Just don't do it! Capsized cats sail a lot faster than you can swim. It doesn't take much imagination to see how the two of you can be left with no cats to climb onto - or indeed, a situation where you both need to self-recover. If your friend cannot right himself, you should view yourself as his lifeline rather than the saver of his boat - i.e. you pick him up from the water and both live to tell the tale.

Two of my friends were sailing two up in February 2003, when they capsized. One got trapped by his foot in the toe strap and found himself hanging upside down suspended from his foot 7 feet in the air. He was the lucky one. The other guy watched helplessly as the boat sailed off on its side faster than he could swim - and he tried! This guy spent 2 hours in the water, which in North West of Britain in February is a very bad idea. Both lived to tell the tale, but consider themselves very lucky. Moral of the story is to be prepared for self-rescue in all circumstances and to protect life not property. And don't leave a perfectly good boat to put yourself in danger. I am sure that with righting aids you will both be able to self-right easily.

If you are interested, my friends' full story can be read on our club website:

http://www.dee-sc.co.uk/news/2003.htm
Scroll down three quarters of the way to "10 Mar 03
A Blustery Day" for the full story.