the deathroll thing was some pretty crazy ----Let's see...
This one wasn't in a laser, rather a collegiate 420. During practice, someone had the brilliant idea of having the varsity team fleet race with the learn-to-sail team. Someone fouled me on the start so I was back a ways when two LTS boats entangled each other at the jybe mark and one of them managed to take off my rudder&tiller with the end of their boom. Naturally, this was an unexpected development in my race plan. I was left sitting there, dumbfounded, holding the tiller & rudder in my hand limply.
This one was in a Radial during a qualifier down at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in CT. The day started out at about 15 knots and ended up with a steady 30 and higher gusts. As the day wore on, I was getting killed upwind but passing like crazy downwind (at the time, I was 20 lbs. underweight). One of the downwind legs, these two massive puffs came down the course- when it hit me, I was shot off the back of the wave I was on and landed on the next crest! For the duration of the gust I was passing waves at about 1 1/2 times per second.
I wasn't expecting the second puff- I was too preoccupied with the fun I was having. The second gust hit and I started to deathroll. I threw myself on the leeward side to try and save it, and managed to stall it while at about a 50 degree angle. Then, the boat crashed into a wave, mast hit the water, and decelerated from about 15 knots to nothing with me hanging on to the rail. At least I was hanging on; once the boat hit, I was thrown off the boat and landed 10 feet in front of the bow, pinging my ankle on the mast on the way.
Another day of the same conditions, I submarined into a 6-foot wave and was swept off the back of the boat by the wave. I had some serious swimming to do.
All I can say is, i'm glad I suffered through Rec dept. swimming lessons all those years...