I was talking about singlehanding the boat. When you step of them and hold onto the mainsheet the boat will typically flip somewhere over the next 10 seconds. If you have a crew still hanging on the trap after you dropped off then yes I can see the boat just powering along. But in that case the crew is still on the boat to retrieve you. And if he can't because the conditions are too harsh then the crew was out in conditions above their skill level.

Still having said all this, I have done the "hold on to the sheet" in many situations and conditions and it worked for me. And I have been dragged along too. Of course I have typically sailed lightweight boats where the position of the crew weight is pretty much what keeps the pointy side up. Things can be different for "inherently stable" I-20's or whatever. I have also gone of without the sheet in my hand however, when the crew was trimming the boat but I've never got seperated fully from the craft. In my case my 90 kg body frame stepping off pretty much garantees the F16 going over, even with my 65 kg crew on the trap line. In those cases I have swam to the overturning boat like a madman and have always reached it in time. This as reflection of that other point in my posting; swimming like hell on your heels when ever you hit the water.

Personally I see your experience as another indication of why not to be thethered to the boat and why it is so important to have a skilled and experienced crew on races like the Tybee 500.

Fair winds,

Wouter