGHORN
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Remarkable evidence of attempts to sink our sea trade
0:09:15 > 0:09:18survive in the Medway Estuary.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Naval historian Nick Hewitt is stalking fearsome prey.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40I'm here to track down weapons of war.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43This is a tale of two submarines.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52This is a Russian Cold War submarine from the Soviet era.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54And this is a First World War German U-boat.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Amazingly, submarines like these are out there in the estuary.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13After the Great War ended in 1918,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17German subs were beached and sold for scrap.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28A few escaped that ignominious fate.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Now, after years studying them,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I've got a chance to explore one of those U-boats.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Not in a museum, but buried in The Medway mud.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42CHORAL SINGING
0:10:47 > 0:10:50That is absolutely amazing.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Sitting here for 100 years.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07So I never thought I'd get the chance to touch one of these.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And that's still pretty impressively intact, the steel plate.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14It's hard to imagine now,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16because it's just sitting here, and it looks so decayed
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and quiet and peaceful, in a funny sort of way.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23But these things were such a menace.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25The Germans started their unrestricted
0:11:25 > 0:11:28submarine warfare campaign in February 1917.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31And within the first three months, they'd sunk 500 ships.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Suddenly, in 1917,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Britain seemed on the brink of losing the First World War.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Not on land but at sea.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Only putting cargo ships into heavily protected convoys saved us.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Still, by the war's end,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58over 3,000 Allied ships had been sunk by U-boats.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07This great big hole here,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I'm pretty sure this is where they would have cut out the conning tower.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Everybody knows that wonderful image of a submarine
0:12:13 > 0:12:14with a sort of tower sticking up.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16When the submarines were handed over
0:12:16 > 0:12:19to civilian scrap merchants, they had to be demilitarised,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22which involved removing the conning towers,
0:12:22 > 0:12:23removing the torpedo tubes, obviously,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25so that it was completely harmless.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I'm standing on a U-boat! Ha-ha!
0:12:41 > 0:12:45We saw off these subs, but their strategy to strangle Britain
0:12:45 > 0:12:48lived on into the Cold War.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53MUSIC: The Russian National Anthem
0:12:53 > 0:12:57This Foxtrot-class submarine was built in the 1960s.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Now she's being restored
0:12:59 > 0:13:02to preserve a forgotten threat from the Soviet Union.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08They planned to swamp the North Atlantic
0:13:08 > 0:13:10with hundreds of these boats.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23What was life like for submariners preparing to wage war on our isles?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33This is something else.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Officer's accommodation.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It may not look like much, but actually, in terms of habitability,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41these things were streets ahead of the German U-boat we saw earlier.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43At least there's some degree of privacy.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And what you've got in here is the sonar fit,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48the famous ping of the submarine movies.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50REPEATED PINGING
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So that's the galley, the kitchen.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I can't believe that all the food for 74 men
0:14:00 > 0:14:02was prepared in that tiny space.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08I've always wanted to do that. Ha-ha!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10And this is the nerve centre of the boat.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12All these bewildering instruments.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14This is where the boat was fought from, steered from.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Everything ran from here.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24And what we've got here is a very sobering reminder
0:14:24 > 0:14:28that these submarines are extremely dangerous places to live and work.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Each of these spaces was designed to be sealed off quickly
0:14:31 > 0:14:33in case of an emergency.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36If something happened here and they had to shut the hatch quickly,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37these Morse code instructions
0:14:37 > 0:14:40were painted on the hatch so they could explain,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42perhaps when they're frightened and panicking,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44what was going on to the people on the other side.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47They might be going...it's a fire.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49And then the guys here would know what to do
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and hopefully be able to help them deal with it.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been?
0:15:02 > 0:15:03Wow!
0:15:06 > 0:15:10This is what Hollywood has trained us to expect from submarines, isn't it?
0:15:10 > 0:15:13You can just imagine if the Cold War had gone hot,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15the Soviet submarine commander sitting here,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17his boat deathly quiet around him,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20all his men waiting for his orders,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22as he peers through his periscope,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26looking at a big fat merchant ship, about to give the order to fire.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32FAINT RADIO
0:15:38 > 0:15:40These subs have taken me back to a time
0:15:40 > 0:15:43when Britain faced down formidable foes,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45hidden beneath the waves.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50It may seem like the dim and distant past now,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53but when you consider some 90% of British trade
0:15:53 > 0:15:55still takes place by sea,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58it's suddenly a very clear and present threat.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Today's global economy demands super-size cargo ships.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21They crisscross vast waterways with ease.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Big, powerful engines eat up distance.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29But once we travelled the oceans by sail.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44All at sea, sailors harnessed the power of wind and tides.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48But how exactly do you get where you're going
0:16:48 > 0:16:51when the wind's blowing against you?
