I would have bailed the cockpit as dry as possible before proceeding.
Seems like a really bad idea to me.
I did it many years ago, Sunfish sailed downwind just fine without me. I know
the Sunfish I was using had excessive weather helm but the wind was very light.
I don't see any reason for a saftey line in a small inland lake. Shore is close and
usually there are eyes on the lake. Out in a bay with currents far from shore,
no eyes on you, well, your boat is your survival. If you're single handing a keel boat
or the only watch on deck you need a saftey line. I can see how it translates down
to a Sunfish if you push the recreational aspects of the Sunfish a little farther than
they were intended. The guy did do some important things correctly. He had a
wet suit, a life jacket and most importantly, a commitment to stay with the boat.
I can only fault him with not sticking close to shore during the learning process
and not having a friend on shore keeping eyes on him. Well, maybe that and
tying a milk jug to the mast.
Let's summarize ('Best Practices'):
- In strong winds, do not cleat the main sheet
- If you do capsize, try to hang on to something on the boat
- If the boat does not capsize but simply gets away from you, it will turn into the wind if the sheet is not tied
- If the boat does capsize, it won't go far...