Sailing Lesson
By Herb McLeodSailing lesson: Saturday 22 July 2023
Finally some wind! It was my third sail in the newly constructed pdracer sporting its Chinese Lug rig. Environment Canada said that at the time I was on the lake winds were 19 to 20 kph with gusts of 30 to 33 kph. Waves were under a foot high and there was only a rare whitecap.
I had been out for about an hour with the full Chinese lug rig of 5.75 sq meters (62 sq feet) in this 8 foot long hull. I was having a great sail and I had not noted any control problems under the full sail. But as the day progressed the wind gusts would come with ever larger wind shifts that I estimated to be as much as 45 degrees. I was at the far south end of the lake when one of the gusts caught me at the wrong moment and I capsized the boat.
The boat went over very quickly once it tipped beyond about 30 degrees. I was within 100 meters of the shore and thought that it might be best to swim the boat with the wind to the shore and bail it out. Then I decided what the heck, do a capsize test and see if I could right and re-board the boat in deep water.
Hauling on the hinged leeboard I was able to upright the boat. It did not come up as easily as my AF3 but I was able to right it about as easily as the Flying Dutchman Junior I sailed as a kid. Then I swam around to collect my paddle, bailing bucket and crocks. I found that my life jacket would bunch up around my neck making swimming difficult unless the straps were very snugly tightened. There was a lot of water sloshing about inside the boat and I would estimate that there was only three inches of freeboard.
As I tried to re-board the boat it rolled a second time. I was again able to right it but this time I loosened the halyard and dropped the sail into its lazy jacks. I attempted to bail it out but due to the high sides I found bailing out the boat while in the water difficult.
Again I tried to board the boat using the footstep cut into the rudder. That did not work and I rolled it again, this time turtling it and the rudder fell off its gudgeons! Since I had dropped the sail but not taken in the slack in the sheet there was also a web of sail control lines that I became tangled up in. Before I was able to swim to recover my rudder I had to disentangle myself. This took quite a while and I was getting frustrated. I considered using my knife that was on a lanyard around my neck to cut myself free from all the lines. What stopped me was the thought that if I cut a bunch of lines I would have a problem sailing back home! I finally freed myself of the tangle of lines and retrieved the rudder. This time I tied the rudder to my sheet before righting the boat a third time. Attempting to use the rudder step as a boarding device did not work.
By now a neighbour on the south end of the lake took pity on me and came to my rescue in his motor boat. Standing in his motor boat we were able to bail out the pdracer and I successfully boarded it this time from the motor boat. Thank you John P! I then put in the first reef and sailed home. With one reef in I occasionally had problems with the wind shifts during the gusts and perhaps should have put in a second reef.
I do not know how long I was in the water but it was quite a while (it might have been close to an hour) and I am glad the water was warm. As it was, by the time I got home I had symptoms of mild hypothermia. This is not something I would want to repeat in colder weather.
Items to be modified at as a result of this 'learning experience':
- My life jacket needs a couple of crotch straps.
- Junk rig is not a great option for a boat that can be easily capsized as there are a lot of lines one can get tangled in. Consider making a balanced lug rig for use on days with more wind
- Sail a pd racer as flat as you can and reef early
- For pdracers without floatation built into the sides, have a rescue boat available or stay very close to shore.
- Check out why the rudder came off despite the locking bolt being in place.
- Develop a boarding step that works.
- add 4 to 6 inches foam to inside of boat (or to the outside as sponsons)
Then repeat a capsize test in more controlled conditions. 🙄
Finally some wind! It was my third sail in the newly constructed pdracer sporting its Chinese Lug rig. Environment Canada said that at the time I was on the lake winds were 19 to 20 kph with gusts of 30 to 33 kph. Waves were under a foot high and there was only a rare whitecap.
I had been out for about an hour with the full Chinese lug rig of 5.75 sq meters (62 sq feet) in this 8 foot long hull. I was having a great sail and I had not noted any control problems under the full sail. But as the day progressed the wind gusts would come with ever larger wind shifts that I estimated to be as much as 45 degrees. I was at the far south end of the lake when one of the gusts caught me at the wrong moment and I capsized the boat.
The boat went over very quickly once it tipped beyond about 30 degrees. I was within 100 meters of the shore and thought that it might be best to swim the boat with the wind to the shore and bail it out. Then I decided what the heck, do a capsize test and see if I could right and re-board the boat in deep water.
Hauling on the hinged leeboard I was able to upright the boat. It did not come up as easily as my AF3 but I was able to right it about as easily as the Flying Dutchman Junior I sailed as a kid. Then I swam around to collect my paddle, bailing bucket and crocks. I found that my life jacket would bunch up around my neck making swimming difficult unless the straps were very snugly tightened. There was a lot of water sloshing about inside the boat and I would estimate that there was only three inches of freeboard.
As I tried to re-board the boat it rolled a second time. I was again able to right it but this time I loosened the halyard and dropped the sail into its lazy jacks. I attempted to bail it out but due to the high sides I found bailing out the boat while in the water difficult.
Again I tried to board the boat using the footstep cut into the rudder. That did not work and I rolled it again, this time turtling it and the rudder fell off its gudgeons! Since I had dropped the sail but not taken in the slack in the sheet there was also a web of sail control lines that I became tangled up in. Before I was able to swim to recover my rudder I had to disentangle myself. This took quite a while and I was getting frustrated. I considered using my knife that was on a lanyard around my neck to cut myself free from all the lines. What stopped me was the thought that if I cut a bunch of lines I would have a problem sailing back home! I finally freed myself of the tangle of lines and retrieved the rudder. This time I tied the rudder to my sheet before righting the boat a third time. Attempting to use the rudder step as a boarding device did not work.
By now a neighbour on the south end of the lake took pity on me and came to my rescue in his motor boat. Standing in his motor boat we were able to bail out the pdracer and I successfully boarded it this time from the motor boat. Thank you John P! I then put in the first reef and sailed home. With one reef in I occasionally had problems with the wind shifts during the gusts and perhaps should have put in a second reef.
I do not know how long I was in the water but it was quite a while (it might have been close to an hour) and I am glad the water was warm. As it was, by the time I got home I had symptoms of mild hypothermia. This is not something I would want to repeat in colder weather.
Items to be modified at as a result of this 'learning experience':
- My life jacket needs a couple of crotch straps.
- Junk rig is not a great option for a boat that can be easily capsized as there are a lot of lines one can get tangled in. Consider making a balanced lug rig for use on days with more wind
- Sail a pd racer as flat as you can and reef early
- For pdracers without floatation built into the sides, have a rescue boat available or stay very close to shore.
- Check out why the rudder came off despite the locking bolt being in place.
- Develop a boarding step that works.
- add 4 to 6 inches foam to inside of boat (or to the outside as sponsons)
Then repeat a capsize test in more controlled conditions. 🙄
