LAUNCHING SITES AND CAPSIZING

I was interested in reading the article by Roger Barnes on a new DCA launching sites guide, and would like to support the idea of local slipway monitors who would be willing to distribute local information to other DCA sailors. A previous writer suggested we should copy the BCU and appoint Local Access Officers to advise not only on launching but also on camping and access etc. There have been several occasions when a local contact would have saved us a great deal of hassle when we have travelled to sailing areas unknown to us. I once spent 3 days out of a week’s holiday looking for a suitable launching site near our camp site on the Deben. I tow and launch a heavy dinghy, sometimes single handed, and detailed information would be invaluable.

Having argued so strongly for Roger's proposal I must volunteer to help to run the scheme in our local area! Cardigan Bay is not the most popular small boat cruising ground, not least because launching site information is almost unobtainable. A scheme like this will be a great advantage for the DCA and its members.

The controversy about capsizing is difficult to understand because the two points of view are complementary. Knowing how our boats and crew perform in a capsize is very important, but probably only a few DCA boats and crews can use capsize recovery as a reliable survival strategy. My Wayfarer is a difficult boat for 2 fit crew to right in anything but ideal conditions, and this uncomfortable fact has been confirmed by a recent incident reported in the Wayfarer News, when a well prepared crew of 3 were unable to recover their capsized Wayfarer, and had to be air lifted to safety. The boat was sailing in a F5 to 6 with a reefed main but full size genoa. The capsize was obviously caused partly by the large sail area, and the boat inverted immediately. The crew were unable to free off the cleated genoa sheet, and after two failed attempts to right the Wayfarer they were too weak and cold even to get onto the upturned hull. Fortunately there was another Wayfarer with VHF nearby.

I often sail single handed and loaded down with cruising gear and/or with a family crew. This means that a capsize must be avoided at all costs even in 'safe' waters. For several years we used Firefly sails on Cariad, and this was a great success. The boat was well balanced, still sailed better than most cruising dinghies, and it was safe! On a few occasions we even had to reef this sail down to Mirror size. No lack of speed in a F5, and minimum chance of capsize.

David Weinstock is right to point out the importance of capsize training. The DCA boat safety recommendations do not mention it, and perhaps they should? But the safety recommendations are also correct in warning that capsize recovery can be impossible in the very conditions when capsizing is most likely. John Cannon