Review of South Atlantic Capsize Book

The first review of my book "South Atlantic Capsize - Lessons Taught by a Big Ocean Wave", has appeared. This review was written by Richard Crockett, editor of Sailing for Southern Africa magazine. I will leave the review to speak for itself.

Front cover of the book.

More Really Good Books
 
One of the perks of my job is that I do get to read some really good books. Two I have recently read got into that ‘must read’ category.

The first is entitled ‘South Atlantic Capsize’ – Lessons Taught by a Big Ocean Wave.
 
It is written by Dudley Dix and tells the story of ‘Black Cat’, the crew, the 2014 Cape to Rio Race and the storm that struck the fleet in the opening days of that race. It’s a personal account of what happened on the boat when it was capsized, what damage was done, what the men onboard did to safeguard vessel and crew, what they did to get themselves back to port – as well as what else was going on around them.

It’s rivetting reading as it is not just well written, but written by a man with a serious understanding of the sea, yacht design, yacht construction – and ultimately what happened to them out there.

I like the fact that it gives some history of the Cape to Rio Race, a pretty detailed account of the boat’s design and construction and his careful selection of crew. To many crew selection is simply a case of asking mates, but for Dix it’s far more than that.

So, for anyone contemplating competing in the 2017 Cape to Rio race, this book should be read, not for the scarey stuff, but for the practical preparation tips, and advice on handling bad weather. For those simply making passages at sea, there is lots to learn too.

Thank you Richard Crockett for the review.

To buy the book or to view our boat designs, go to http://dixdesign.com/.

Yachting Monthly Capsize Video

Yachting Monthly have a very interesting  video of a capsize test on their YouTube Channel. I only became aware of it yesterday when it was highlighted by Scuttlebutt Sailing News.

Many have read the accounts that I have written about our capsize experience on the Didi 38 "Black Cat" in the Cape To Rio Race 2014. It is not possible to visualise what it is like to be there in that situation, even if you sit inside your boat and try to imagine it turning around you but this video goes a long way to help visualise it. It is not fully realistic because the roof stays at the top as the boat rotates, so the world is rotating around the boat rather than the boat rotating within the world around it. To provide better visualisation the camera needs to stay upright while the boat goes upside-down.

Bear in mind that this test is in flat water and the boat is rotated quite slowly from upright to upside-down, then rights itself quickly. Normally a capsize will happen in seas that are large and confused, so it is a much more violent process than seen in the video, with the boat being thrown in confused directions while it capsizes. Despite that, it is worth watching, to see the way that crew, equipment, etc was moved around the cabin and to see just how much water came in even in that still water.

It is not an experience that I would recommend to anyone, yet it is an experience that I am glad to have had and to have survived.

It also validates the toughness of the methods of construction that I have used for these plywood designs, that "Black Cat" came through with minimal damage.

To see our range of designs to carry you across the dam or around the world, please visit http://dixdesign.com/