All credit to Len Wingfield for again bringing capsize and swamping to our attention.

A capsize is something I believed I could handle using the approved RYA method and in any event I would go to great lengths to prevent it happening. I suspect I am not alone in this determination to remain upright.

I have been totally complacent about the subject, having had only one nasty experience with a Skipper 14 some 10 years ago when the outhaul ring disappeared up the boom in a severe gust and I was unable to control the resultant gybe. The boat immediately inverted with the daggerboard, which had no securing device, dropping into the ensuing darkness beside me and my buoyant possessions. Fortunately, the attendant rescue boat saved the day and now I make sure my dagger/centreboard is very well secured.

Recently my complacency was brought to book when I attended a dinghy instruction week which went ahead in stormy conditions that would normally have seen me head for home. My first excursion was in a Wayfarer, that favourite of cruising types, with which I managed to scoop a large amount of water as I first rounded the harbour wall into a sudden gust. The bailers proved ineffective and the boat became difficult to control in steep 4 ft waves. Then, as my companion and I tried to tack, the weight of water aboard tipped us over. As climbing over to the centreboard is frowned upon, I began to swim round the boat but it inverted before I even reached the rudder. It then proved impossible to right in the conditions until I was assisted by the rescue boat. Having no bucket for bailing the water which was sloshing about the cockpit, the boat tipped again and quickly inverted before making it back to harbour, proving that the first time had been no fluke. Masthead buoyancy would have made life a lot easier.

Successive gusty days saw me tip in a Topper, a Sport 14 and a Buzz, all of which did not suddenly invert and all proved not too difficult to recover. I also sailed a new version of the Wayfarer that has no rear storage area or rear thwart leaving little with which to steady oneself, resulting in a feeling of exposure in the large open cockpit. on the plus side it seems better designed for recovery with less buoyancy at the extremities although it was the only one, thankfully by then, I failed to test.

I have therefore resolved in future to have controlled capsizes in my dinghies to see how they handle starting with my old Mirror that I have been sailing upright for the past 4 years and which, I suspect, may require to be modified in light of recent experience. Other complacent members are also respectfully recommended to take the plunge and to prepare for a nasty surprise.

Andrew Gillies