Wayfarer dinghy capsize - Rutland Water

Lovely evening for a single-handed sail. Just as the wind gets up, up comes a gust! Shame my other hand was holding a camera :-(

[@pateril]

It's amazing just how calm and stress-free it is bobbing about in the water. A bit different if you were out at sea in a blow miles from land like these two www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jun/21/sailing-into-hell-two-men-dingy-dangerous-journey

[@rodneyjordan6745]

To say the least, you're scooting along. That looks like fun. Do you have any issues righting your boat?

[@pateril]

Thanks Rodney. Righting was surprisingly easy - as I did it 'Laser style' by stepping onto the centreboard before it turned over - even when fully inverted. Only issue was keeping the boat as level as possible whilst trying to drain via a combination of self-bailers and fast reaching with the boat sloshing about with the "swimming pool" doing its own thing inside.

[@BoraBilgin]

Frightening though

[@SailingWhyknot]

I also have a small dingy very similar to wayfarer. We also capsized it once but we new it was coming. I mean we forced it too much to the limits. Here it seems so sudden. Did you capsize it on purpose? Could you explain how it happened?

[@pateril]

Yes, it was a bit sudden and unexpected. Probably a strong gust on top of a gust and me not releasing the mainsheet quickly enough. Being one-up with one hand on the tiller/mainsheet and the other on the camera would have failed a health and safety assessment if they were compulsory for every activity, so I have only myself to blame :-)

[@SailingWhyknot]

pateril thanks for the explanation. I think it was blowing over 15 knots right? Maybe it was 17-18 with gusts.

[@FranzTraininand]

I have sailed on here a lot, and this area near the water tower has some very weird gusts, and it is very hard to predict what is coming.

[@contessa2621]

Did you recover ok, I’d like to see a video on how to recover a wayfarer from a capsize

[@wilfulsprite555]

@@contessa2621 There is a practice Wayfarer capsize video on KZbin.

[@OldJong]

How is it to right such a boat alone? This is not a small dinghy.

[@pateril]

Thank you Michael. It helps being 14 stone in weight and stepping over the gunwhale like a single-hander. Despite it being turned turtle / inverted, once the surface of the water had passed the deck it popped up nicely. Swamped of course but the bucket and the self-bailers helped. Keeping it level to stop the water coming in over the centreboard casing was the hardest. Just believe you will do it and don't rush it or strain or you'll get tired very quickly. :-)

[@OldJong]

So, I will try to not lose to much weight before I get myself a dinghy! ;-) I sail a small keelboat at the moment but I feel attracted to your kind of boat. :-) Thanks for your response. It makes lots of sense.

[@wilfulsprite555]

@@pateril Did it have flotation bags or anything to help?

[@pateril]

@@wilfulsprite555 Only the bow and stern buoyancy tanks. At the time of the capsize, the stern tank wasn't fully airtight, but that's fixed now. Only a wee drop of water got into the tank as I wasn't inverted for very long.

[@blaaaaahhhh15]

Hi, could you explain the cut out in the fore deck in front of the mast, please?

[@pateril]

Hi Les The cut-out directly in front of the mast is where you would locate a mast ram or similar device to control mast bend at deck level. I don't race, so there is no great need for a mast ram. Instead I have a piece of hardwood cut to shape and held in by screws from underneath located in there. The wood presses directly onto the mast and so prevents any excessive bending. The triangular-ish cut-out nearer the bow is a hole for spinnaker launching. I have since covered that up to keep the under-deck area as dry as possible (when I'm not capsising!) and I can just as easily launch the spinnaker without a chute.

[@AndrewLale]

No reefs.

[@pateril]

Obviously one lives and one learns by literally pushing the robust boundaries of the envelope.🤣

[@babaganoush6106]

@@pateril but a really interesting and informative vid many thanks for posting

[@poche660]

too much sail up.

[@pateril]

Yes - I should have reefed that mainsail to balance the jib!

[@babaganoush6106]

@@pateril or sailed without the jib?