Hurricanes and Kayaks

Who says that hurricanes and kayaks don't mix! Yesterday Mark (Mkrawat) and I decided to catch some wind from the approaching hurricane, Irene off the coast of Jupiter, Florida. We were clipping along at about 10 knots in 2-5 foot seas. The TI is proving to be more sea capable than some power boats. The more I sail this boat the more amazed I am at its abilities.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em7fwQ8ea78[/youtube]

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Steve

I had an invite to join you guys for that fantastic sail, but because my own TI has just arrived I had to be at the Hobie dealer at the same time.

That looked like one heck of a fun trip!

Anyway, when I ordered my TI, I was thinking something like that would be too extreme to go out in. But now that you have brazen the trail, I am feeling more confident that The Ti can handle a bit more swell, wind etc than I had imagined it could.

My new red TI is now here and I can't wait to get out there and test it out.

Irene brought great sailing to Charlotte Harbor today, and promises to again tomorrow. Here is today's report, complete with pics and videos:

AI Sailing Edge of Irene

As we can see, REAL men don't furl!

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Reminds me of the quote, "There are old sailors and there are bold sailors...but there are not allot of old, bold sailors."

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Steve

Hey Steve

Great footage. I noticed too that being in the rear position of the TI keeps a nice angle of entry on the boat even in quite strong winds.
Food for thought (now if only I could get a trailer hitch installed on my SUV for less (Last quote more than half of what the TI is worth...)

Thanks for sharing that vid
Best Regards, (I hope Irene minds her manners when she hits land)

Fred

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Always looking for ways to make good things 'Gooder'

Welcome to the South East Florida Tandem Island Club (SEF-TIC). I hear we have allot in common. Can't wait to do some sailing and fishing with you.

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Steve

Nice footage Steve. We have debated at length about how to best capture the size of waves and swell in video. It hard to do but you've done a pretty good job with this clip. What camera do you use and how do you mount it ?

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I normally use the GoPro Hero and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3. The video is only from the Panasonic because I forgot to bring the Ram Ball for the GoPro. I mount both cameras using two Ram Mount 1.5 socket and button arm. This allows you to loosen the camera without loosening the mount to the TI.


The plastic on the back is because I normally use the open back to prevent condensation and allow the microphone to pickup sound.



The Panasonic also has a quick release so I can release it for quick shots.



As far as capturing the scale of the waves I think having the camera low to the water and having a second boat for scale is the key.

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Steve

I think you're onto something with 'having a 2nd boat for scale'. It's something that we never discussed but it makes sense. Especially if you are at the bottom of a swell going up and he is at the top going down. I have the previous model Lumix however I just bought the DMC-TS3 for our work project and it so far looks like the improvements could justify and upgrade. ( Do you have or did you know that this is available http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/dive_wit ... index.html ).

A couple of questions....

Is there a reason you didn't tick the HD box on YouTube ?
Do the quick releases come from RAM or the camera shop ?

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I tried uploading the same video to You Tube in HD and it played back with numerous delays as the computer streamed in the data. It was my first attempt at loading an HD video off of of iMovies so it is possible I did something wrong. As for the quick release it is from a company called, Really Right Stuff. Their stuff is impeccable, but the price reflects it. My came from a previous life as a photographer.

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Steve

Great stuff. You spent a small fortune on those RAM rail clamps I see.

A couple of questions....

How are those Revolution tube rodholders working out?

How do you reach them way out on the AKA as pictured?

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Steve,
That first pic is a real winner. Reminds me a bit of K-Bobs Hawaii AI windmill shot -one of my favourites!
I'd like to find out a bit more about the plastic with the open back on the GoPro and how it performs. Any problems with leakage?
One of the workarounds for getting better sound (and stopping fogging) is to stick some Goretex breathable fabric over the slots of the open back door. It's something I've been meaning to try but haven't gotten around to yet.

More wet and wild fun here today. Here's my wife plowing through a wave:



I was putting some water over the top as well...

Adding a Sprayskirt will stop most AI submarineing.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006