Jake thanks,
That's a good idea to have a drift sock. I think that would have helped keep the bows in the waves.
Boards up next time as well.
So I guess I'll leave the main sheet alone for now. Keith and you seem to be saying don't lengthen. There is no way I could have rounded up though it was so powered up if just thought about coming up. Maybe if I had the boards up that would have been different.
I felt like I had to take the sails down with the winds so high. The boat flipped from one side to the other and we weren't even hiking out to right it. I just blew the tramp enough to raise the mast and sails off the water. Then to right the boat our friend hiked out pulling on the dolphin striker. That's all it took to get it up, with out the sails.
That was just really windy and would have happened to anyone. The trick is knowing when to say when but without even being able to round up - your options were definitely limited! Boards up would have definitely helped you turn the boat and get pointed into the wind to heave-to and wait it out. You need just enough board in the water to help the boat pivot but also will let it slip a little sideways. The boat will tend to heal on the boards (which is why they keep getting longer an longer - the idea is that the boat is capable of flying a hull sooner with long extended boards). With boards raised, that pivot point raises with them and makes the boat a little less tippy. Once your rudders are out of the water, you are just along for the ride. I really wouldn't recommend having the spinnaker up in those conditions - it just would have made the resulting crash that much more dramatic. I've waited out conditions like that by purposely turtling the boat to keep it from moving to much distance through the water and having a wet seat on the underside of the trampoline...but you should be confident that your mast is well sealed and that the water is deep enough so the mast doesn't hit bottom.
