evasive action?

Was out on the wire in Barnegat Bay on saturday, steady winds at at least 15.... Anyway, at one moment we were heeled way over so that i was almost standing straight up, and then the boat continued to go over. Falling forward, i went face first onto the jib (which was lying flat on the water by then). Really felt that i could have easily broken my neck, which luckily didn't happen.

Broke my sunglasses, but things could have been worse in a number of different ways
a) see last line in my first paragraph above
b) could have fallen straight onto the sidestay
c) could have fallen straight onto the mast.

Anyway, any suggestions of what to do at that tipping point? I guess unhooking and jumping backwards (toward windward) might make sense....?

Anyone? Bueller?

Sit down and hold on till the boat settles. Slide down or climb down. You do not want to jump back as you can fall onto the lower hull too.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

You can also try to scramble backwards over the pontoon like a monkey, basically getting into righting position without even getting that wet. when it works its fun, but be careful not to force it into turtling by pulling on the top pontoon when its already capsized.

but seriously when you get those dry rights down or whatever theyre called, you look pro, even if you cant race worth a @#*$, like me.

_________________
Peter Scranton
'14 Tandem Island "Awesome"
'03 Windrider Rave "Menage a Trois"

I sometimes grab onto the edge of the tramp to keep me from falling into stuff on the boat. Just make sure you don't pull on it too much and help it turtle.

_________________
2005 Hobie 16 - Ventura Nationals Boat #21
http://www.JackieandAlan.com

Woa, back up the truck. Dan first states "out on the wire". I'm assuming he's on a harness clipped into the trapeze wire. As I am just beginning to learn how to use the trap set up, I am also looking for an answer to this question. So far, the replies (except for Matt's) seem to assume he's not clipped in, so to speak. Am I missing something here?
Matt, I assume you mean to hang on; let the boat settle; UNCLIP; then climb down (?).
Are others saying unclip; then make like a monkey? I love the visual this provides.

Parley is right -- I'm talking about what to do when clipped in....

My advice would be - don't get to that tipping point while going upwind! Start easing the main or the traveller as you lift the hull from the water to juuuust keep it skimming the surface. If it's an emergency, uncleat the main and let it fly, but warning - you might end up "teabagging" your butt in the water, and either end up trailing behind the boat while still hooked in (not that bad), or pulling the boat over the top of you (also far better than flinging yourself on the sail).

The only capsizes I have done lately have been downwind in highly gusty conditions, or upwind getting wiped off the boat by high waves/dropping the mainsheet.

Just my 2c!

Edit: Some example pics from the North Americans:

Teabagged!

Looks liek someone either got wiped off by a wave or lost balance!

_________________
Tim
Unofficial Fleet 72 Communications Officer and Div 4 Webmaster
http://www.hobiefleet72.org
http://www.div4.hobieclass.com/

well the monkey thing is assuming that youve lost the tiller and mainsheet, and the mainsheet has been left uncleated, then while your holding on to the top rail and beginning to scramble over the hull(the monkey part), then you unclip. My dogbone already hangs parallel to the rail when under tension, and the when the mast is angled toward you, then you can take the dogbone pretty far around. so i dont need to unclip from the wire until im all the way over. then again, this is on a 14 with alot of rake. so you know, conditions can be different.

then agian thats all theoretical, as ive never capsized leeward when im on the wire. 192# on the wire on a 14T with alot of weather helm doesnt do that too often. of course i watch that leeward bow like its my firstborn child.

if youre just learning however, i say follow millers advice. hold on tight, wait, unclip, and then safely lower yourself. uncleat both sails, swim under the hull, and hold on to that righting line like youre hanging off the side of a mountain,

_________________
Peter Scranton
'14 Tandem Island "Awesome"
'03 Windrider Rave "Menage a Trois"

Okay, what is all this talk about going over to far. When I am out on the wire on my 14T it is almost impossible to turn it over to the leeward side. Like world said, on the 14 the thing you have to watch is the leeward bow, in case it turns into a sub.

I know that I can go way past 45 degrees and still make it back over by just letting go of the main and throwing my weight back which is only 165#. If you can't react quick enough to pull that off something is wrong.