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Fighting the breeze is a tricky task
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I've got to tackle off the Isle of Wight.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13Soon, I'll be embarking as a crew member on the Round the Island Race.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27How do these sailing boats go right around the island
0:17:27 > 0:17:30when the wind's only blowing in one direction?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34To practise manoeuvring a yacht in the breeze,
0:17:34 > 0:17:39I'm starting with something simpler. A blokart.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41No sea but still a challenge.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47With the wind behind the kart,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49as soon as Pete releases the brake,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52he's going to take off down the beach. Chocks away, Pete!
0:17:54 > 0:17:58The big question is, how does he sail back into the wind?
0:17:59 > 0:18:01The solution to the sailors' dilemma
0:18:01 > 0:18:05can be illustrated with a different kind of craft.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Have a look at the shape of the wing on this model aeroplane.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13The upper surface of the wing is curved.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15And that creates an aerofoil shape.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18As the plane flies forward, the airflow from the front
0:18:18 > 0:18:21has further to travel over the upper surface
0:18:21 > 0:18:23than it does over the lower surface.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26And that creates high pressure beneath the wing
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and low pressure above the wing.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33And that gives the plane lift, so it rises up and keeps in the air.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Now, if you turn this plane on its side,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40you've got a wing that looks a bit like a sail on a sailing boat.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Now, if this sail is pointing straight into the wind,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47it's just going to flap.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51But if you turn the sail slightly to one direction or the other,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55the sail will fill with wind and form an aerofoil shape.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00And that converts what would have been lift in an aeroplane
0:19:00 > 0:19:02into forward drive in a sailing boat.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16If you want to sail from A to B straight into the wind,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20all you have to do is maintain the aerofoil shape of the sail.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24So you make a series of turns called tacks, like this.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26That direction, turn through the wind,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28fill the sail from the other side,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31sail forward, turn through the wind,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33fill up the sail from the other side, sail forward.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38This zigzagging motion, or tacking,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42is a skill you must master to sail into oncoming winds.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47Fine in theory, what about in practice?
0:19:47 > 0:19:48He makes it look very easy.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56One-time Olympic sailor Peter Newlands is a blokart demon,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58but it's my first time.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05So, Pete, I feel as if I'm in a part-yacht, part-flying machine.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06How does it work?
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Pull the main sheet in to pull the sail in.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10- That's this one here.- Yeah.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14And steer with the steering handles, which control the front wheel.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17So just two controls, a rope and a pair of bicycle handlebars?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Yeah. No, there's no break.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21LAUGHTER
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Here we go. Oh! And we're off!
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Wow! Hurtling down the beach.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36These little karts really do fly.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Oh, bloody hell!
0:20:38 > 0:20:41I'm battling to keep control.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44I've got about three seconds to make a turn or I'm in the water!
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Oh, round I go, pull the sheet in, pick up the speed.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Oh! Lift the wheel.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52As if this isn't hard enough,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I've got to follow a course Pete's setting for me.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Here he is at four times normal speed.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02X marks the start.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08And he expertly completes a couple of tacks into the wind.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Rather different once I'm at the helm.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19MUSIC: Theme to "Captain Pugwash"
0:21:19 > 0:21:22With the wind, I career towards the start at X.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Oh! Whoa!
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Ooh, I got bogged down. Ah!
0:21:32 > 0:21:35I'm back! And with a few more mishaps,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37crudely tack back to the finish.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Wow!
0:21:45 > 0:21:48That is really, really exciting!
0:21:49 > 0:21:52It's very easy going down the beach with the wind.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Turning around and trying to tack up into the wind
0:21:56 > 0:21:58is a lot more difficult.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05It's been far from plain sailing on dry land.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But tomorrow, I'll be a crewmember
0:22:08 > 0:22:11in one of the world's toughest yacht races.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15With over 1,600 boats fighting tide and wind,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17it's going to be quite a day.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37From ports around Britain great and small,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39sailors head out to sea.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And it can be a rocky ride.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53There's one thing all would-be seafarers need.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Good sea legs.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Stomaching the sea is tough enough for professionals.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05But that doesn't stop amateur fishermen in Whitby.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Here in the harbour,
0:23:15 > 0:23:20boats for hire allow day trippers to try their hand at fishing.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26But heading into the rough North Sea,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30it's their stomachs that catch them out.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32# You will have a fishy on a little dishy
0:23:32 > 0:23:35# You will have a fishy when the boat comes in...#
0:23:35 > 0:23:37That's our boat there, I think!
