Prevention better than cure?

Note: This was written before I saw John Greene's most interesting contribution 'Capsize' in the Summer Bulletin. But as his experience complements and emphasises some of the points that I have made I have not changed it.

Andrew Gillies’ letter about capsizing was a very valuable contribution to the subject, and I am sure I would not have fared any better than he did on the course he attended, probably worse. He does not say how much he learned on the course apart from recovery from capsize - presumably quite a lot. But was time given to techniques to avoid capsizing in the first place? Surely at least as important a matter. I have no idea what proportion of capsizes occur due to the boat being overwhelmed by strong winds - (usually avoidable by reefing), and what proportion occur due to other circumstances such as crew inattention or inefficiency - (sometimes avoidable by practice but usually by luck). Has an analysis been done of this? The results would be most instructive.

To avoid the first cause it is clear that the reefing system should be quick, efficient and, above all, easy to use under way, so that there is no hesitation in using it when wanted. Related to this, but also to the second cause, is that we probably don't always let go of the mainsheet as promptly as we should do. I am sure I am not alone in that I often sail with the mainsheet made fast, although the received idea is that one should never do so in a dinghy. But I suspect that this idea is promoted by those who do not spend many hours at a time cruising or on passage. This undoubted danger can be mitigated by a well-placed cam-cleat or a slip hitch. But neither is fool-proof, as I found last year when the boat suffered a sharp knock-down and partly filled with water, as happened to Ed Wingfield in the Tweed. In my case I grabbed the wrong rope and released the foresail sheet instead of the main - a mistake I do not intend to make again.

The other point arising from Andrew's letter, which seems to be the even more important, is the issue of the inverted Wayfarer which he was unable to recover without the help of the rescue boat. Could we have some input on this from the Wayfarers Association, who must have addressed it over the years? Is it a common problem with that excellent Class? And I know that almost any type of dinghy can invert (with the notable exception of Eric Coleman's Rebell and Roamer), and by doing so make an annoying and messy incident into a potential disaster.

We read in the DCA Boat Safety Recommendations No. 3 that 'This buoyancy should be so disposed that it is possible for the crew to put the boat back in sailing condition after capsizing or swamping.' From this I think we can take it that it also means 'So disposed as to reduce or eliminate the risk of the boat inverting.' Without going into detail of centres of gravity and buoyancy, it seems to me that it is better that the boat floats on its side with the heel of the mast slightly below the surface of the water (fig. 1). At this attitude the tendency for the down-wind drift of the boat to push the mast and sail under water is less than if the boat floated higher (fig. 2). It must also help if the spars are buoyant (made of wood, foam filled alloy or with a masthead float). An iron centre-plate must also help to keep the capsized boat in the same attitude.

This implies that the buoyancy should be no more than sufficient for the purpose, but it is difficult to access what this amount should be, and I do not know how to go about it, except by turning the boat over with different amounts of buoyancy aboard. Are the figures printed on the bags reliable? How does one check them? How does one establish the inherent buoyancy of a wooden boat, or the negative buoyancy of a GRP one? There must also be a compromise in the position of the buoyancy in the boat. If placed low (fig. 3) it may promote inversion, but would provide good lift when the boat is righted but swamped. But the exact opposite applies when the buoyancy is placed high (fig. 4).

Except that I know a swamped Tideway dinghy with low set buoyancy is remarkably stable, I have not tested any of these ideas; I would therefore greatly value further comments from Andrew and any other DCA members who have experience of the matter. Meanwhile I continue to sail under the 'Capsize is not an option' banner: at least until it floats away when I do so!