Here are some videos from the trip with the Hobie Getaway Cat. My new roommate, Jack, and another San Juan employee that has his sh...stuff together took the Hobie out night sailing last night. Definitely not a great idea given all of our conditions, but I love a challenge. So, at 9pm in complete darkness the decision was made to go sailing. I had bought some LED lights for the boat so we had those, that was a start, and safety wise, it was pretty much the end. NOT really, but it kind of felt that way. I briefed Jack and Bruce on how to help me "right" the boat should we capsize. I gave them a little spiel on what to avoid hitting as the boat went on its side. The Hobie doesn't really actually capsize, it just goes on a side because the mast has this floaty thing on the top that keeps it from going totally upside down. The winds were pretty much at the top of the range for day sailing, but it was pitch black, not even the moon was out. I told Bruce to steer us NW as we left the sand at Camp Hamilton. We were moving pretty good without any of the sails actually engaged. After hooking up the main sail we screamed out to the lagoon completely clueless. At night there aren't really any boats running except for the Ferry to Ebeye, which we stayed well out of its lanes. There are, however, these huge green marker buoys that weigh more than the boat we were on and are unlit. Hitting them as fast as we were going would have been ugly. We didn't hit anything. It all worked out. We came close, but we had a flashlight, and the buoys have some kind of reflective tape on them that helped at the last moments. Not one of my brighter decisions that night, but its going to happen again, just not under such windy conditions. We were within the regulations being out there, because we did have the necessary lights, and we stayed within the designated area. :)
Monday, May 30, 2016
Memorial Day Weekend....
Here are some videos from the trip with the Hobie Getaway Cat. My new roommate, Jack, and another San Juan employee that has his sh...stuff together took the Hobie out night sailing last night. Definitely not a great idea given all of our conditions, but I love a challenge. So, at 9pm in complete darkness the decision was made to go sailing. I had bought some LED lights for the boat so we had those, that was a start, and safety wise, it was pretty much the end. NOT really, but it kind of felt that way. I briefed Jack and Bruce on how to help me "right" the boat should we capsize. I gave them a little spiel on what to avoid hitting as the boat went on its side. The Hobie doesn't really actually capsize, it just goes on a side because the mast has this floaty thing on the top that keeps it from going totally upside down. The winds were pretty much at the top of the range for day sailing, but it was pitch black, not even the moon was out. I told Bruce to steer us NW as we left the sand at Camp Hamilton. We were moving pretty good without any of the sails actually engaged. After hooking up the main sail we screamed out to the lagoon completely clueless. At night there aren't really any boats running except for the Ferry to Ebeye, which we stayed well out of its lanes. There are, however, these huge green marker buoys that weigh more than the boat we were on and are unlit. Hitting them as fast as we were going would have been ugly. We didn't hit anything. It all worked out. We came close, but we had a flashlight, and the buoys have some kind of reflective tape on them that helped at the last moments. Not one of my brighter decisions that night, but its going to happen again, just not under such windy conditions. We were within the regulations being out there, because we did have the necessary lights, and we stayed within the designated area. :)
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You say you feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, just for the opportunity to go BACK!! Hoping to find a group of friends like you have to get out and go adventuring with! Really enjoyed reading about your experience on Kwaj, love your outlook on life, and look forward to having all of that for myself! Thanks!
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