I'd like to see the expression on the face of the insurance adjuster who comes out to inspect the damage to the boat!

Good call, Thanks

OK, I reiterate my statement that they left their brains behind. There is nothing so hard to right as a boat without its mast attached.

To get a boat on its side from turtle, do not do what Chris (flumpmaster) suggested - you'll fall and hurt yourself. Get all your crew weight on the downwind aft corner of the boat (sitting). The opposite front corner will start to lift, wind will get underneath the trampoline and it will slowly come up to the capsized position. Then right as usual.

The other thing is safety in numbers. I always felt safe sailing near Newport because there is so much boat traffic.

The righting bag is an interesting point. Most people don't take these out unless they're very light. I know I'm heavy enough and have enough practice to fully right a 16 from turtle by myself in any decent breeze (don't ask me how I know), but if I got separated from the boat, I doubt any of my crews could right the boat alone (with or without the bag) and sail back to me. Hence the VHF on my lifejacket.

I haven't tried releasing the shroud pins since my overnight experience. It didn't work then, and I haven't been brave enough to tempt fate since.

So, just for the record, these guys had me beat in several important ways:

There were two of them.
They were properly dressed.
They were sailing near commercial traffic (I was sailing outsde the bay, on a day with small craft advisories).

This is by no means a contest, just pointing out what I think Chris is saying, new sailors don't always have the benefit of experience. And, on any given day, it can all go wrong, regardless of how much preparation is involved.

EDIT: Matt's anti-turtle technique is the only one that works in large seas. Don't ask me how I know.

I don't care what anyone says, that hull damage only happened one of two ways: collision or "recovery mishap."

Mike

I don't think i understand this statement.
It IS hard to right without a mast?
if so, why?

If the mast is not leaking, it acts as a bouyancy aid and helps righting once it moves out from directly beneath the center of the boat. Once you get the sail above the water, the wind will usually further help you right the boat.



Good call Chris.

One very important thing to remember is have a float plan. Tell someone ashore, family or friends that if you do not call them by sunset or any agreed time, tell them to call the Coast Guard. The sooner we get the information the higher your probability of living is. Also be as specific as possible and give us as much details and you can.

Released both shroud pins? Stupid, no nice way to say it! What did he think the mast was gonna do if he got the boat rolled.

The boat was either hit by a larger vessel or bashed against rocks to break it up like that. I don't think the coast guard would tear it up that much. Not that they couldn't do that kind of damage I just don't think they would, at least not on purpose.

Really? In case you haven't heard this one before...

After I got home from the hospital (was checked out for hypothermia because my lips were still purple 45 minutes after being pulled off the bottom of my turtled 16), I called the Coast Guard to get the last known position of my boat so I could go after it with some friends.

Guy on the phone says "We have a vessel on scene now. Do you have any suggestions on how to right it?"

Long story short, it came back with one of the hulls broken into three, separate, pieces.

Mike

Because the wind helps right the boat.
Search for Power Righting a Catamaran in "Catamaran Racing for the 90's" by Rick White and Mary Wells, for sale in this site, right here

Without the mast, the boat has two, very stable positions: Upside down and rightside up. Getting from one to the other is very difficult.

With the mast, even if it has some water in it (which when submerged has neutral bouyancy) provides a critical intermediate stable position - capsized.

The only boat I've seen righted on the water from turtle w/o a mast is a Hobie 14. It took two guys (me and Greg Raybon - about 360 lbs total) standing on one hull with the righting line over the other hull and we had to "bounce" it over in one quick motion. You'd need probably four or five people to do that with a Hobie 18.

thanks for the details, make perfect sense now

This thread could be a life saver to someone, someday...

I just didn't go out unless I had a boat with me. Before we lost the Dike, I have set down there for hours waiting and go back home because no other boats showed up. It was a bummer, but I lived to sail another day. To many things can happen QUICK out there (breakage, weather). Had a old salt go over with a newbie that had a life jacket that wouldn't close. He weighted about 300. Newbie sled off and old salt had a problem getting boat back over in the rough seas. Boat left the newbie real quick. If I wasn't there to get the newbie onboard, we would of had a funeral, as I had a hard time finding him in the chop. BE SAFE, no sorry.

Doug

Yeah, capsizing in 85* water that's 3 feet deep scares the crap outta me too.

There, fixed it for you. I've yet to hurt myself doing this - you are leaning off the boat over the water. I guess if your feet skate out from underneath you could bust your but on the hull.



Sounds like an elegant trick Matt. What boats have you successfully used this technique on? Something makes me think this may work better on a shorter platform with less flotation at the ends, but I'm happy to be educated otherwise.

Chris.

Doug,
They're having an award banquet for you. Be at the end of the Dike Friday night.

Fair enough . .

I never turtled my Tiger. That boat was the easiest one to right (done it myself in the right wind/waves), but the hardest one to get back on, especially when it wants to take off downwind on you because of the self-tacking jib.

The "rear corner trick" works really well on a Hobie 16 and fairly well on a Hobie 17 - those are the two boats I have personal experience on.

The point is to get something up into the air, even if it's just one bow, so that the wind can get under it and help bring the boat up to the capsized position. While your method will work (I've done it, too - and busted my butt doing it), it's more difficult to bring up the whole side of the boat at once.

works on a Hobie 20, don't ask me how I know
and...it was kind of windy that day
http://funnyinterestingoruseful.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/failboat.jpg?w=450&h=301

Yes, absolutely. Today, while sailing in approximately 10 mph winds, we were getting unexpected gusts of what must have been 15-20 mph. It was like being hit with a solid wall of wind. Things happened quickly.

Anyway, there's too much missing to this story. Like:



Despite all the other considerations which aren't known here... the starting point of all appears to be the tramp causing the boat to set sail. I guess!!???

...there must have been a lot of current too though?

You're a serious tease, J...

So, are there circumstances where one person could not turn the boat into the wind by him/herself?

If I were the crew and if it were the tramp causing the problem and if I couldn't turn the boat into the wind and if I were in enough of a panic to consider CLIMBING THE MAST!, instead I probably would have decided to cut the tramp loose and calmed the situation down. Even taken a knife to it. (Better than losing the whole boat.)

Lee:

Why do you always have to be an butt. Just born in you? I feel good I saved someone life, the guy almost drown. His head was barely above the water when we found him after a 30 min search. If that is funny to you, I feel sorry for you.

Doug