We study the sinking of a dense cylinder initially supported horizontally at an air-water interface and then released. The sinking motion is studied experimentally and agrees quantitatively with a simple hydrodynamic model of the process. In particular, our model predicts that the time taken for the cylinder to become immersed in the liquid should be t(sink) similar to theta((l(c)/g)(1/2)), where l(c) is the capillary length and g the acceleration due to gravity, in good agreement with what is observed experimentally.