I have gradually become aware that my attention span when sailing single-handed in an open dinghy is about five hours, and this has rather surprised me as I have read so many good accounts of much longer passages successfully concluded. It had, however, led me to wonder whether it was just my mind wandering or if it was a sign of old age. It then occurred to me that those old seafaring men had long ago got on to this problem, and introduced four-hour watches aboard ships and tricks at the wheel much shorter than that.

I then came to realise that that the activity of sailing a small open boat single-handed, particularly in anything of a breeze, was a very exacting task, much more so than say driving a car or riding a bicycle, and was something that had until then been hidden by the great enjoyment I had derived from doing it. The body is in constant movement keeping the boat on course and both boat and sails properly trimmed. Continuous concentration is also required on a whole range of different things: sea state, wind direction and strength, the position and movement of other boats, the fastenings and stowage of ropes and gear, and proper navigation with reference to charts and sea marks. The fatigue from prolonged exposure to all this can be greatly exacerbated by cold, wet, an uncomfortable sitting position and even bright sunlight reflected off the water. It is true that some of these duties can be relegated to 'automatic' reaction, particularly with experience, but it all has to be done one way or another and done all the time one is under way. And this amounts to very much more than is required for a trick on the wheel of a ship, let alone just being on watch.

Curiously, since working this out, I find that the subject was discussed in Bulletins 16 & 17 in 1962, but does not seem to have been mentioned since. It is obvious that fatigue and loss of attention can readily be alleviated for single-handers by resting at not much more than four hour intervals, or by having a crew to share the tasks. My personal taste, which I had already established, is to plan cruises that divide naturally into shorter sections with a stop for a meal or a rest at each point. Not only do I sail better, but it is always more interesting to go ashore for a while at a new place.