Sounds like you had a wonderful sail: I love ghosting along in hardly any wind and felt more than a touch of envy.  I confess I'd have probably has a glass of home-brewed beer rather than the tea (although perhaps both, with a decent interval between them).

Perhaps I should say that Ihave never used any sort of sleep antagonist.  But I have a fair bit of experience of lack of sleep, as a fisherman and as a single-hander.  Last time I was out, we did 53 hours on deck, but we're running out of steam by that point.  Another boat, 3 hours each second night, 90 minutes each alternate night, for a ten-day trip.  No stimulants at all.  It is possible that I have done 72 hours at the fishing, and also single-handed under sail - indeed, that is very likely.  But it is not enjoyable at all.  Be honest - the last few hours of 24 isn't much fun either.

So - does it not make sense to consider the use of sleep-antagonists on the rare occasions that they might be useful, and used within very strictly defined parameters?

I am back aboard Arion now.  The illustrations of Loner appear on page 75 of my 1976 edition of Henderson's book.  There is just a profile and a midsection showing a human figure in various postures, which indicate Hasler's thoughts about working the vessel.  Here is what Henderson says about the design: 

The H G Hasler designed Loner, a midget ocean cruiser for singlehanded sailing.  Her dimensions are LOA 14ft 5in, LWL 11ft 3in, beam 6ft 3in, draft 4ft, displacement 3000lbs, sail area 155 sq ft.  Her deep keel keeps the 1200 pounds of ballast low and provides some windward ability for clawing off a lee shore in a blow. (Courtesy of The Spray.)

Charles Ure's boat (the one that disappeared at sea) was a 20ft version (the design was called the Loner 20), which was built in NZ by Derek Kellsall in foam sandwich and shipped to England.  The original 14ft 5in prototype was built in England and test sailed by Blondie.  I wonder if she is still around somewhere?

Thanks, Bryan for the notes about the trans-Tasman race.

Iain Grigor wrote:

OK, perhaps this is a taboo subject..... But I notice from Graham Cox's post below that he helped David Lewis prepare Ice Bird for the voyage round Antartica.  In my edition of  the book of that epic voyage, Lewis (a doctor) has a few comments on the use of amphetamines as a sleep antagonist.  But can we update that?  What about Modafinil, used in the treatment of ADHD, for instance?  There is a lot of  anecdotal evidence that it works well as a sleep antagonist.  And, of course, it is legal to have and use in many jurisdictions - unlike amphetamine.

Here is what Lewis says.  "Dextoamphetamine Sulphate. 5mgm tablets. One three times a day.  This is an extremely powerful sleep antagonist.  Methylphenidate hydrochloride, 10mgm tablets (Ritalin, Ciba), is a less drastic alternative.  The dose is two tablets three times a day".

That was published in 1975.  Has modern pharmacology, I wonder, improved on what Lewis has to say?

Personally, I prefer John Guzzwell's robust approach to keeping watch at night.  Come bed time, put on your jammies (not that I wear such a thing), wind up the clock and turn in.  If you're sailing around in a 20 footer, you might get run down, but you won't hurt anyone else.  With a properly-sorted out boat and junk rig of course (yes, I know I'm sounding smug) there is rarely much reason for staying awake for unreasonable lengths of time and most people can manage 24 hours without a problem.  it's this racing business that makes it an issue: generally speaking, if you're tired, heave to and go to sleep if you don't like carrying on.  As for taking amphetamine - when I see what it does to users in NZ, I think I'd rather have a naturally than an unnaturally-altered state of consciousness. 

I know sailing in ice is different - I've done it.  But it's not enough simply to be awake, you need also to have quick reactions to avoid the growlers.  Would Modafinal keep you sharp, too?

However, I could see that just knowing you have a 'sleep antagonist' in the locker could be conducive to peace of mind.  Any single-handers want to give it a try?

OK, perhaps this is a taboo subject..... But I notice from Graham Cox's post below that he helped David Lewis prepare Ice Bird for the voyage round Antartica.  In my edition of  the book of that epic voyage, Lewis (a doctor) has a few comments on the use of amphetamines as a sleep antagonist.  But can we update that?  What about Modafinil, used in the treatment of ADHD, for instance?  There is a lot of  anecdotal evidence that it works well as a sleep antagonist.  And, of course, it is legal to have and use in many jurisdictions - unlike amphetamine.

Here is what Lewis says.  "Dextoamphetamine Sulphate. 5mgm tablets. One three times a day.  This is an extremely powerful sleep antagonist.  Methylphenidate hydrochloride, 10mgm tablets (Ritalin, Ciba), is a less drastic alternative.  The dose is two tablets three times a day".

That was published in 1975.  Has modern pharmacology, I wonder, improved on what Lewis has to say?