Hi Reddog,
I don't know the south coast at all, and no seasoned expert, but generally there are always stretches on a coastline where you cannot anchor up, so that means you need to push through. I've noticed after a couple of days I'm permanently tired, enough to make me write things down before I attempt certain things so my brain doesn't wander down some rabbit hole and do the opposite of what I am intending.
Sleep deprivation is a killer, so step one is making sure your boat can sail on safely whilst you catnap ,and the other is training yourself to function with lots of small sleeps.
The standard adage for sleeping is 20 mins. that's about the time it takes for something over the horizon to get close enough to you to run you over. You want the boat to be far enough away from a land mass that a wind change can't put you on the rocks, and if possible away from any shipping routes or trawlers.
The good thing is you can practice at this. I was concerned enough about doing this to get some professional advice which was awesome. He had me stooge offshore and tape up the windows so you couldn't see out then (eek) turn off all the electronics aids in the cabin, then go below and stay below for 5 mins at a time, then push it out to 10 mins, then finally 20 mins.
The idea is you have to train your brain to properly rest in those 20 min windows without sensory inputs ie: pretending you are asleep. I found at first that even 5 minutes was really hard, its not natural to have no idea of what is happening outside. It was good advice though, you do get used to it, but I'd be lying if I said I felt super alert and chipper after a couple of days even with lots of little sleeps.
And from lessons learnt, have a very loud alarm you can set for 20 mins and use it religiously, even if you are simply 'resting'. I lay down once to 'rest' in confined waters and didn't set the alarm, and ended up putting the boat ashore. We just had some American gent up the Sunshine Coast appear off the beach, and whilst he was pulling down his sails he fell overboard and drowned, close enough to the beach for people in some unit block to watch the whole thing. I shouldn't surmise, but that's the sort of thing a lack of sleep will do to you.
I realised a lot later the sleep deprivation stuff came from Andrew Evans book. Andrew is a Canadian sailor, he did a great book called Singlehanded Sailing,, Thoughts, Tips, Techniques and Tactics, worth every cent of the $19 price tag.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071836535?pf_rd_p=2d1ab404-3b11-4c97-b3db-48081e145e35&pf_rd_r=ZRGV2RYD9FXBSPBFC32TAll the best to you, sounds like a great adventure!
SB
