by Guest » Wed May 17, 2000 12:00 am
Dick,
Day Sailers can and do capsize. At our Spring Regatta, we had 3 of 12 DS's capsize and I mean completely turtle on all three. At least 3 more boats took on so much water that they had to abort the race.
Of the boats that went over, one was a Uffa Fox 1st gen boat w/ plank seats. The guys righted the boat by standing on the centerboard, bailed the water, and sailed on w/ no help from the rescue boat other than the 5 gallon bail bucket. They never even lowered their sails.
The next capsize happened right next to me and it was a tremendous gust (35+ mph) which nearly knocked us over too. We took on 4-6" of water, but released the sails just in time to stay upright. I later talked to the skipper who went over, and he said that his crew couldn't release the jib quickly enough and the boat was basically knocked down on jib alone! Big gust, eh? Anyway, this was a Gen II boat w/ airtank seats. They had to be towed to shore. No bailing these boats as the water comes in as fast as you can bail it out.
The final capsize also happened close to me (no, I'm not bad luck) and this boat was backwinded on a quick tack that the crew wasn't ready for. It was a McGlaughlin boat and it was righted by the crew, but also had to be towed in. I'm not sure if they could have bailed it or not, but it was at the end of a long, scary, survival type race and I think they would have passed on bailing even if they could.
As to the nature of DS capsizes, I suspect in coastal winds where it is less gusty that the boat is easier to keep upright. Here in Texas, though, a high wind day will typically be 18-22 MPH w/ sudden gusts to 30+ MPH. If you don't see the wind coming and don't release the sails quickly, you're up on edge in less than a second and most likely past the point of no return.
Earlier this spring I crewed w/ a friend and we were knocked over when a gust hit us as we rounded the leeward mark of the course. We righted the boat w/o turtling, but my skipper jumped in too soon before we could ensure that the boat would stay pointed into the wind. The bow came around and the boat (w/ main still cleated) backwinded and came over the other direction and w/ us on the inside there was no way to keep it from going turtle. Unfortunately, the lake was only about 18' deep and his tapered Proctor mast ended up getting stuck in the mud and the top 3' bent about 20 degrees aft. He was able to get it repaired, but it's not pretty anymore!
Kevin Clark
Kevin Clark (clarkr-at-aud.alcatel.com)