Great video. In my real world experience with three separate capsizes, heavy winds and waves will make that mast sink much faster than in this video, especially if the wind hits the hull square on. The swimmer needs to get to the mast immediately, and any pressure on the mast, such as with the crew holding on the mast and boat in this video, will sink it even faster. If there’s any danger of turtling as the mast sinks, the crew needs to get away from the hull so they don’t get caught underneath. This is why I prefer to have both crew immediately head for the mast head. Also, if the spin is in the water, stay away from it. It can wrap around your legs and take you down if the mast sinks. While it’s good to practice on a calm day, it’s rare that capsizes happen in anything but extreme conditions, and the boat can behave much differently in these situations and turtle incredibly fast if you don’t get to that masthead fast enough. Been there done it.
Ohhh I am so glad I watched this video so many times before, for sure was useful last Saturday at Glow when we capsized on our last leg of the 4th race. Thanks for making this video available for us to continue learning!
We were watching your situation with great interest and concern while it was happening. You guys are new racers and I didn't know if you guys would stay calm or panic. You stayed calm and made the recovery look easy and didn't accept assistance. You got the boat righted and get on the radio and proclaimed, "We are finishing!". It was a proud instructor for me and it makes me smile every time I think about it. I'm proud of you guys for watching the videos in advance, staying safe, and going out in higher winds. Keep up the great work!
Thank for the video! I’m going to start as a sailing instructor this summer teaching sailing on Flying Scots… but I’ve admittedly never sailed one before though. I’ve only done team racing and regattas with 420’s but I’ve been reassured they are easier than 420’s so I’m trying to learn all I can and start sailing them before starting.
Nice work. A slight variant is the "scoop method"--one person on the centerboard and the other grabs a hiking strap. When the boat rights, the person holding onto the hiking strap is scooped into the boat, and then can assist the other crew member to get back on board.
Sailed a lot of Merlin Rockets back in the day. A young upstart once quizzed a master boat builder how wide the centre board should be. Wide enough for two was the answer..!
Yep. Stay tuned for part 2 where we focus on the downwind capsize and also demonstrate the process of extending the centerboard before you attempt to right the boat.
@@kennethpaquin8574 We are sailing in a Flying Scot. You can learn more about the boat by visiting the builder website at flyingscot.com or the class association website at fssa.com. For single-handed sailing on a Flying Scot I recommend adding swim ladder to the stern and using a mast flotation sleeve at top of the mast. Both can be purchased from the builder. The process is the same except you don't need to send someone to the mast if you have mast flotation and you obviously wouldn't have crew to scoop in the boat. If you don't end up in the boat after the boat is righted, you don't have anyone to help you in the boat so you really want that ladder. It also critical to remember to uncleat all the sheets and secure the spinnaker so the boat doesn't sail away from you.
The boat will become totally flooded if you turtle but not so much if you only capsize and get it righted in a reasonable time frame. Should your boat completely food, you can sail a swamped boat to the dock but it will sail very slowly. You can remove the 4" inspection port on the transom and the boat will sail fast enough and the water will exit through that port and you can clean the remaining water with a bailer. If you it's blowing enough to knock you over, it's probably blowing enough to get you moving fast enough to push water out the inspection port. We struggled to get water out of the swamped boat when we practice turtling in light wind, but if you if turtle when the wind is blowing, you can self right and bail it out on your own without the assistance of a safety boat (see my turtle video). You are not done the day and you are still in the race if you turtle and can keep racing/sailing so long as you can tolerate being wet. :-)
Great video! I ve got a 10ft Bauer dinghy. In June I capsized on a large pond, turtle Immediately! Did everything Wrong too. Once I had uncleated the main, jib was not on board, I jumped on the board and she came up. Boat was swamped, I was being assisted by a lifeguard boat and they offered to tow me ashore. Besides having more buckets and scoops I added a dedicated line to my rail which will assist me in climbing on boat if I turtle again. What else would u recommend?