0:23:37 > 0:23:39My name is Divine Charura.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41And today, we're going out sea fishing.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43We're going to go down on a boat,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46which we do every year to go out to the sea.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49# Dance to your daddy Sing to your mammy
0:23:49 > 0:23:51# Dance to your daddy My bonny lad. #
0:23:51 > 0:23:56I absolutely love fishing. Um...I was born in Zimbabwe.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00And that's where I started fishing from about the age of five.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- Hello, Paul!- Morning! - How's it going?
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- How are things?- Not bad. It's nice to see you. It's been a year.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I came to the UK when I was about 16, I think, 16 or 17.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14So I've continued and kept the faith fishing.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16That's it. Big smile. Big smiles!
0:24:16 > 0:24:18LAUGHTER
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Right, we're on it.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I've brought some friends and family.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I've brought my dad, Alois, who's a veteran fisherman,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32and I've brought my brother, Talent.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Right, this is it!- This is it!
0:24:40 > 0:24:43I've got another friend of mine, he's never been fishing before.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47In fact, it's his first time fishing. He might be sick...or not.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48HE LAUGHS
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- You feeling all right?- I am! - Yeah?- Yes.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- On a scale of one to ten? - Nine and a half.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57- Nine and a half? - LAUGHTER
0:24:57 > 0:24:59I'll ask you in a few hours' time.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00LAUGHTER
0:25:04 > 0:25:06What we're doing is wreck fishing.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10The boat...if you imagine this is the wreck,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12the boat comes on top
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and then we have to put our lines down
0:25:14 > 0:25:16before the tide takes us past it.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20So as soon as we get there, we have to put our rods in.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Lines down, boys, lines down!
0:25:31 > 0:25:33I'm looking forward to catching seriously big fish.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Cod, ling and pollock.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40There's some big fish about. The question is, can you catch them?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Yes! Yes, Divine.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Fish coming up. It's a ling. There it is.
0:25:46 > 0:25:47I've got a ling!
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Well...this is what we're talking about.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56- I told you.- This is nice. - Wow! Very nice.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57That's my bro!
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Samuel, how are we doing?
0:26:02 > 0:26:04He's probably going to get away, because I'm feeling so weak.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06LAUGHTER
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- Again.- Oh! A beautiful cod!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- How are you feeling now, out of ten?- I'm a five.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14LAUGHTER
0:26:24 > 0:26:25Smells nice, yeah.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32This is the life.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34- It's what we're talking about. - Talking about.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Can somebody take a picture of me and this man?
0:26:40 > 0:26:42- Smile, boys.- He's the man!
0:26:44 > 0:26:45It could have been calmer and hotter,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48but it's been a good day. Good day.
0:26:50 > 0:26:51- You don't feel sick, do you, boys? - No.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53LAUGHTER
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It's no pleasure cruise being all at sea
0:27:05 > 0:27:07when you're trawling for your life.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18An undercurrent of peril is ever present.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29Never more so than for trawler men landing their deadliest catch
0:27:29 > 0:27:32during the Second World War at Milford Haven.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Ruth's discovering how unsung heroes
0:27:38 > 0:27:42foiled an enemy threat hidden in our seas.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48There was a time when British waters were infested with German mines.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54In 1940, Luftwaffe bombers and the German Navy
0:27:54 > 0:27:59were dropping mines into our harbours under the cover of darkness.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Ships were being lost at an alarming rate.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13The deadly mines threatened to sink Britain.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Then, unlikely saviours sailed in from the Netherlands.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Dutch trawler men were bringing their fishing boats to Britain
0:28:22 > 0:28:24to take on the Germans.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33Some 600 fishermen made for our coast in May 1940
0:28:33 > 0:28:37after Hitler attacked the low countries.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40- RADIO: - 'This is the BBC Home Service.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43'The German army invaded Holland and Belgium
0:28:43 > 0:28:45'early this morning by land
0:28:45 > 0:28:47'and by landings from parachutes.'
