Shake down on new AI

Sorry about the lack of pictures. My camera is splash proof, but not water proof - would have been fine in this morning's conditions. The winds were, estimating, five to 10 knots. I sailed with Mark, who got his TI on the same truck that mine came in on. We sailed on a wide section of the ICW in Boynton Beach, Fl., launching off the beach next to an inlet off the Atlantic Ocean.

I was not sure exactly what to expect, despite watching all of the Utube videos and reading all of the reviews. I have been sailing a variety of sub-20' mono hulls, and have sailed cats, kayaks and sailboards. My current mono hull (WW Potter 15) doesn't sail well above about 65 degrees off the wind.

Mark and I sailed about three or four miles north on the ICW on a beam to broad reach and back close hauled. In both directions we were cruising at about five knots - probably ranging from 3.5 to 6 (Mark had the GPS and reported 5.2 both times I asked). I was very impressed with the boat. It is a sail boat, which is what I hoped it would be. I kept the peddle drive in, being first sail and all. It may be slower that way, but it is nice to be able to motor sail when tacking and when pinching, or even just to go a little faster. I was pleasantly surprised by the up wind performance. We had no difficulty getting back to the beach with an off shore wind and we were able to stay on one tack on the up wind course. The boat feels very slippery in the water, quickly converting gusts into momentum.

I think this boat is going to sail well in a much wider range of wind conditions than does the mono. The mono provides much better shelter and much more overall comfort, but it's going to be hard to leave the AI home in favor of the mono. It is nice to be able to fit both in the garage and and still be able to get a car in there.

Happy Father's Day,
Ted

CONGRATULATIONS, TED!!

Did Mark have his tandem?

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Yes Keith, Mark had his TI. What surprised me was that I thought he would have to circle back a lot in order to talk to me, but that was not the case at all. We pretty much sailed together the whole time. At one point, I thought I saw him on an angle into the wind that I would not have been able to make but, on some angles - particularly off the wind, the AI actually seemed faster. I'm guessing that in different, maybe stronger, wind conditions that the TI would would strut it's stuff. It was a very nice outing.

Mark likes to sail close to home, so it may be hard to get him down to Biscayne Bay - but, he's a nice guy and it's good to have someone to sail with close to home. He needs to be eased in to the expedition style of kayak/sailing I'm ready to go, but maybe not in this heat.

Ted