Yeah, "good luck" is right. I just capsized my Wave for the first time ever last week. I had no problem righting it, of course, but then, as I feared, I could not get back on the boat.

Ironically, it was the first time I did not have my "boarding line" attached on the front of my mast, so I would have a grab-loop to lift my upper body so I could get a leg up on the hull or something. It would have been the first time I could have put my boarding-line idea to the test, and it wasn't there! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I didn't drown. My sister dropped out of the race and came over alongside my boat and helped pull me onto my boat. It is humiliating and should be unnecessary. And it has happened to several other people, who no longer sail cats because of it.

By the way, I'm 5'5", 130 lbs. and in pretty good shape for 66 years old. I think I could have gotten back on if my "boarding line" had been attached. But lots of other people would NOT have been able to, even with the boarding line, because they would not have had the upper body strength.

Regarding Rick's suggestion:
1. On my Wave, I don't see how I can get on from the back, because the tiller crossbar is too low, and there would be no way to get under it (or over it).

2. I don't like going to the back of the boat, because that will encourage the boat to bear off and head downwind, leaving me in the dust. I want to be at the front where I can at least rest and keep the boat headed into the wind while I figure out how to get on.

SO, there are many ideas I have thought about to help with getting back onto the boat when sailing solo.

1. Put trapeze lines on the boat with the trapeze handle low enough so you can reach it when you are in the water.(Getting on from the side is better than going to the back.)

2. Unzip your life jacket, because the bulk of it is a big impediment to getting your upper body up over the beam or the edge of the hull -- or even reaching a hiking strap.

3. Come up with a simple type of lightweight, collapsing boarding ladder that easily swivels down when you need it and is up out of the way for sailing. I am hoping that somebody will invent this, because being able to get back on the boat is the ONLY problem that limits the Wave from being the ultimate boat for people of all ages and all types of bodies and fitness levels. (And it would probably be helpful for people who sail lots of other cats singlehanded, too.)