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Before the Nazis reached the ports,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55the Dutch fishing fleet fled to Britain.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59One of those fishermen was Antoon van Gils.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Now his son Johan has returned to Milford Haven.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08It's more than 70 years ago
0:29:08 > 0:29:11since your father came along here into the harbour.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14It was safer than home here, but it wasn't exactly that safe.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16- He came here to fight.- Yes.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Using their trawlers, the Dutch exiles
0:29:30 > 0:29:34were assigned by the Navy to minesweeping duty.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39A deadly job that they had to learn quickly or die trying.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44How did the Dutch fishermen use their knowledge of the sea
0:29:44 > 0:29:46to fight for their land?
0:29:49 > 0:29:53Nick Hewitt is back to give me some naval know-how.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56What was it about the Dutch fishermen
0:29:56 > 0:29:58that offered so much for minesweeping?
0:29:58 > 0:30:00The techniques used in sweeping mines
0:30:00 > 0:30:03are actually very, very similar to fishing.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05The skills that they need,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08the way of driving a boat is exactly the same.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10And also, their boats are uniquely suited to it.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13You could just literally take the trawling gear off the back
0:30:13 > 0:30:16and put the minesweeping gear on instead.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Is this what we're talking about?
0:30:18 > 0:30:20This is it, this is a contact mine.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24They're deployed off the back of a ship with a weight at the bottom called the sinker.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25Takes it down to the bottom of the sea.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Cable plays out and then the mine is set to hold
0:30:29 > 0:30:31just below the surface of the water.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35A ship comes along, the bow wave pushes the mine out of the way,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39and then it pendulums back against the side of the ship and explodes.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43So, how exactly does the minesweeping work?
0:30:43 > 0:30:46What they did was, if you have a look at this drawing here,
0:30:46 > 0:30:47you have your minesweeper,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50you have a long cable called the sweep wire
0:30:50 > 0:30:52that comes out from the back of it and is attached to a float.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54That's so that the wire goes out
0:30:54 > 0:30:56to the side of the boat and not behind it.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59The wire's serrated. It cuts through the cable
0:30:59 > 0:31:01that's holding the mine to the bottom of the water.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05The mine then bobs up to the surface. It's very simple then.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08They shoot the prongs with rifles and blow it up.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15Minesweeping was fraught with danger.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21But Dutch sailors also landed a much happier catch.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Romantic entanglements weren't uncommon.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36As Welshman Graham van Wert can testify.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39His father was stationed up the coast at Holyhead.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Graham's meeting Johan to share stories
0:31:43 > 0:31:47of what their Dutch dads did in Wales during the war.
0:31:47 > 0:31:48THEY SPEAK DUTCH
0:31:51 > 0:31:54That's a photo of my...my father.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56- Young man in a Dutch uniform. - A Dutch uniform, yes.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Oh, and there's yours, as well!
0:31:58 > 0:32:00This is my father.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- Also in his Dutch naval uniform. - Yeah.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08It's been reported that there was over 105 marriages in Holyhead
0:32:08 > 0:32:10between local girls and Dutchmen.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Which...surprised me, because I didn't realise there were so many.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17It was quite a culture shock for the local people,
0:32:17 > 0:32:19because they hadn't seen foreigners like this before.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22And you have this influx of, as I was told,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25handsome but rather on the wild side Dutchmen.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28And...the population thought a lot of them
0:32:28 > 0:32:30and brought them into their own homes.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35Graham's father was one of many to tie the knot with a local girl.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38But Johan's father was already married.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42His wife stowed away with the fishing fleet.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44You were born here?
0:32:44 > 0:32:45I'm born here, yes.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47LAUGHTER
0:32:47 > 0:32:51So you were here as a Welshman for the first few years of your life.
0:32:51 > 0:32:52Yeah, yeah.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02The bonds of love forged between foreign lands
0:33:02 > 0:33:06were often torn apart in the cruel seas.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The mines were indiscriminate killers.
0:33:14 > 0:33:15Scientist Ewen McLaughlin
0:33:15 > 0:33:19knows the secret of how contact mines are triggered.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21If this was a real mine,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24this would be the mine casing, the outer steel shell of it.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Tucked in here, an enormous amount of explosives would reside.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29"And inside is a load of mischief.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32"Maybe you'd like to examine this interesting toy in detail."
