Sunfish

Loaded for fun

Wondering how many people a Sunfish can carry? Well, I know many people who would frown upon the fun of loading down a Sunfish with people and finding out. But really, I would rather have a bunch of folks loading down a Sunfish and having fun compared with sending the kids out on jet-skis to terrorize the shore-front – but that’s me.

An historical perspective was offered by Mike4947 at sailingforums.com, “Way back when at the North Americans they had a relay race where at the end of each leg they added another person. IIRC at the finish they had 6 people on the boat…LOL”

In this picture we see the kids all wearing a pfd (except for my brother-in-law at the helm – takes his advice from Quint). What a great time they had out on the water that day. Funny, I was more concerned about them jumping off the dock than I was watching them sail around a few hundred yards from shore.

DanB responded in the same post by saying, “…you are probably already aware of the nasty little citations the coastal cops hand out for over loading beyond the rated capacity. No different for a sailboat than a motorboat. Only at boating carnival events in sheltered waters have I observed the practice to be tolerated or marginally sensible.”

For me, safety is about awareness. It’s about knowing your limitations, your crew’s limitations, and the limitations of the boat. Regulations must be made to consider the least common denominator in the boating society, but at times, the pure fun, it just pulls at you…