Hello Wouter and Mary,
You should both try climbing back onto a boat with a rope ladder. It is not as easy as you might imagine. What actually happens when you put your feet/foot/weight on a rung down in the water with your upper body against a rigid body like a beam or the side of a hull is that the ladder at your feet moves moves away from you quickly and goes under the hull or beam. Your center of gravity aligns itself with the center of support, the part of the ladder attached to the boat. Your chest and head and arms are located to the outside of the hull and your feet,legs and waist go under the hull. The lower end of the ladder approaches the horrizontal. You can't get vertical lift/push out of a horrizontal ladder. It turns into a mess and a real fight to use a rope ladder in the water. I found it easier to not use the ladder and just climb up on top of the beam/hull as best you can. A rigid ladder works fine, no problems.
Bill
PS How about the drough chute and righting the boat with the mainsail. The righter ends up on top of the tramp at the end of the process. No problem!