Dick,

It sounds like your asking about what wind speed are you more likely to capsize. Previously I've been one of the more capsize prone skippers prior to now simply because I always pushed hard and felt that the easiest way to learn where the limit is, is to exceed it...frequently. I was never concerned about it until a few recent incedents have made me back away from the limit a little and now we're constantly one of the more stable boats on the course (all the sudden we're placing better in the results too...geee...).

Righting the boat, especially if you are trying to do so quickly, can be pretty exhausting but the most tiring part is after the technically difficult one. It becomes physical just as the boat comes upright when you grab for the dolphin striker to keep the boat from rolling back over the other way and then when you try to a) keep the boat from sailing away from you and b) get onboard as quickly as possible to stop the jib from luffing and tearing itself apart. I don't think you can ever depend on not capsizing - freak gusts or rigging or gear failure can hit you at any time and we should all be prepared for it. Barring these kind of failures, I begin to feel a little less in control and a little more at the mercy of the wind when the wind speed gets to about 18 knots. My fun level starts going down from there to where 22 knots is simply not enjoyable and is a struggle to stay upright and keep the loads low on the rigging (like mainsail luffing and mast hoola'ing).