The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
This gets one to itself as its one of a kind. Genuinely astonishing account of delusion, deception and descent into madness.

Lifted this from Amazon-

"A virtuoso demonstration of the soul's anatomy." New York Times Book Review

"One of the most moving and disturbing books I have ever read. I don't think I shall ever forget it." Washington Post

In the autumn of 1968, Donald Crowhurst set out from England in an improbable-looking plywood trimaran to compete in the first singlehanded nonstop round-the-world sailboat race. Although his previous sailing experience was limited, his boat unready, and the electronic gadgetry of his own design unfinished and untested, Crowhurst had managed to persuade first an affluent backer, then the contest judges, and, finally, England's media to regard him as a serious contender. Sailing south through the Atlantic, he radioed reports of record-breaking sailing performances. In the South Atlantic he announced that low battery power would require him to maintain radio silence through the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Eleven weeks later he broke his silence to tell the world he had rounded Cape Horn and was sailing north for England, the elapsed-time leader of the race. Then tragedy struck. Eight months after his departure, Crowhurst's Teignmouth Electron was discovered adrift in an eerie mid-Atlantic calm, intact but without her skipper.
(unclestinky, Sun 8 Jan 2012, 5:54, 4 replies)

very good read
well put together and quite touching if you've ever read any accounts of solo yachting journeys. even better when followed up with the recent movie on the Don - Deep Water.
(wino.NZ The Ayatollah of rock n' rolla..., Sun 8 Jan 2012, 8:21, closed)

A very compelling story
I found it formed a nice counterpoint to The Little Engine That Could
(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Mon 9 Jan 2012, 4:15, closed)

There's a room in Exeter's maritime museum
which has an orange capsule-style boat in the entrance. Or rather, as you discover as you enter the room, about half of the boat. The plaque reads something along the lines of "Mr XXX set off from YYY on ZZZ, attempting a solo voyage across QQQ. He was never heard from again. This wreckage was found some months later."

The entire room is full of similar recovered wrecks and parallel stories. Very chilling.
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Mon 9 Jan 2012, 9:32, closed)

I guess you might like the Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe then, which draws parallels with the tale of Donald Crowhurst.
(ridethefader, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 9:02, closed)