Legendary BBC star who solved baffling mystery dies aged 86 as family pay tribute to his ‘amazing life’

A LEGENDARY BBC star who solved a baffling mystery has died aged 86.

Craig Rich joined the BBC Spotlight team in Plymouth in 1978 and held the position for 25 years.

The former presenter died on December 1 and leaves behind his wife Pat, to whom he was married for 62 years, and their three children Jo, Sarah and Thomas.

His family said he "died peacefully" and that it was now time to celebrate his life.

Craig was the first and longest-serving regional weather forecaster.

In 1968, he was appointed navigation adviser to The Sunday Times, sponsors of the single-handed Round the World Yacht Race.

The race was the first non-stop round-the-world yacht race and, at a time before GPS and support crews, it was a gruelling test of physical and mental stamina.

It was then he famously discovered the truth about Donald Crowhurst, the yachtsman who mysteriously vanished from his trimaran in the mid-Atlantic.

The Devon inventor made headlines breaking speed records as he piloted his plywood boat in the race, using self-designed navigational aids.

Crowhurst seemed set to win a £5,000 prize — worth £85,000 today — for posting the fastest solo time, plus global publicity for his gadgets.

But for the final month there was radio silence from his leaky vessel, the Teignmouth Electron.

It was found adrift in the South Atlantic on July 10, 1969, with nobody aboard.

Rich’s suspicions that Crowhurst’s claims of making good progress were not all they seemed had been aroused by “some very odd messages and claimed records”.

He was asked to examine the log books by Sunday Times editor Harold Evans.

Rich found that Donald’s log books revealed he had lied about his position in the race — before apparently taking his own life.

Rich was subsequently involved in helping Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall write The Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, and was interviewed about the tragedy for documentaries.

Crowhurst’s body was never found.

Craig Rich was born in Plymouth on 3 February 1938 and attended Devonport High School for Boys.

At just 16 years old, he went to sea as a cadet with Ellerman Lines and became a navigating officer aged 20.

Before joining the BBC in 1978, Craig had served in the Merchant Navy - a position he held for 12 years.

The main routes he sailed were between South Africa and the UK.

He then lectured on navigation and meteorology at the Sir John Cass School of Navigation, City of London Polytechnic, for five years.

At the BBC, his contribution to Spotlight went well beyond his weather responsibilities.

Rich often found news stories and his expertise was called on during coverage of such events as the Fastnet Race tragedy in 1979 and the Penlee disaster in 1981.

In the 1980s he presented That’s Rich, a late-evening series of regional programmes.

He was the commentator for the start of the 1998 Tall Ships Race on board the destroyer Nottingham, where he interviewed the Princess Royal as part of BBC South West’s live coverage.

Rich was also a fully-qualified master mariner and an extra master mariner.