We went to a boat ride on the Caribbean sea. It has been great to cast off by ourselves on a catamaran straight to the coral reefs.
Here is what I know about catamarans other than they are really fun to sail on.
Unlike mono hull boats they have no quill. So you can sail in very shallow waters. Great to pass coral reefs. You can easily explore marvelous tropical beaches by sailing straight into them. I think it was invented in the south pacific. Perfect for the Polynesians.
Because it has no draft, very little is under the surface, the catamaran holds many speed records. The transatlantic is one of them. But these records were always achieved with favorable winds. It glides downwind like no other boat. However it is not great against the wind.
Against the wind, a monohull tilts sideways and goes up close to the wind. Then it always goes back straight but a catamaran cannot tilt the same way. If it does one side comes off the water. The skipper has to control some tricky forces. As a result, it does not perform as well and cannot sail as close to the wind as a monohull.
So the catamaran is fun but you have to move on it. Every time you change tack you have to switch to the windward side to balance the boat. It is sporty.
My lovely crew mate wanted to stay on one side only and enjoy the ride comfortably.
First mistake. I am the captain. I am responsible. The crew must follow my orders.
We went to far downwind on the coast. So to come back I had to be close to the wind. I tightened the main sail on the close tag and the main halyard was locked.
Second mistake. I should have had the main loose holding the halyard with one hand (the other on the rudder) so I could release the sail instantly in case of a sudden bad puff of wind.
That gust of wind happened and hop! Ploof! I was lifted up in the in the air and the catamaran was on its side and stayed there. I tried to release the main. But it happened in a split second and I fell in the water, crashing on the rudder bar and the halyard ripping the main sail. I hit my elbow but it could have been worse.
She could have been under the sail underwater panicking. I could have been cut by the rudder. We could have capsized on the reef hitting ourselves on the corals and sea urchins.
We came up to the surface emerging after a few gulps of seawater.
First good thing. I repeated it’s okay it’s okay. She felt reassured. The biggest danger in this case is to panic. If you do you can turn a perfectly safe situation into a disaster.
She was holding onto the halyard. I was trying to figure out how to redress the boat. Standing between the two handles I wanted to pull on the one above but could not find anything to hang on. Also I knew the main sail had to be loose so I told her to let go of that line. She was talking to me as I was pulling on the hull. When I turned back she was a few meters away, floating in her life vest, me drifting away from her pushed by the wind.
Third mistake. Everybody should hang onto the capsized boat.
I was looking at her alone in the sea. She was saying she wanted to swim ashore to get help.
That would have been a bad mistake.
When in overboard situation, save your energy as much as you can. Just float on your life saving vest and wait to be rescued. Fortunately this is what happened since we had not made the horrible mistake of not wearing the life vest. But with this lack of discipline and authority it is a miracle.
