Report from Tallington Lakes August 2003

THE ULTIMATE CAPSIZE RECOVERY Some folk may have looked at the map and thought that the area of water to sail on at Tallington was not enough! We have got into the habit of launching and then going off on a journey. This weekend was different, it was meant to be a chance to encourage rusty sailors to refine and nourish their sailing techniques. Here was a chance to practise forgotten rituals such as picking up buoys and man overboard in the safe confines of a small lake with rescue cover. So, back to business. We camped in the pleasant campsite adjacent to the water and marvelled at the August heatwave. Our friend Richard brought along a kayak- a nice big stable one for nervous children and adults. It was attached to a long lead and various people hopped in and out during the weekend. The nice thing was that there were different boats to try- our laser13, Dick and Meryl's laser13, Alan and Jan decided to leave their Laser 16 and bring a Tasar and Christine brought a Lightning instead of her 13.. Not being territorial about these things we all boat jumped and compared rigging. Lunch was a picnic or burger on the grassy bank. Discussion followed- what is the best method of capsize recovery? Crews had different ideas, some more RYA than others. The only way to resolve this question was to tempt fate and get wet! Now we all know the RYA method- the scoop method. Skipper swims round to hold centreboard. Crew stays in the water ready to be scooped back into the rising boat. Skipper leaps elegantly onto the centreboard and levers the boat up. Crew gets scooped in and as the boat mast rises up the skipper pops back into the upright boat. Well, Dave and I found that we couldn't do it this way!!! (a combination of weakness, obstinancy and lethargy!) Basically, we couldn't get onto the centreboard. Anyone else had this problem? It had been a niggly problem for a while, how could we get onto the centreboard easily? We had formed a plan and so Dave and Dick were the first volunteers to give it a go. The beach gang gave a running commentary as the boys did their duty but we couldn't see every stage of the process. After much cheering they returned to the beach. Had the new technique worked? I knew that I ought to have a go but capsize is always one of those things that is good in theory but not advisable in front of an audience. However Christine felt inspired to try too so off went the ladies. Once we had started the new method we realised that it worked very well -even for short legged people. At last the problem was solved. As always though we realised that women have to rely on good technique to compensate for male strength and physique. We followed the new technique- you could try it too and see if it works for you;

THE CLIMB AND SCOOP METHOD
1 Take one Laser 13 and two sailors. One person is nominated skipper, the other crew.
2 Make the boat capsize. Crew and skipper meet"inside the boat", make sure that they are ok and then crew holds the end of the mainsheet, leaving the skipper and gets round to the centreboard. The idea is that although swimming in a tide or waves they will still safely be attached to the boat.They just hold on to the end - not climbing up onto the board.
3 The crew can move the boat to face into wind or waves but we didn't bother.
4 On hearing that the crew is holding onto the centreboard the skipper then proceeds to climb up the inside of the boat. The crew weight on the board stops the boat turning turtle, so crew must hold it down.
5 Using the centreboard casing as a step and the mast near the deck, skipper can get up onto the edge of the boat and position themselves in the middle of the hull. Taking the end of the jib sheet with them they sit on the boat edge and then swing their feet down onto the centreboard and facing the crew. They are now back in the classic RYA position.
6 Crew can then swim themselves back round the hull-taking the mainsheet with them. They lie in the position for the classic scoop.
7 Skipper then walks back on the centreboard so as to lever the mast up. Crew gets scooped in and skipper waits for the boat to come upright and drops into the cockpit as it rights.
Christine and I found it very easy. The only problem is if you don't both get scooped back into the boat and one of you has to heave in from the briny. This is where the female anatomy doesn't help you to reach forward for the toe straps. It's quite tricky getting yourself in, I favour the crew rocking the boat towards me then grabbing my buoyancy back and stepping back again. Christine favours the transom approach (some boats have made a style of boarding ladder for this purpose).Anyway, an interesting session which was followed by a very pleasant evening meal in the bar. Drinks at the tent later were under a clear sky and bright Mars light. On Sunday Christine, Jan and Alan had gone but the Rhys-Williams arrived. Franchesca Rhys-Williams (7) and Katherine Ellis(6) formed the new waterbaby section paddling together and seperately in the kayak. Franchesca was keen to sail and took Julian and I out for a gentle sail. We boat jumped all morning, had more sunny picnics and then it was time to pack up. We stayed as long as we could to savour the weather, the ambience and the feeling of time being stretched. We all agreed that much more sailing had been done than we thought possible on an inland lake. Perhaps we should make this sort of weekend a regular feature. Any thoughts? send them to the webkeeper.
Liz Ellis