0:33:32 > 0:33:35This is the Hertz horn itself, which is made of lead.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37You need to give it quite a clout, but that will bend.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39"When the horn is bent, the trouble starts.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42"The whole of the intricate mechanism of the mine is set in motion."
0:33:42 > 0:33:45And inside, this is a glass vial which would have acid in it.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47So if anything hits that, that will crack
0:33:47 > 0:33:52and that will deposit all this acid into the electrodes underneath.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54"The breaking of the glass container causes a solution to flow
0:33:54 > 0:33:57"over the battery plates towards the electric detonator."
0:33:57 > 0:34:00It generates almost two volts and quite a hefty current.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03That's quite good for setting off a detonator circuit.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06I thought you'd prefer a small light to having the explosives.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08Can we smash it?
0:34:08 > 0:34:11- LAUGHTER - I'll give it a go.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21# But now I've joined the navy aboard a man of war...#
0:34:21 > 0:34:25A trawler had a fighting chance of avoiding contact with a mine.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27The boats' shallow draft
0:34:27 > 0:34:30meant they could glide over the submerged threat,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32if they were lucky.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35# Don't haul on the rope Don't climb up the mast
0:34:35 > 0:34:39# If you see a sailing ship It might be your last
0:34:39 > 0:34:43# Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore
0:34:43 > 0:34:46# A sailor ain't a sailor ain't a sailor any more. #
0:34:46 > 0:34:49So it must have been dangerous here.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08One trawler that never made it home was the Caroline.
0:35:08 > 0:35:13On 28th April, 1941, she struck a mine in the Haven.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17All of the 15 Dutch crew were killed.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Come on, guys, we're just coming up to the wreck now.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27The wrecked trawler is a poignant sight for Johan.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Today, Johan and Graham pay their respects
0:35:58 > 0:36:02to those who risked their lives to keep our shipping safe.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03Their fathers survived,
0:36:03 > 0:36:08but thousands of their Dutch and Allied comrades did not.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26These were young men, stripped from their homeland by war.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Using those skills in seamanship they had at their fingertips
0:36:30 > 0:36:34to save ultimately their own land and ours.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46We're all at sea.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58And for one weekend in June,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02there's nowhere more exciting to sail than the Isle of Wight.
0:37:09 > 0:37:136:00am on the morning of the Round the Island Race,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and it's wet and gusty.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21After all my preparation, it's time to put the theory into practice.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25I'm pretty nervous. This is my first ever sailing race.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28And for reasons I'm beginning to wonder about,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31I seem to have chosen one of the most challenging in the world.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33It's going to be a really big test.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39I'll be crewing on the yacht Ortac.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Our skipper is Richard Webley.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Competition will be fierce.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52One of Richard's biggest rivals is Tom Farnworth on Nereus.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56We've got two competing skippers here.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Richard and Tom, adjacent boats.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01You're pretty equally balanced in terms of your boats.
0:38:01 > 0:38:02Yeah, very equally balanced.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05- It's all down to crew, skipper and tactics.- Yeah.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09- Who's got the upper hand?- Tom's got more experience of the race,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11but I've got the best crew.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13LAUGHTER
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- There's only one way to find out. - There's only one way to find out.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Richard thinks we have the best crew.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26A crew which includes me.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I've got a lot to live up to today.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38We're now out on the water, moving off towards the start line.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42There are boats absolutely everywhere.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Must be just a few seconds, five or six seconds.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53No! Wait for it!
0:38:56 > 0:38:57CANNON FIRE
0:38:57 > 0:38:59That's the start! We're off!
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Really good blow, helicopter hovering overhead.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Unbelievable. Unbelievable!
0:39:11 > 0:39:13The first leg of the race
0:39:13 > 0:39:16runs southwest from Cowes to The Needles.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19The start is chaos.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Every yacht competing for water, wind and tide.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28It's a case of getting out quick and avoiding collisions.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35That was my first hands-on, proper tack, and I didn't muck it up!
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Breaking free of the pack, we've stolen a march on our rivals.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Yes! LAUGHTER
0:39:45 > 0:39:47That yacht over there with a blue hull is Tom.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51We're about that far ahead of him.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54That's how close it is!
0:40:05 > 0:40:08We're doing well, but obstacles await -
0:40:08 > 0:40:12The Needles and the wreck submerged just beyond.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17Sail close and you shave off valuable seconds, but it's a gamble.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20We've cut it a little bit fine.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25But we didn't run aground.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29- And now we can get ready to bear away to St Catherine's Point. - Big wave!- Wave!