As for the monkey thing if you did manage to turn over, I think you could almost stay clipped in until you were almost below the hull. Like World said my dogbone is almost level with the hull.

Well, any way you look at it just avoid flipping!

_________________
Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

First, nice pics tjp. That's some funny stuff.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, and believe me, I'm not: I don't see the problem with falling from 8 (or 10 feet w/wings) onto a sail in the water. It's not like you're dropping onto concrete - I see kids on skateboards hit the ground from those heights, off stair sets and rails, and walking away with only a few scratches or twisted ankles. Flipping our boats, no matter what we hit and land on is just part of the fun. The boo-boos we collect in the process just add to our stories.

My Captain and I have a tongue in cheek saying "how do you know you had fun unless you come back hurt ?" and heck, I'm 53 years old.

The worst injury I have ever seen was two 16's colliding at a mark during a race and the crew on one got his upper arm, somehow, wrapped between the side stays of both boats as they rolled over each other. It ripped his wetsuit wide open in a spiral around his biceps from the shoulder to his elbow and cut him so badly it required many stitches and an emergency room trip. THAT was freaky though. And now he has this really cool scar to show for it. I do not recommend this as a method of body-modification

Just take the dive DanR, and make it as pretty as possible. If you're lucky somebody like tjp has a camera on you.

Have fun, Happy Sails,
Stephen

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

This is right up my alley. I can comfortable say, I have flipped more times than I've gone sailing, since I've had a 16. Matt's right! Squat down and I reach back and grab the bottom of the hull with one hand so I don't fall when the mast hits. You don't want to try to unclip before your over, enjoy the flip or at least you can keep an eye on your crew to see what happens to them. ( this of course doesn't apply to pitchpoles )
After I unclip then I scoop my butt back and forward on the pontoon with my feet on the edge of the tramp. I scoot forward because I'm normally back pretty far when on the wire and don't want the boat to start rotating. Then with my forward hand grab my righting line and take out a little slack. I then rotate by swinging my legs aft and around, my feet normally hit about the two thirds down the underside of the tramp. This comfortable with a life vest on, since your chest can rub against the bottom of the hull. You really don't feel it until the next day anyway. I then slide or repel down to the lower hull. I've gotten to do this rather quickly and it's almost like a pommel horse move, getting over the hull. If you spend too much time on top, you start to turtle, which is quickly prevented, because you've already go the righting line in your hands and just lean back when your at the lower hull. I flip often, because when I sail I like to stand it up high and fly it as far and as long as possible. Sometimes the gust just gets me. You don't want to jump back, because, it's too easy to slip and hulls hurt. If I fell into the sails, I'd be cracking my wallet or patching my sails. I'm 225 lbs.

What did I say? "you don't know if you had fun unless you come back hurt?

Well here's how much fun I had this morning when a sudden gust flipped us. Ohh yeah baby!
[url]URL=http://imageshack.us][/url][/url]

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

Looks as if you need to add a little fabric softener next time you wash your sails.

You got that right buzzman!
The best thing about bruises is that they are so much more colorful on day 2. In the interest of saving bandwith I won't bother posting them...

(repeating to self "turn UP in the puffs and DOWN in the lulls"...

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

When I get wet, I usually end up doing 1/2 a pitchpole with 1/2 capsize, due to my unfortunate habit of speeding. Watch that leeward hull, especially when its gusty!

First, our club has a rule to never cleat the mainsheet, and that has saved us many times.

I remember seeing a post some time ago, where one of us mentioned that the Club Colonna - Sunsail outfit in Antigua has a rule about capsizes on the H15's - they say jump onto the mainsail. Try and land 'flat' In that way, one remains with the boat. Anyone else remember that? Anyone try that? Not I, as I am nervous that my hiking hook will puncture the main sail.

When on the wire, the best I can suggest when hit by an over-powering gust, is to lift the feet, which means the butt will slide onto the rail/tramp, grab the edge, unclip, and try and right the Hobie as best you can.

We'll see if we can try some of this out this weekend, probably our last sail of the season.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'