Advice on crew numbers and sleeping capabilites

Mark

As for crew, I'd argue that experience and confidence are more important factors than just numbers.  Like as I suspect many in these columns, we've done a multitude of similar trips just as a couple and we adjust our watch periods to ensure that we're both up and about at critical points in the passage plan.  That said, we're not racing, we know our boat and we're well set up for single/shorthanded sailing.  As you probably might not feel as familiar with the boat as you'd like before departure from the Netherlands, as long as you can maintain one person who knows what he/she/it is doing in the cockpit at all times you'll be perfectly fine provided you think-through your passage plan.  We've found that generally, 3 hour watches at night work well for us to avoid fatigue but others may have had different experiences.

It should be a great trip - good luck!

Iain