flipped solo today

well today i went sailing on my lake and as i was going on a super close reach my trap wire frayed and i was droped in to the water i became unhooked with my boat still going with the main and jib still cleated. I swam as fast as i could and caught up with the boat as it turned toward the wind and climbed aboard. the boat was still turning away from the wing and as the sails backfilled i was on the wrong side of the boat and it proceeded to pitch-pole/flip over as i franticcaly clawed my way to the other side as it flipped i was thrown free from the it and swam back and proceeded to try and right the boat by myself this went on for 20 or so minutes until i had drifted all the way across the lake and my sister came out with the kayak and helped me get it to shore where we righted it and i took down the sails and got towed in with my fishing boat..in short it was pretty crazy

Been there done that (more than once actually) I finally got a water bag to help give me enough weight to stand the boat back up by myself. The biggest problem I find in a big wind by myself when it comes up it immediately goes over the other way lol, oh well keeps me in shape.

_________________
06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.

well see i only weigh like 170 so i could just barely keep the mast from turtling and then my righting line bungee snap and slap me in the leg which hurt alot

I'm fairly new at this two but I did capsize several times last summer. I like pushing it to the limit. I only weight about 185.

My Advise. I have a upright solo righting system. Essentinally all it does is extend the shroud to give you more leverage. It works pretty good but a few tips from experience. Get bow of the boat as close to the wind as possible. By myself the closest I could get it was 90degrees with the mast pointing into the wind. In this case the wind will actually help to right it. Make sure EVERYTHING is uncleated. For a righting line I just have a heavy line tied to each pylon which has sufficed. When the boat comes up, hold on. It can be quite a ride .

My only concern: the righting system I have is just a small length of steel cable so if the wind catchs the wrong side of the boat I may loose my mast.

I am going to go with the bag next season. Hopefully that'll work a bit better.

_________________
Division 10, Fleet 185
Hobie 17 and Hobie 14

yeah i have the hawaian righting system.... i did get it over once as i was floating away but the wind just caught it and flipped me back over

Be careful with the upright!!!!!!! When you come up, you've got a very loose rig, and if wind and waves are too much, you can dismast!
Get a bucket! When I was younger, I had used the upright, and before I could get everything tight, a wave or wake hit me, caused the mast to jump out of the step ( the retaining wire broke) and down she went. I had to swim the boat almost a mile to shore. The only downside to the bucket is that you'll be kinda slow in the water when the boat comes over.

Another bit of advice that may be common sense to some yet not so much to others, would be to not forget to uncleat your sheets!! I spent the first summer on my cat basically trying to right my cat with the sheets still cleated off. It never even occurred to me how much water is held by the sails when you flip. So, dont forget to uncleat your sheets

_________________
~vinny

sounds like you need to gain some weight!

_________________
'83 H16 Tequilla Sunrise and Cat Fever

I capsize, on average, once every few years but last week was the first time I went over sailing solo. At 165lbs. I couldn't right it with my righting line, so I went for my RIGHTING BAG. I hadn't read the instructions since purchasing it several years ago, but it was easy to figure out. I was able to right my H16 easily. It was too windy to put my righting line & bag away. I had to concentrate on sailing the boat back to shore. After putting everything back where it belonged I REEFED THE MAIN & went out again. I traveled out a little & the boat was so much easier to handle.

I'm just hefty.....So I can do it myself! (235lbs)

_________________
'83 H16 Tequilla Sunrise and Cat Fever

Are you sailing in deep water? I'm worried about turtling here in Lake Winnebago.. it's only 10-12 feet deep.. I'm worried a rock reef is going to trash my sails if it gets in the water.

I'm more than hefty, so I can probably right it solo without any assistance, but I'm worried that if the mast takes on water that its going to turtle on me and get snagged on something.. a reef, dead body, whatever.

How do you like the righting bag?Is it the one from Hobie?Where do you store it on the boat?
I am considering getting one as I sail solo on our camp lake quite a bit

If you can see this bag attached under the tramp and connected to the center bar of the dolphin striker, this is where I keep mine.





I got it from Murrys (sorry Matt) but it's rolled up inside a Hobie Bag (yea Matt) that's mounted up-side-down under the tramp for easy access. The tube that the yellow line runs through is used to allow the line to slide up my back easily when leaning out without any interference. The bag works great.

_________________

Happy Sailing,

David

What is the capacity of that bag?Did you get the bag with the block and tackle system?

My Righting Bag is quite large. At 165 lbs. I need a large bag. I believe it adds about 90 lbs. to my weight when righting my H 16. Block & tackle are a necessity. Either buy theirs or provide your own. I only used mine once & it was easy to use. It gives me peace of mind when sailing solo.
Rich