I'm not a doctor and can't advise on your particular condition. Generally speaking if you have physical limitations you will likely prefer sailing on larger and more stable/comfortable sailboats that are less reactive and less prone to capsizing. You can talk to a medical expert to see if sailing is something you can or should be doing with your particular condition.
Great video. Thanks for sharing! Sailing 100% on Lake Erie, and knowing weather can change quickly, we use a main sail float (30 lbs of buoyancy). Would you still recommend one person going to the mast until the other is prepared to right the boat?
Thanks and great question. Using mast floatation will prevent the mast from sinking and will therefore not require a person to swim to the mast to prevent it from sinking.
How did you even (intentionally) manage to capsize that boat while turning it into the wind? Was that purely caused by your bodyweights being thrown outboard during the tack?
When a boat heels, the boat will naturally steer in the opposite direction. In this case the wind and body weight caused the boat to heel to leeward (away from wind) so the boat turned into the wind as it capsized.
I think so, but if push if push comes to shove you can put two tiny people on the centerboard to get it over. Just make double sure the sheets are uncleated and the spinnaker is secure so the boat doesn't sail without you should neither of you end up in the boat during the righting process.
If you are alone, you should sail with a masthead flotation to prevent your boat from turtling. The buoyancy in the flotation device prevents the mast from sinking. You should also have a ladder on your transom if you sail alone. The steps would be the same, except that your crew would not need to swim to the mast. You'd want to be especially careful to secure the spinnaker and release all the sheets from the cleats so the boat doesn't sail off without you should you not end up in the boat during the righting process.
Great video. In my real world experience with three separate capsizes, heavy winds and waves will make that mast sink much faster than in this video, especially if the wind hits the hull square on. The swimmer needs to get to the mast immediately, and any pressure on the mast, such as with the crew holding on the mast and boat in this video, will sink it even faster. If there’s any danger of turtling as the mast sinks, the crew needs to get away from the hull so they don’t get caught underneath. This is why I prefer to have both crew immediately head for the mast head. Also, if the spin is in the water, stay away from it. It can wrap around your legs and take you down if the mast sinks. While it’s good to practice on a calm day, it’s rare that capsizes happen in anything but extreme conditions, and the boat can behave much differently in these situations and turtle incredibly fast if you don’t get to that masthead fast enough. Been there done it.
Ohhh I am so glad I watched this video so many times before, for sure was useful last Saturday at Glow when we capsized on our last leg of the 4th race. Thanks for making this video available for us to continue learning!
We were watching your situation with great interest and concern while it was happening. You guys are new racers and I didn't know if you guys would stay calm or panic. You stayed calm and made the recovery look easy and didn't accept assistance. You got the boat righted and get on the radio and proclaimed, "We are finishing!". It was a proud instructor for me and it makes me smile every time I think about it. I'm proud of you guys for watching the videos in advance, staying safe, and going out in higher winds. Keep up the great work!
Thank for the video! I’m going to start as a sailing instructor this summer teaching sailing on Flying Scots… but I’ve admittedly never sailed one before though. I’ve only done team racing and regattas with 420’s but I’ve been reassured they are easier than 420’s so I’m trying to learn all I can and start sailing them before starting.
Solid information with no waffle - thank you.
Nice work. A slight variant is the "scoop method"--one person on the centerboard and the other grabs a hiking strap. When the boat rights, the person holding onto the hiking strap is scooped into the boat, and then can assist the other crew member to get back on board.
Sailed a lot of Merlin Rockets back in the day. A young upstart once quizzed a master boat builder how wide the centre board should be. Wide enough for two was the answer..!
Awesome video, thanks for posting this! Subscribing in 3, 2, ...
Thanks, Eric and team! This is great.
Thank you very much!
I have never sailed but I just imagined capsizing, pointing, and yelling "swim to the mast! don't let it sink!"
Both times we capsized we were going downwind with CB raised some. When the boat capsized, board went into the trunk.
