|
yesterday i found myself alone at my uncle's house with just a slight breeze (5mph), a good 6 hour window before rain was next forecast, and absolutely nobody on the bay. so for the first time ever i rigged the boat, sent my sister my "sail plan" via text message, paddled out the canals, and got myself solo on barnegat bay. i got out there just after noon, and high tide, so no worries about rudder drag in the shallows (barnegat bay is all about shallows). since winds were light, i wasn't anywhere near rocketing. this was a trial-flight. but i cruised north up the bay on a few long tacks until i could easily get pushed back into the "little bay" before the canals. despite the slower pace, there was a little chill in the air, the hobie never hugs close enough to the wind to make me feel like i'm heading anywhere directly, and there were a few islands in the way to make the whole trip over 3 hours. so there was thrill in the adventure; not exactly ameilia earheart, but still fun! and i finally appreciated the extra length in the jibsheet and the adjustable hiking stick! roller furler worked great on the canal approaches where paddling was necessary due to erratic "tunnel effect" winds and controlling the jib would be a bit much. and the batten boom seems to be functioning on par with the standard boom, although i can't say much about performance because i'm too much of a novice to have much of a feel for these variations.
anyway, having aboat that works well is very much attributable to the advice i read, and seek, here so thanks to everyone in the hobie community for assisting in my first solo adventure!
_________________
getaway on long beach island, nj
|
Login
Register
FAQ