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Richard's nifty turn around The Needles
0:40:35 > 0:40:38keeps us in front of our rivals on Nereus.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41We had a reasonably good start.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45We were ahead of Ortac for the first half of the windward leg,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47and then Ortac seemed to overtake us,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51and we've lost them somewhere over there.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Our next gamble is to come wide.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Further offshore, the winds should be stronger.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03But it means battling against stronger currents.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07I'm at the helm, trying to follow Richard's plan.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09At the moment, we're right on the outside of the fleet.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12We are. Most of the people have gone shallow.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15We're on the outside, doing a straight line.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17As with all these things, it's a compromise,
0:41:17 > 0:41:19and we'll see how it pays off when we finish.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30We're making for the exposed headland of St Catherine's Point.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34Then we'll have the strong southwesterly blowing behind us.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38It's a key turning point.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40An opportunity to race harder.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45What we've decided to do is to put a bigger sail up, the spinnaker,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47as we go around the point
0:41:47 > 0:41:51to give us extra speed down to the eastern end of the island.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56Spinnakers catch huge amounts of wind, boosting speed.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58But they're risky.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02The sails are unwieldy and can destabilise the boat.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04I'm manning the spinnaker rope.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Another of my big moments. I've not done this before in my life.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13- Ease that sheet. - It's eased, it's eased.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Get that sheet over there, through there and up to that winch!
0:42:20 > 0:42:22It's caught around that block!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25One of the ropes is stuck. We can't rein in the sail.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29I'm ready! You're ticking in?
0:42:32 > 0:42:34The handle has come off!
0:42:34 > 0:42:37The boat keeps going over, or broaching.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39On the right-hand side of you!
0:42:39 > 0:42:44We had trouble getting the spinnaker up, we just broached three times.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46It's gone right under.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49One on the left. The green one!
0:42:51 > 0:42:54- We're trying to regain control of the yacht.- I need you now!
0:42:54 > 0:42:56- Nick!- Sorry, you're going to have to stop.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- I need you now! Can you get that... - 'No time for talking.'
0:42:59 > 0:43:02That's on the...on the winch.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08We have to free the rope, get the spinnaker down,
0:43:08 > 0:43:10or our race is over.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13OK. Ease! More, more quicker.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17Yeah. More turns off. Two turns on. Yeah, ease quicker.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Let it go! Can you help get it down the hatch?
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Get it in! Quick!
0:43:24 > 0:43:25Is it up? Is it running?
0:43:25 > 0:43:27Yeah, it's running, it's running, it's running.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29- Well done, guys!- OK.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Right, spinnaker's down.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34HE SIGHS
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Big, big drama.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Well done, guys! Good job!
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Our troubles with the spinnaker have cost us dear
0:43:44 > 0:43:49and allowed our rivals, skippered by Tom, to overtake.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52But we're still in with a shout.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56I've got a feeling the adventure isn't over yet.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Striking out across the sea,
0:44:08 > 0:44:14boats and their crews must fend for themselves when waters run wild.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Sailors in life and death situations
0:44:30 > 0:44:34fall back on something known as the Custom of the Sea.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39This code of conduct guides their moral compass.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44But back on shore, a different set of rules holds sway.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47The Law of the Land.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51When these two worlds collide, sailors beware.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57It's a hard lesson they've learnt in Falmouth.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05Back in Victorian times, following a notorious shipwreck,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09a band of survivors arrived here.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Mark knows their astonishing story.
0:45:19 > 0:45:25This is a murderous tale that affects the law even today.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30In 1884, when this yacht sank,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34one of the sailors was killed by his crewmates.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Back in Falmouth, they were arrested.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46The trial consumed the whole nation.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50The Illustrated Press provided graphic details of the case.
0:45:52 > 0:45:58When they say, "Worse things happen at sea," this is what they mean.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04This was a case of cannibalism.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07But even though the men had killed one of their crew
0:46:07 > 0:46:09and fed from his body,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12they fully expected to walk free.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24Maritime tradition condoned cannibalism to survive.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28But should the law ever excuse murder?
0:46:29 > 0:46:33The case caused a legal dilemma for those back at home.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36How did a brutal Custom of the Sea
0:46:36 > 0:46:40come to shape the Law of the Land?
