Swimming off of a Sunfish

A

AARP Sailer

New Member
I am new to this sailing and wondering if it is possible to leave a Sunfish while you are out on the water, swim around a bit, and get back on to the Sunfish .... without tipping it over.
 
In very light air, you can swim off a Sunfish, but when the wind picks up, you risk having the boat sail away from you faster than you can swim to catch up to it, and that can leave you stranded far from shore. Wear a PFD under any circumstances and hang on to the boat if you enter the water.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Alan Glos said:
In very light air, you can swim off a Sunfish, but when the wind picks up, you risk having the boat sail away from you faster than you can swim to catch up to it, and that can leave you stranded far from shore. Wear a PFD under any circumstances and hang on to the boat if you enter the water.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
Click to expand...

I am not particularly considering it when I am alone.

My concern is being able to get back onto the Sunfish without tipping it over. Is that tricky or a piece of cake ?
 
If you are reasonable agile, you can re-enter the Sunfish from the waterwithout tipping the boat over. Grab the inside of the cockpit, give a good kick and pull your self in. It is the exact same technique as re-entering the boat after a capsize. Try it in chest deep water to see if you can do it. If you can't, rethink sailing a Sunfish as
the occasional capsize and recovery is part of sailing a Sunfish.

Alan Glos
 
Oh ... I am sure I will be able to do it. I used to do it many years ago. I just have never sailed a Sunfish and am not familiar with how stable they are. So, that sounds good. At least I will be able to cool off a little periodically if I am sailing on a particularly warm day.
 
Amen to that...we Alabama sailors have to take a dip just to avoid heatstroke on some days!
 
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