Yep. Stay tuned for part 2 where we focus on the downwind capsize and also demonstrate the process of extending the centerboard before you attempt to right the boat.
@@SailboatInstructor AWESOME! Thank you.
Novice, occasional sailor. Please name this model of boat. Also, would love to see a video describing procedure for doing this single handed.
@@kennethpaquin8574 We are sailing in a Flying Scot. You can learn more about the boat by visiting the builder website at flyingscot.com or the class association website at fssa.com. For single-handed sailing on a Flying Scot I recommend adding swim ladder to the stern and using a mast flotation sleeve at top of the mast. Both can be purchased from the builder. The process is the same except you don't need to send someone to the mast if you have mast flotation and you obviously wouldn't have crew to scoop in the boat. If you don't end up in the boat after the boat is righted, you don't have anyone to help you in the boat so you really want that ladder. It also critical to remember to uncleat all the sheets and secure the spinnaker so the boat doesn't sail away from you.
@@kennethpaquin8574 Flying Scot
What if the boat were totally flooded?
The boat will become totally flooded if you turtle but not so much if you only capsize and get it righted in a reasonable time frame. Should your boat completely food, you can sail a swamped boat to the dock but it will sail very slowly. You can remove the 4" inspection port on the transom and the boat will sail fast enough and the water will exit through that port and you can clean the remaining water with a bailer. If you it's blowing enough to knock you over, it's probably blowing enough to get you moving fast enough to push water out the inspection port. We struggled to get water out of the swamped boat when we practice turtling in light wind, but if you if turtle when the wind is blowing, you can self right and bail it out on your own without the assistance of a safety boat (see my turtle video). You are not done the day and you are still in the race if you turtle and can keep racing/sailing so long as you can tolerate being wet. :-)
Great video!
I ve got a 10ft Bauer dinghy.
In June I capsized on a large pond, turtle Immediately!
Did everything Wrong too.
Once I had uncleated the main, jib was not on board, I jumped on the board and she came up.
Boat was swamped, I was being assisted by a lifeguard boat and they offered to tow me ashore.
Besides having more buckets and scoops I added a dedicated line to my rail which will assist me in climbing on boat if I turtle again.
What else would u recommend?
I'm 67 yo I want to know if I had a lombar mal function practice snip sail boat can hurt even more? The bending tight by foot and pull the controls ?
I'm not a doctor and can't advise on your particular condition. Generally speaking if you have physical limitations you will likely prefer sailing on larger and more stable/comfortable sailboats that are less reactive and less prone to capsizing. You can talk to a medical expert to see if sailing is something you can or should be doing with your particular condition.
Kkk thanks
Great video. Thanks for sharing! Sailing 100% on Lake Erie, and knowing weather can change quickly, we use a main sail float (30 lbs of buoyancy). Would you still recommend one person going to the mast until the other is prepared to right the boat?
Thanks and great question. Using mast floatation will prevent the mast from sinking and will therefore not require a person to swim to the mast to prevent it from sinking.
How did you even (intentionally) manage to capsize that boat while turning it into the wind? Was that purely caused by your bodyweights being thrown outboard during the tack?
When a boat heels, the boat will naturally steer in the opposite direction. In this case the wind and body weight caused the boat to heel to leeward (away from wind) so the boat turned into the wind as it capsized.
can you right that boat if your biggest crew is smaller in size? would a 130 lb person be able to right a FS?
I think so, but if push if push comes to shove you can put two tiny people on the centerboard to get it over. Just make double sure the sheets are uncleated and the spinnaker is secure so the boat doesn't sail without you should neither of you end up in the boat during the righting process.
What if you are alone ?
If you are alone, you should sail with a masthead flotation to prevent your boat from turtling. The buoyancy in the flotation device prevents the mast from sinking. You should also have a ladder on your transom if you sail alone. The steps would be the same, except that your crew would not need to swim to the mast. You'd want to be especially careful to secure the spinnaker and release all the sheets from the cleats so the boat doesn't sail off without you should you not end up in the boat during the righting process.