0:46:44 > 0:46:49This true crime story begins in the South Atlantic.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51A yacht, the Mignonette,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55is struck by a terrible storm and sinks.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Abandon ship!
0:46:59 > 0:47:06Over 600 miles from land, four sailors must save themselves.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14The crew's lifeboat soon became their prison.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Adrift on the open ocean
0:47:19 > 0:47:26for 24 dreadful days, they languished, starved and exhausted.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39Royal Navy surgeon Dennis Freshwater
0:47:39 > 0:47:43knows the medical plight of the wrecked sailors.
0:47:43 > 0:47:49If you've been adrift on a boat for 15-17 days without any food or water,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51I mean, what happens to your body?
0:47:51 > 0:47:53Well, the major thing is the dehydration.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57No water. Water all around them and not a drop to drink.
0:47:57 > 0:47:58And of course, that's very true.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02Because when you take in saltwater, you become more dehydrated.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05It worsens things. And then, eventually death.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11On the brink of death from dehydration,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Captain Tom Dudley knew there was only one thing left to drink.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17Blood.
0:48:17 > 0:48:23The men's desperate gaze fell on the sickly cabin boy Richard Parker.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27By the morning of the 18th day,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Richard Parker was lying in the bottom of the boat near to death.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Now, Tom Dudley said to the others something must be done.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36And by which, he meant, we have to kill Richard Parker.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40And Tom Dudley then took a knife and cut Richard Parker's throat.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42Aaarrrggghhh!
0:48:42 > 0:48:45It sounds horrific now,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49but in the days of sailing ships, it wasn't so shocking.
0:48:49 > 0:48:55Author Neil Hanson has researched Captain Dudley's dilemma.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59This wasn't something that suddenly occurred to Tom Dudley out of the blue.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03For decades before this, ships had been wrecking,
0:49:03 > 0:49:04seamen had been cast adrift.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08And over years and years, as many people resorted to cannibalism,
0:49:08 > 0:49:10what was called the Custom of the Sea evolved.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13But they were still undertaking murder.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16It was what seamen did. And it had been practised for so long,
0:49:16 > 0:49:18it seemed to them to have a judicial force.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22The men thought they'd never face trial,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25even if they did get home.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30- Shark!- But with sharks circling the blood-soaked boat,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33the law was the least of their concerns.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38- Over here! - Then, miraculously, a sail!
0:49:38 > 0:49:41The ill-fated crew were saved.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44The survivors sailed back to Falmouth.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46CHEERING
0:49:53 > 0:49:55The seafaring community
0:49:55 > 0:49:59were sympathetic to the plight of the shipwrecked men.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06However, miles away,
0:50:06 > 0:50:12the long arm of the law was beginning to flex its muscles.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18The Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt
0:50:18 > 0:50:21seized on the case to assert his authority
0:50:21 > 0:50:25over the unofficial and antiquated Custom of the Sea.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30He wanted to make an example of the men.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34But the people of Falmouth had other ideas.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38Their public donations paid for a top defence QC.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43He would try to challenge the Law of the Land.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Order! Order in court!
0:50:47 > 0:50:52The defence barrister pleaded that the accused were not guilty
0:50:52 > 0:50:54by reason of necessity.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00It was a landmark legal moment.
0:51:00 > 0:51:06The defence of necessity for murder didn't exist in English law.
0:51:06 > 0:51:11The trial took the court back to the men's ordeal at sea.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Why didn't they let the sickly cabin boy die naturally
0:51:15 > 0:51:18and then drink his blood?
0:51:18 > 0:51:23Why did the crew think they had a necessity to murder their crewmate?
0:51:23 > 0:51:26The argument was advanced that they had to kill him
0:51:26 > 0:51:28to drink the blood before the blood congealed.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32By cutting the throat while the heart is still pumping,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35the blood is pumped out of the body, so they can access it.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37Whereas if they'd waited until after death,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39they may have been able to get into the vessels,
0:51:39 > 0:51:41but there's nothing to pump the blood out.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Captain Dudley, who stabbed the cabin boy, had been a ship's cook,
0:51:46 > 0:51:51so he understood butchering and bloodletting.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55But common law is based on precedent.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57If the men were freed,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59would it allow other justifications for murder?
0:51:59 > 0:52:04The case went to the High Court to pronounce judgement.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Lord Coleridge read out the final sentence.
0:52:12 > 0:52:17"You'll be taken from this place to a place of execution,
0:52:17 > 0:52:22"where you'll be hanged by the neck until you are dead."
