Never mind......the mainsheets were in great shape in Cuba (Cayo Santa Maria). What a wonderful beach! Miles and miles of gorgeous sand, warm waters, trade winds, friendly people, good boats, what more could you ask for?
These Hobie 15's have the skeg keel, with a rubbing strip on the bottom of the keel. This means that the preferred method of returning is to sail right up onto the beach - what a thrill!
In order to protect tourists, all trap wires have been removed, so no hiking was possible, which is probably a wise idea. The beach jockeys were well trained, and it was only after some 'discussion' that they were comfortable to let me helm. They would launch the 15's, then once we were free of the break, they would hand over the tiller and main sheet, and off we would go. My Spanish improved, as did their English.
Most of the 15's were very well maintained. The only real issue was not lining up properly when returning to shore can cause rudder damage, clearly an operator issue. The mechanism is vulnerable to sand, and also to sideways pressure with an off-centre return to shore.
For safety, sailing is red-flagged above 15 knots. Boats were out most days from 9 am to 4 pm, 7 days a week. Why did I come back????
_________________ 2015 H16, with spin, SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..." 'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'
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