Sailing the kayak...

I have no photos, but it did happen. Joan had to work today, I didn't (bonus day off in our captain's rotation). I had the Hobie kayak loaded in the back of the truck when I took her to work. My plan: drop her off, get laundry done, go try out the sail kit on the Hobie.

When I took Joan to work, I could see dark clouds building over the mountains... never put off having fun... a guy can get laundry done anytime. So, I didn't have the camera with me, but I put the Hobie in the water and mounted up the sail kit. Easy. I pedaled out of the marina and into the bay with light winds. I tacked, gybed, ran, and reached. With only 25 sq. ft. of sail and the light winds, I didn't get the dunking I expected.

Within a few minutes, I heard the first rumble of thunder... impressive as it rolls through the canyons in those mountains! The visibility was good, I couldn't actually see any lightning, so I ran further out into the lake. More rumbles. Our rescue boat headed out of the marina, on a mission to round up the rentals and head them in. More tacking and gybing on the Hobie for me. Yeah, this is fun. Then, I saw the wind line coming at me on the water... I lined up the kayak for a downwind run towards the marina. I expected a big push, but it just easily picked up speed. I had the sheet in my hand, the tiller in the other hand... might as well try a gybe. Nothing dramatic. Come into the wind a bit, lean a bit in the seat - moving at about the same speed as pedaling. I found that how one positions the pedals to act as a daggerboard makes a difference: close hauled is slow, reaching is fun, running was best with the fins against the hull instead of sticking straight down. Not so different from the SunCat. A LOT different from the F-boat.

When I came into the marina, one of the other captains said, "You were moving right along." Didn't feel like it, but he was probably comparing it to our paddle kayaks.

I found a video on YouTube that shows how to make a furler for the sail, and I can see where that would be very handy. I tried to pick up the PVC for that when we were in Jackson on Wednesday, but no luck.

The scant info that came with the sail said that it is best in winds from 3 to 10 mph (I think). Above that could get interesting. I am guessing it was blowing 8-10 as I came in.

So, with an hour and a half of funnin' around with the sail, I think it was a success. Probably not necessary, since the kayak is so easy to pedal, but I like being a sailor (of sorts) again.