Back from our holiday. OK, so what happened? Herewith a brief (I hope!) factual account. I'll do a 'lessons learned' separately, under 'General Discussion'. NB if I've got facts wrong, please correct me: I don't like exaggeration.
Saturday July 5th. The fleet, more or less under Vice Admiral Stuart, set sail from the Sailing Academy bound for Lulworth Cove. Wind SW, F3-4, sea conditions on the upwind side of Weymouth Bay very easy. A dead run across the bay, Cavatina rather more than keeping up with the bigger boats because she planes down wind. However I knew I would be sorted out on the beat home, Cavatina being much smaller than the Bay Whatsits. My personal plan was therefore to make my lunch stop at Lulworth Cove short, and set out for home port before the others.
However, by the time we got there, the wind had strengthened and there was an interesting sea running, with a few breaking crests and quite steep waves up to 1 1/2 metres or so. It was therefore decided not to land, but to beat back home. Not surprisingly, the bigger boats made faster progress. I wasn't worried, and set off close hauled on port tack, about 300 yards from the (lee) shore, one reef for comfort, Cavatina a bit slowed by climbing and crashing through the seas, but making steady progress. At about 1.30pm, I had a radio call from Joybells, enquiring about my well-being: I replied that progress was slow but sure, and we'd be back in time for supper....
My mention of food reminded me that I'd had an early breakfast. I had sandwiches and jelly babies stowed forward - unfortunately just out of reach. A combination of having to leave the tiller to grab them and failing to flick the sheet out of the (recently fitted) cam cleat as I did so resulted in Cavatina coming up into the wind and across to the other tack, at which moment a larger-than-average wave and a sudden wind gust caught her. At 45 degrees on the lee slope of the wave, her sail pinned, and my weight now very much on the wrong side, over she went. Entirely my silly fault, not hers.
She floated high because of her buoyancy and, with those waves and wind, she turned turtle almost immediately, her dagger board sticking up - but before I could grab it, it slid back into the boat, and I was left with a smooth, beamy upturned hull and no means of righting her. (Had I been younger and fitter, I suppose I could and should have at least tried to dive under the boat and retrieve the dagger board.)
Two other things were immediately apparent: my cheap pay-as-you-go mobile was waterlogged, and my bargain-basement VHF handheld, which had functioned fine in the dry, sank. I had therefore no means of sending a mayday or 999, either of which would have had help there in, I reckon, 15 minutes max: and no way of letting you guys know what had happened. I was slowly drifting eastwards in roughish seas, but not getting any closer to the shore. 'Oh well', quoth I cheerily to myself, 'I can clearly see people on the beach and up on the cliffs, so they can clearly see me (in fact they were standing watching, rather than walking - I reckon 40-50 people. I was a side show, apparently). One of them will surely call for help.'
Huh......
(to be continued)