The other thing is safety in numbers. I always felt safe sailing near Newport because there is so much boat traffic.

The righting bag is an interesting point. Most people don't take these out unless they're very light. I know I'm heavy enough and have enough practice to fully right a 16 from turtle by myself in any decent breeze (don't ask me how I know), but if I got separated from the boat, I doubt any of my crews could right the boat alone (with or without the bag) and sail back to me. Hence the VHF on my lifejacket.

I haven't tried releasing the shroud pins since my overnight experience. It didn't work then, and I haven't been brave enough to tempt fate since.

So, just for the record, these guys had me beat in several important ways:

There were two of them.
They were properly dressed.
They were sailing near commercial traffic (I was sailing outsde the bay, on a day with small craft advisories).

This is by no means a contest, just pointing out what I think Chris is saying, new sailors don't always have the benefit of experience. And, on any given day, it can all go wrong, regardless of how much preparation is involved.

EDIT: Matt's anti-turtle technique is the only one that works in large seas. Don't ask me how I know.

I don't care what anyone says, that hull damage only happened one of two ways: collision or "recovery mishap."

Mike