Is Hobie for me?

Geesh, you guys are tough. You missed the part where I said that racers are "a hearty and fun loving crowd."
My warning is simply not to get disillusioned about what Hobie sailing is about if racing not your cup of tea.
I think Catsailor magazine does more to turn off potential buyers than anything else with their weekly coverage of race carnage. I can't remember the last picture of pleasure sailing.

One more time..... I was once an avid racer myself, boats, motorcycles, and bicycles. I love to go fast and I am instivtively competitive.

My point is simply... that for a novice to jump in with the go fast crowd for his, and his family's, first exposure to cat sailing can, not necessarily has to, but can, give the wrong first impression.

And please, racers don't capsize very much? That reminds me of the motorcycle racers who used to claim that rccing on the track was safer than riding on the street. Get the next issue of Catsailor.

I never said a thing about racer's morality, so please give up on the condenmation BS.

"Come on now, who doesn't love a good scary reach?" perfectly proves my point of racer mentality. The simple fact is, there are probably more folks that do not like to be scared on a sailboat than do. And worse, there are a large group of folks that, if taken on a "good scary reach" for their first impression of cat sailing will never go back.

OK, so maybe I'm a little different, but cat sailing is like golf, you like it or you don't.

Case in point (and maybe why I'm not "askerd" of racing), my first ride on a H16 was a double trap, screaming reach (pleasure ride) that culminated in a snappy pitchpole. After being thrown like a rock on the end of a string in to the water, I came up for air saying "Let's do that again!" Two nights later I bought a brand new 16, three weeks later went to our first regatta...and on, and on.

A fleet member took a friend (Jason) for his first time (sailing anything) two weeks ago and pitchpoled, he never stopped grinning for the rest of the day. Jason was out with me last Sunday and was slipping off the trap, around the front and back of the boat, getting pretty banged up while trying to get his "trapeze legs". I kept asking him if he's OK? Jason just kept nodding OK and kept grinning...he's toast, stick a fork in it, he'll have a boat before long

This fleet member had another new friend (Brazilian, familiar with sailing/racing, but no cats) who got to experience a NICE pitchpole. Now he was visibly shaken still after 30 minutes of post pitchpole sailing with no further incident. Go figure.

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

I know that some people really like it. It's obvious. I'm not sure whether or not racing cats is a growing sport or not in the US but I doubt it. especially looking at the average age of catamaran owners. It's over 40. If you are not attracting enough youngsters you have a shrinking sport.
Now... you once again prove my point in spades.
While you and your pals think pitchpoling is great fun, and once again, I'm not unaware that some folks like it and if you do then fine, no problem with me. You are unaware of the fact that:
1. pitchpoling is bad sailing, pure and simple, out of control, and can lead to nasty injuries and avery broken boat.
2. The vast majority of sailors don't want to pitchpole and when you expose a newbie to it as Standard Operating Procedure and a bunch of fun (Check out these scars man, cool!) you run a fairly high risk of simply turning them and/or their family members (particularly the female ones) off to the sport.
A better approach, IMHO, if you are more interested in introducing people to the sport with the idea of hoping they might like it versus demonstrating how wildly you can crash your boat and how well you sustain being knocked around like a ping pong ball, would be to take a newbie and family sailing on a nice gentle 6-8kt. day and if they take to it they can graduate to racing and totally cool pitchpoling if it suits them.

Just for clarification, when we gave cannon_fodder and his wife a ride on the hobies, we attempted to inform them as to the capabilities of both racing and pleasure sailing. That being said, our members were more inclined to push them to an 18 as a good entry-level boat. Unfortunately sailing on a 20 can be quite addictive for a first-time sailor in light to moderate winds with the scare factor happening when they are out alone and the winds picking up to 15+ and gusting.
Cannon-fodder...if you and your wife make it to Keystone this weekend, we would love to answer any questions you may have about boat capabilities, cost, and sailing opportunities. Please feel free to come to me, John Mork, any of the Tulsa Fleet, Tom Page, Kenny McIntosh, etc., or even any of the other racers if you happen to see a boat you like. If you're there for the entire weekend, I would love to have you and your family on the committee boat to watch or even help run the races with me and Sue Oats.

Couldn't agree more john.

Pitchpole isn't always the bi-product of poor sailing. I've been screaming along trapped out with one foot on the rudder casting, and the other lightly on the corner casting. Poor sailing in the sense that I was pushing too hard? Maybe, but those envelopes need to be pushed. It's those challenges that keep things fresh and new. I like a good floater day as much as the next guy but I would be bored to tears if all I ever went out in was 5 mph winds.

