The previous header photo was of a Flying Dutchman capsizing; the trapeze crew being flung off the gunwhale by the quickness of the capsize. Been there, done that many times. Experienced trapeze crews know the type of landing by this crew can be very expensive. A double-foot plant on the mainsail, so near the boom, is a recipe for a long tear in the mainsail and a trip to the local sailmaker. For those who are paying for the error of their helm, the recommended best effort and the least expensive method to execute a landing, after being unceremoniously catapulted, is to endeavor to make a belly flop higher up the mainsail. Not easy to execute but even a four point landing, elbows and knees, would avoid point loading the mainsail
4 comments:
Is that "POTUS" executing an emergency landing? An overlong red tie and a blond quiff have a vague likeness!!
Is that "POTUS" executing an emergency landing? An overlong red tie and a blond quiff have a vague likeness!!
The first time I sailed with my wife - then my very new current squeeze - I was driving when I capsized her F16 type catamaran. I can still recall the appalling sensation of landing from trap onto her main, trying to bend, and instead feeling her main split under my feet. I can also still recall the relief of seeing, under two feet of water, her feet doing exactly the same thing to her sail. If she'd managed to avoid falling into the main, I suspect that the budding relationship may have ended there. :-)
My wife is not a sailor but, before marriage, and, following the norms of dating, where you must show interest in the other partners hobbies, she agreed to go on a "relaxing" daysail. I took her out on a Tasar. We beach launched and the kick up rudder jammed in the up position and she immediately saw a different side to me. I was forced to dismount in knee deep water and cussed up a blue streak as I struggled to get the rudder down, while holding the Tasar head to wind, and not capsizine. Once out on the water she complained that I wanted to race any sailboat I got near. I was commanding her to hike harder. She was right. So much for the relaxing part. She still married me.
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