While there are similarities...Crowhurst had different motivations and pressures. He was in a financial bind with his business (nautical radio direction finding equipement) and basically got deep in hock with his sponsor who would get his business, boat & home if he failed to complete the race. A very ugly situation indeed...not all of which Crowhurst can be blamed for...
This Vann guy is completely self-motivated as far as we can tell. We can only hope that when things get bad, he can make it to safety...there are no huge external pressures for him to continue beyond his limits or the boats.
On my flight to the US last week I watched the movie Deep Water about Donald Crowhurst (excellent btw). Though the circumstances are different, this reminds me a lot of that.