I agree to a point regarding being "skered" away from the sport/hobby. As a young child, my parents had a couple of boats, one was a 21' monohaul something.. with a little cabin in front. My dad would have that thing on it's side to the point where water would be coming over the low side of the boat and into the cabin. As a child, this scared the bejesus out of me and I was pretty much turned off of sailing.

20-some years later, I had 2 weeks of wonderful sailing on a 37' monohaul and purchased a h16 after the first week because I had "the bug"... In the 20 years that separated my scary experiences and the more recent good ones, I spent 15 of those years jet skiing and powerboating... now I look back and say, "what a waste of time and money that was!"... but really, it was all about control. My dad made it seem like he didn't have control, which we all know he probably had very minimal control when he was pushing the envelope that far. Powerboats and jet skis give way more control to the operator in the fact that they can overpower nature to do what they want for the most part. Sailing is quite different. You have to possess the knowledge and skills to utilize what nature gives you. Harness that to do what you want. When you can do what you want in a sailboat, it's a very rewarding experience!

That said.. here is a "cruising" pic from sunday.. I was shaking the cobwebs off the boat in some light 8knt winds.

Cannon Fodder please call me again I have some great news Tom

_________________
Tom & Nancy Page H20 803

This is great, I really love seeing the debate going on. To me, it shows that there is two faces to the sport like there are for so many hobbies. I enjoy riding my bike, but I'm not into tracking down a mountain as hard as I can nor riding 100 miles in an afternoon - some people are, and that's ok with me. Ame with the Hobie crowd - you have the need for speed and the Sunday sail.

I love that. Because it means I can go out with my wife and child for a calm afternoon, find a beach and have a picnic. Or, get one of my idiot friends from law school and go beat ourselves up seeing how fast we can get the wind to carry us. I agree that my wife would probably be leery if our first day of sailing on a Hobie was death defying, but at the same time there is a group (jet skiers) that would be sold by such notions. I think Hobie, as a brand, does well to sell both images.

I understand the the racing crowd I have been introduced to is the speed crowd. That said, none of them ever glorified flipping the boat nor gave an inclination that they desired to be out of control. I think many favored the 20 because that is what they are into now and what is more commonly raced in this area.

Tom, I'll call you over lunch at your office number. I'm excited to hear the news.

- Jesse

ps. See everyone Saturday... well, everyone who will be there I guess.

As a racer, I can tell you "racers" want to do well in the races.
There are light wind guys and heavy air guys.
If it's blowing 8 ,and I have all good finishes, that is a better day than blowing 18 and getting poor finishes.
The idea that there is a lot of flipping in races is an old school idea.
Now that we are all closer to 40 than 20, we have figured it out pretty well and there isn't as many pitchpoles.
Most experienced racers know their limits and don't stay out in the big stuff. Trashing a new $8000 boat and maybe hurting someone makes no sense.There is more boat damage and injuries with the pleasure sailors that are inexperienced and don't know their limits (IMO) than the race crowd.

_________________
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204 Syracuse, NY

I'm not advocating pitchpoleing any boat.

I haven't pitchpoled anything but our 20 in the last two years, and that was more of a "stuffing it" downwind. I've buried the hulls on the 16, more than once in that time, and capsized, I'm too old for that crap. I won't try to tell you I know exactly where my edge/limit is, 'cause I'm going over every once in a while.

The fleet member in question, who keeps pitchpoleing his 16, is in his mid 20's and so are his friends. He's learning the idiosyncracies of skippering from the trapeze. He raced his first regatta this Spring, was fast enough without trapping and is finding the edge of the envelope at the expense of his "friends". I guess he figures the ones who don't complain are potential crew.

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

Let it be known: I advocate Pitchpoling your boat. Anyone that I am racing, I encourage you to pitchpole, death roll, tip over backwards, tip over sideways........whatever hikes your skirt up. Just be in the water swimming when I go by. Especially you Bisesi. You too Eaton.......

Ususally my mast falls down - but never when you're around, Wessels!

You're my good luck charm!

Wessels is everyone's good luck charm. No matter where you are on the course, you can always count on Chris being there behind you.

Do the letters F O mean anything to you?

Actually, I love racing with you guys. Win or lose we have a great time. Chris, how about posting a NOR for Saylorville. Plan on racing there after I pick up a 17 I bought from someone in Iowa.