On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:26:52 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

There's a lot of talk of fatigue and multiple watchkeepers, yet
singlehanders seem to sail overnighters all the time.

Only when well offshore, inshore they have to stay awake, frequently
exceeding their endurance limits. I was reminded of that yesterday as
we cruised past Pt Judith lighthouse in Rhode Island. Sometime back a
young lady singlehander successfully sailed her 30 something boat all
the way across the Atlantic up to that point. After being awake for
over 2 days due to bad weather and heavy shipping traffic, she mistook
Pt Judith light for the old Brenton Reef tower, and parked her boat on
the beach just down the shore.

The waters in question where Skip is now are very congested with
*large* commercial shipping and also a wide assortment of fishing
vessels. You can not safely sleep, even for 15 minutes.