When I capsize, I'm used to dive and swim to the masttop. That's necessary because I have a net-tramp which catches no wind. So my capsized cat has no tendency to float with weight displacement to the correct uprighting position.
So I nearly always have to swim the mast to that position. And then I have to go back to my lower hull as quick as possible before it changes its position to the wind.
I do that always by using the shroud of the lower hull .Passing my hands quickly.(with gloves on!).
Ofcourse I wonder what I would do in the hypothetical situation (I was never there) that I wanted a cat to turtle because of frightening circumstances (Like approaching lightning with strokes nearby in the water, two times auto-uprighting immediately followed by flip to the other side, couldn't hold myself to the capsized cat, etc)
So, okay my proposal to swim dive in that situation was a bit the talk of a windsurfer who is used to lose his board/sail in high waves. But with my experience using the cat shroud, I would certainly use this to go to the masttop. But only if that seemed to be the best and absolute necessary solution for my emergency situation.
That would be (and should be) a hard decision.
It would - and it is. I forgot you have that open mesh trampoline. It's probably possible to flip the boat in a controlled manner so that the mast is downwind on the flip. That should make it go turtle. But! should you miss and the boat spin around due to the drag of the sails in the water, getting it turtled after that point may be impossible without righting and trying it again.
A well sealed mast will want to pop up and eventually get the boat on its side...but, I would also be concerned that I'm asking a lot of the sealant at the top of the mast that is plunged 32 feet below the surface for any extended period. I would be afraid that it would eventually leak and then I might have an impossible time trying to right the boat afterwards. I still think your best bet is to try and get the mainsail down and controlled when it's just crazy windy. It's definitely not easy, though.
