sailing in WV

Hello everyone. I just joined the forum after having read some of the posts and found how helpful the members are to fellow sailors and new ones like me. I live in WV near Cheat Lake (elev. about 997ft). So resources for sailing is scarce, but we have lakes that I think may be suitable for sailing. My questions is, are Hobie 16's hard to learn on? Especially solo?
I have minimal sailing experience, but have used Hobie Wave a few times, about 10 years ago. I know righting may be a problem, but I'm going to read and study ways of managing this, and plan to practice this first. I just ordered a copy of Cat. Sailing by Phil Berman, I know reading it should help. Any advise you guys can give me, I will surely appreciate. Ciao!

Sailing a H16 Solo is great fun, I did it for 16 years prior to replacing it with a H17Sport. The H16 is a great boat to learn on, simple yet fast. Unless you weigh over ~290 lbs, you will need a righting system aid. I used the bucket method, but there are others, (e.g., shroud adjusters & power poles). If you do the bucket method I would suggest rolling it up and lashing it to the underside of the tramp near the mast. That way it is right where you need it if/when you flip. Also use a 4:1 (or similiar) pully system with a cleat for hauling the bag out of the water when full (it can be stored in the rolled bag). Click on this link for usefull sailing and rigging info: http://www.hobieclass.com/default.asp?Page=1686
Good luck and good sailing