0:52:22 > 0:52:23Take them down!
0:52:25 > 0:52:29The Law of the Land prevailed over the Custom of the Sea.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33But public sympathy for the seafarers
0:52:33 > 0:52:37meant their executions were never carried out.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43Shortly after the verdict, Queen Victoria commuted the death sentence
0:52:43 > 0:52:46to that of six months' imprisonment.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51Crucially, she stopped short of a full pardon
0:52:51 > 0:52:52for the convicted cannibals.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59Over a century later,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01we still live with the deadly events
0:53:01 > 0:53:04of that shipwreck from 1884.
0:53:04 > 0:53:09It's studied by law students and cited in modern murder trials.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13The case of the Queen versus Dudley and Stephens
0:53:13 > 0:53:15established that in English law,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18there is no defence of necessity for murder.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23But the big question remains.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26Would you kill to survive?
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Aaaarrrggghhh!
0:53:39 > 0:53:43On this journey, we're all at sea.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48And I'm sailing for my life around the Isle of Wight.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52# Sailing
0:53:52 > 0:53:55# Sailing
0:53:56 > 0:54:00# Sailing
0:54:00 > 0:54:02# Sailing
0:54:02 > 0:54:04# Would you believe it?
0:54:04 > 0:54:06# I'm sailing... #
0:54:06 > 0:54:09We've been at sea six-and-a-half hours.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14One of 1,600 yachts competing in the Round the Island Race.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Among the competitors, there's one rival yacht, Nereus,
0:54:19 > 0:54:21that we're determined to beat.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28After the turn at St Catherine's point,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31we've rounded the eastern tip,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34approaching the home stretch to Cowes.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Nereus is just ten minutes' ahead.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43Now the whole fleet is funnelling down for a sprint finish.
0:54:43 > 0:54:44Our skipper's Richard Webley.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49So it's just a drag race. Who can sail the fastest
0:54:49 > 0:54:52in the cleanest air to get to the forks,
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and then it becomes a fight up to the finish.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00We aren't just battling other boats.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05We're also fighting the full force of wind and tide.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Straining hard on the rudder to steer true.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13There's one last hazard to surmount.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Ryde Sands lie just beneath the waves,
0:55:16 > 0:55:21waiting to scupper any yacht tempted to take a shortcut home.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26To avoid the sandbank, we keep one eye on the depth gauge
0:55:26 > 0:55:28and the other on our rivals.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34But there's one threat we're not looking out for.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38We've lost rudder!
0:55:43 > 0:55:45The rudder linkage has snapped.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48The sails take over steering.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52We're not just helpless, we're dangerous.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54We've lost rudder!
0:55:55 > 0:55:57We've lost rudder! Clear off!
0:55:58 > 0:56:00A missile guided by the wind.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05We need to get that under control! Let's just try and bundle that up.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Can we get the main in, please?
0:56:15 > 0:56:17If you've got any control,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20if you just steer us out of this line of boats.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Big drama! Lost a rudder,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26which is about as serious as things can get
0:56:26 > 0:56:29when you're sailing pretty quickly in a big boat.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31And so, er...
0:56:31 > 0:56:36really effective teamwork getting the sails down rapidly.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47All our efforts blown out of the water
0:56:47 > 0:56:50by a single mechanical failure.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52Our race is run.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56So near...so far.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01We're travelling back to Cowes under motor without a sail.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Ahead of us, yachts cross the finishing line,
0:57:06 > 0:57:11including our rivals on Nereus, skippered by Tom,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14who came home in a time of 7 hours 56 minutes.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16Champagne for some.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21But for our brave team, the ending is a little less glamorous.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24We were sailing so well.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29We were ahead of many boats that should have been faster than us.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32The tactics that Richard adopted were brilliant.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37Then, in the home strait, the rudder broke.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43Richard's steering us back with a pair of rusty bicycle handlebars.
0:57:56 > 0:58:02Contests come and go, but the restless sea's eternal.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04We competed against the best,
0:58:04 > 0:58:10but ultimately, our destiny was decided by a greater power.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14It's wonderful, it's unpredictable
0:58:14 > 0:58:17and sometimes it's cruel.
0:58:17 > 0:58:23But the sea's siren call tempts each generation anew.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27The one thing that all of us as islanders can share
0:58:27 > 0:58:31is the temperamental, seductive sea.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd