The inevitable fear of capsizing a Zephyr

The inevitable fear of capsizing...

I haven't done it yet. The unpopped capsize cherry is only going to stay unpopped for so long. There's not much you can guarantee in life, but I can guarantee that I'm eventually going to capsize. Julie and I are going to go all the way eventually, and end up soaking wet... in the ocean... with no life raft.

Everyone is telling me I should practise capsizing. In my opinion, that's like practising how to die. I'm not ready for it, and I certainly don't want to practise it!

But my friend and fellow Zephyrite Carla Bennett is insisting we have a capsize training day. I think she also enjoys poking herself in the eye with a wind indicator...

I'm scared...

I'm not scared of the act of capsizing. I'm scared of not being able to get back into Julie if she turtles! You see, my other Zephyr friend, Mark Orams, has told me that my arms are too short. Or was it Carla who said that? I can't remember, because every time I think about it, my mind goes down a yellow brick road that leads to a scarecrow...

Capsizing is one of those things that just eventually happens. Usually when you're completely unprepared, already in a flap, and doing everything you can to hold onto your dignity, and the tiller extension. I raced the classic M Class (Matara and Mach One) for a number of seasons, and can proudly stand at the top of the I've Never Capsized an Emmy podium. That achievement should go on my CV!

Will the same be said for my Zephyr career? Rumour has it the betting stations are open, and the odds aren't in my favour...

Maybe I should add swimming lessons to my list of things I must do in order to be a Zephyr sailor. One item I'm struggling to tick off that list is a certified Gold Card... (how do these retirees do it?!)

Grant Beck, that guy who gets the grumbles when I cross him on an upwind, provided some decent advice about the inevitable capsize situation.

"Consider capsizing to be a form of entertainment for your friends! To others, you're a performing seal! Let them bask in your humiliation!"

Into the big one

This is my first ever big regatta, with potentially more than 20 Zephyrs racing, and I still haven't capsized. This weekend the Zephyrs take over Lake Taupo Yacht Club for the North Island Championship. It's set to be a light one, with plenty of wet stuff falling from the sky, which will likely resemble tears as I pick the wrong shift. But hopefully, fingers crossed, the capsize cherry won't be popped.

In conclusion...

Capsizing is like menopause. I'm not going to like it, but eventually I'm going to suffer through it...

Pray for me...

Or let me be here for your entertainment as a performing seal.

So who is capsizing in that photo? None other than 2025 Zephyr National Champion Rod Dawson. But he didn't actually capsize. That man has skills.