"On the way back to our club, I was running really tired and misjudged a wave overtaking us from the rear. Our boat just broached and went over ever so slowly with us on the luff hull. There was simply no saving it, the wave simply overpowered the rudders"
The only "inversions" I have had in the Spitfire in the past 2 years were in the same bit of water, Galway Bay, about a year apart. Conditions were the same both times, steep waves rolling into the bay, force 4.
We rounded the spreader mark and, while launching the kite, we suddenly broached and rolled slowly. On other laps, with the kite up and the cat moving well we had no problems with the waves. I think that, in this case, we sat on the top of the wave (not up to speed), the bow dipped down the front of the wave and the relatively short rudders came out of the water - no steerage, turned into the wind and capsized.
Dermot.
