On 24 Jan 2006, DSK wrote:


- A Stiletto . . . cat . . . _verrrrry_ fast . . .
hit by a 40 kt gust . . . cat will capzize,
turn over and remain over, but stay afloat
. . . for a while . . . .

Don't they have positive flotation?

Don't know for sure, though it certainly doesn't look it inside
(except that if not punctured and if the hatches are closed, it will
float). Indeed, after the boat was found and hauled (the stern
severely damaged) the next day, it was surprising to see how thin
skinned (even if "honeycombed")/flimsy the basic structure is.

* * *
- L.I. Sound water is verrrrrry cold in Jan.

[Wearing] . . . have on wetsuits or drysuits?

Again: _VERRY_ stupid (deliberately undertaken but
shoulddahknownbetter risk): One, life vest deliberately within
reaching distance but not worn; two others, inflatable life vest.

In defense of the dumbness, the crew took a calculated risk -
fortunately, later proven correct - that a motorboat operating
collegague/would-be rescuer estimatedly no more than +/- 2-3 miles
away at any one time probably would be reachable by phone, and that
"would-be" became actual (thanks, again, to the Ziploc-bagged
cell-phone).

BTW I have seen 40 knot gusts flip Tornados & Mystere cats,
and somersault them so rapidly that they keep right on
flipping and end right-side up again. Wierd.

Apparently, a strong (ca. +/- 40 kt) gust from windward of the port
pontoon coincided with a wave and the combined force from the forward
underside of the trampoline both of water and wind lifted the bow up
and flipped the boat over backward.

The press reported the following day that a sole "kite surfer" about
twenty miles to the east (who, even more stupidly, was wearing a
drysuit and boots and gloves but no lifejacket or signaling equipment)
drowned the same day.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...eadlines-local