One person capsize recovery

Posted By: Les Denham
Date: 12/20/07 2:58p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: How not to turtle (Ron Keeler)

I'm well aware of everything you mention in your post. I have not ever sailed my 5.2 single-handed, though I'm thinking about it. One of the reasons I haven't sailed single-handed is because I know how much trouble getting it back up can be -- I've capsized deliberately quite a few times (as part of training new sailors). The other potential problem is putting it back on the trailer by myself. A solution to the capsize recovery problem might be to attach to the base of the mast (perhaps where the boom vang fastens) a heavy nylon line about ten feet long, with stopper knots every foot or so for the last five feet. This would be left loose, so that when the boat capsizes you can use the few minutes before the mast sinks to throw it over the high side and swim around to the bottom, where the line will give you something to climb up so you can get on the centerboard. Then, when you are on the centerboard, it will give you something to pull on to get the boat back upright. Finally, you might find it handy for getting back on board. But ultimately, the best solution is simply don't capsize. I've sailed the 5.2 on and off for close to ten years, and I've never once capsized accidentally. They're really quite difficult to capsize.