In the years sailing my H-18 before I started racing, I never capsized. My crew was my wife (not wife at the time), and we tended to blast reach back and forth accross the Bay, trapped from the wings. I always felt if we capsized that might end the fun, since our levels of tolerance for "adventure" is a bit different!

When I started racing the capsizes have still been few, and have mostly been in that moment of innattention when you think things are calm and the gust comes. I've seen just how far underwater without capsizing a Hobie-18 and Hobie-20 can go on a good downwind leg. And when you're in that complete light air mode a small gust can just carry you over...

I've gotten to do the high-fly wire act once - on a mark rounding on the H-20 I got flung before I could come in, took the trip around the headstay but miraculously the boat turned downwind and depowered on its own and never capsized. I did the pendulum thing before finally getting back on board and continuing on. It was actually fun, kind of the surreal "out of boat" experience - great high level view of the boat you don't normally get. I don't plan on doing again, however.

The fellow I bought my 6.0 from told me that there was never any excuse for somebody to capsize a 6.0. Those words were echoing in my ears as we pitchpoled last year. Communication thing, I was trying to get us to move back on the boat as I was about to turn it up into a beam reach from a broad reach. Crew stayed in broad reach wild thing mode, moved down low and forward as I turn up. Knit one, pearl two. The nearby A-Catters got a kick out of seeing that.

The best ones have been after a race, when we're just noodling and congratulating each other for a good effort, and the sheets are out of our hands and we're not paying attention. Here comes the gust... I've capsized a couple times after races, once at the beginning.

Still, for racing I think you save time on the course avoiding it! Sure makes for great stories at the bar, though.