getting back in the boat

Pull ups and swimming, pull ups fo you have the strength
to pull your weight (and all that wet sailing gear) into
the boat, and swimming so you can kick your legs really
hard to get back in.

Personally I have never had this problem with or without
BA, as long as you have it done up properly its not an
issue.

Bert had exactly the same problem to day, in fact I had a nightmare.

First I found I couldn't hold the 100 on a tight reach with the
small sail and went in twice.

But had the devils job getting back in.

A fresh force four on the open water, I'd right it, then over it would go, I
try to get in over the side which i could do easily enough, but it just came
straight over on top of me to weather.

3 or 4 times then one of the rescue guys jumps in to hold the other side
whilst I got in.

Missed the start, sailed the first beat, made the mark everything going
well considering, my windward work was the best I've done in a strongish
breeze, no irons, no missed tacks, but bearing off to go round the mark, I
could go deep O.K. but the mark was off on a tightish beam reach and
once again the boom grounded as a swell lifted the wing and despite
everything in I went and the same all over.

Very frustrating, I was totally knackered having seriously tried several
times not wanting to use the rescue guys again, but to no avail.

After that I baled and sailed back to the beach, not wanting to
monopolise the one rescue boat we have.

After a bit of boat park debriefing I heard that maybe dumping the kicker
offwind may not have had me consigned to the drink in the first place, but
even so, I'm going to go in sure enough sooner or later and I'm now
concerned about this question.

One of the guys did suggest i think about it like water starting a board,
i.e. sheeting in as I get in, but the boat is normally head to wind..

It's a problem, and I'm not normally that iffy getting back in the boat. I
usually get in first and help whoever else is around in. Today I wasn't at
all bulked up. The slippy centreboard is going to get waxed for a start,
but that won't help the thing coming over on top of me.

Oh and yes I did get in over the back one time, which is easier and fine,
but getting the boat to stay upright head to wind, without someone on the
nose in wind and waves is pretty damn tricky if not impossible on your
jack jones.

Edited by G.R.F.

Thanks Luca -- very similar apart from the Pitying Oppy bit - funny how the world is a great leveler of people isn`t it but that`s the fun.

As to finding a way,I am sure that I will,30 years of sailing & haven`t drowned yet! But I have never had this problem before.

I am considering fitting a small foot loop arrangment for entry over the transom.

Rockhopper :- total time in water 20 minutes turtle twice should have just left it upside down & got my breath back but the board was so slippy it was hard to hold on to never mind climbing on to but certainly the way to go if possible.

GRF :- I only went over about twice but tried to access the boat from the water from every direction I could think of but the boat didn`t seem to allow access over the side as easily as for example a Phantom / 300 & if I could have got onto the board then I would have proberly got it upright OK - not sure that waxing the board is going to be fast.

Radixon:- that type of BA might help but NO WAY could I wear that & be seem in public ever.

As to the foot loop idea I think a rope from the rudder post going round a pulley back to a sercure point by the transom is viable on a take up system this way I could put my foot in to it & gather the main sheet at the strop to pull the sail to the centre line & gave myself a leverage point the boat would sink abit & depower hopefuly making life easier

I feel I should say that this happened about 3 weeks ago & on the sea small swell but as a pond sailor it did not make it any easier.

Edited by bert

All I can say G.R.F is that when I sailed the 100 with big rig in big
breeze in Minorca I had the same issues. I'm a fit guy, but small 5'3"
70kg and no muppet in a boat and I couldn't get back in. The 100
would come up to 45 degrees very easily, too easily, so easily you
can't get up on to the board before it is half upright. You grab the
righting strop pull it fully up right, then you try and get in and it comes
over to weather, you go around the back to get in. It capsized again.
As for the answer? Other than not designing the boat with wide
buoyant wings in the first place I can't really say, as I haven't spent
enough time with the boat. But I suspect there may not be a solution.

Having generally avoided capsizing, the only advice i will offer is to let the kicker off to allow more headroom and to ease the power in the sail a bit. Although I always found my first National 12 was particularly conducive to easy reboarding on account of the fact when it was back upright the transom was virtually underwater and you could just about swim in...