Into the wind!

Acknowledgements and Prologue

Thanks to my son Walter for his input on this blog.  As he was proofing this last night we discussed how challenging it is to attempt to put on paper the excitement and intricacies of sailing a Hobie Cat.   One can get technical in sailing terms so quick as to possibly have the non-sailing reader glaze over.  My hope is that this blog will put you on the water, with the wind rushing in your face, and feeling the ‘pop’ of the sails as you turn away from the eye of the wind.  Walter and my daughter Lindsey are my sailing partners and have both experienced and learned with me the art of flying a hull one moment, and getting thrashed by an unforgiving craft the next.

Why do I write this stuff?  Mainly for them.    It’s a way for me to record my joys and thoughts and experiences so they can look back later and remember as well.  It is also for me, as it is something I’ve just wanted to do for a while. 

I appreciate the feedback you have given me thus far.  If by some chance you read this, and I don’t know who you are, please let me know, and don’t hesitate to give it a thumbs up…or a thumbs down.

So grab your life jacket.  You will be needing it….

Into the Wind!

There is just something about screaming across the water on twin fiberglass hulls with sails filled to the breaking point by a stiff Gulf breeze that just makes my day.

For me flying a Hobie 18 Catamaran is my extreme sport.    The only thing better than flying the Hobie on Lake Travis, is flying the Hobie out of the Port Aransas, TX surf and into the swells of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hobie 18, built from the late 70’s through the mid 80’s, is all engine.  The “engine” on a Hobie 18 is 215 sq ft of sails supported by a 28’ aluminum mast.  This mast sits atop twin 18’ fiberglass hulls sitting 8’ apart.   Our Hobie is the “Magnum Version” which is outfitted with “wings” that sit about two feet above the hulls and extend out over the water about two feet.  These provide a comfortable seat and a place to stand as you fly. Total weight the craft:  400lbs.  The hulls are very thin and literally slice through the water with little drag.  Just the slightest puff of air will turn this boat from a raft to a surprisingly quick ride.

When the sails on the Hobie find their shape in the wind, and the pilot has everything adjusted just right, the hulls start slicing through the water.  The daggers, protruding down from each hull into the water prevent the boat from slipping sideways; literally allowing the wind and the water to squeeze the boat forward.  As she comes to speed you hear and feel the rising vibration of the daggers as they cut through the water.  The vibrations increase and you, sitting on the windward hull, start feeling the lift of your hull as the boat heels over to the leeward side.  You can feel the tension on the entire boat as the stay (wire) that supports the mast on the windward side tightens up like a banjo string and the song of the boat seems to hit a whole new octave.  The blocks that hold the lines for the sails seem to reach the breaking point.  You are constantly watching the tell-tales on the sails and the wind indicator as you adjust the lines, allowing the sails to keep that perfect shape as a wing in the wind so as to pull the boat forward.  As you build up towards top speed the vibrations cease and all you hear is the water rushing past the back of the hulls and the wind screaming past your ears.

As you get your angle into the wind just right and that hull continues to rise, you clip yourself in to the trapeze wire attached to the top of the mast.  You lean out, keeping steady pressure on your trapeze line,  ease your feet up to the edge of the wing, stand up, and “hang out”.   With your butt now at least five feet above the surface of the water rushing by, the only thing keeping you from falling off and being left behind is that one wire.  You eventually learn to trust that wire; however it takes courage the first few times.

The lift you get as the hull comes all the way out of the water is incredible.  Before you know it the hull is all the way out and just the tip of the dagger is slicing across the surface of the water like the dorsal fin of an inverted shark.  You are hiked out on a parallel plane with the tops of the hulls which puts your head about eight feet above the surface of the water.   With the lines coming out of one hand like the reins to a pair of mustangs pulling a runaway wagon, and the tiller in the other hand, you are one unexpected gust of wind away from disaster.  Disaster can be as simple as a blow-over when you mistakenly turn away from the wind.  Or it can be as dangerous as when the tip of the leeward hull (the hull on the downwind side, the one in the water), digs into the water and 18’ of fiberglass screaming at 20 knots cartwheels to a sudden stop.  The top of the 28’ foot tall mast slams into the surface of the water.  You, on the other end of the trapeze, become an out of control ragdoll at the end of a tetherball line.  As you fly forward, the boat has almost stopped, and you brace for impact watching for the hulls and stays.  If you are lucky you end up in the cushion of the jib.  The unlucky end up crashing into the forward part of the hull.  In-between are a maze of lines and wires waiting to catch you like a clothesline.  Is this fun?  Oh yeah!

Fortunately the sailor learns from these mistakes and in the future adjusts the sails correctly to keep the tip of the leeward hull from going under and digging in like a shovel.

When you head to the beach you quickly understand what sailors mean when they say the Hobie 18 is the ultimate “Beach Cat”.  The beach, the surf, and the swells of the Gulf of Mexico are where this baby shines.  One would think that skipping across the tops of 3’-5’ swells in the Gulf would be a terrifying ride.  But with an eight foot beam and 18 feet of length to bridge across peaks of the swells, the ride is amazingly smooth.  As the aft end of one hull leaves the peak of a swell, the fore end of the opposing hull has already engaged the next swell – creating a delicate balance.  Occasionally you catch a swell just right and the entire 18 feet launch off the liquid ramp and gets airborne.  As you hang out on the trapeze and the hulls gently drop down into the bottom of the swells, you get a cooling splash of water as the tops of the adjacent swells rush by and try to knock you off the wing.

Launching off of the beach through a crashing surf, and then flying through the five-mile run from the jetties at Port Aransas to the grouping of condos half way to Corpus Christi is one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done.  It is never dull, always exciting, and forever inviting.

Here’s to Happy Sailing!