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 Post subject: 1st sail, 1st rescue
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 6:45 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:31 am
Posts: 4
Location: New Hampshire
I picked up my sail today and took it to a small local pond to give it a try. Winds were variable and gusty, 10-25 mph. I was in a Revo equipped with ST turbo fins, standard rudder, no amas. In the lighter winds the boat is a sweet sailer. Smooth and stable. In the higher winds I could not trim the sail properly without the boat trying to roll. The result was that I kept luffing the sail to stay upright and losing momentum. I had a few nice runs with the lighter wind on a broad reach with the gps reading just under 5mph. When I got home, I installed both the amas and the sailing rudder. With those installed the 20mph wind should be a lot of fun.

I was a little nervous about trying to take down and stow the sail on the water and in the wind. Then I noticed some strange splashing a few hundred yards away. It appeared to be two kayaks spilled and unable to re-enter and about 200 yards from shore. I was not sure how life threatening the situation was, so I assumed the worst. I quickly took the sail down, rolled it up, and lashed it to the starboard paddle holder. No problem. Very easy even in the wind.

I then pedaled over to the yahoos (oops, that's not politically correct - the recreational kayakers) at 5+mph. The ability to go that fast still amazes me. My T120 can only get to 5 with maximum paddling and a tail wind. Anyway, it was a young couple kayaking for the first time, no pfd's. She had flipped, he tried to tow and also flipped. They had the two boats tied together with about 15' feet of rope so I grabbed the rope in the middle and towed the 2 submerged boats and two people into shore. It was slow going, but I could not have done it without the mirage drive.

Myco


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 7:40 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:55 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Saint Albans Bay, Vermont
Good job on the rescue. I see you are in NH and am sure the ponds there have similar temperatures here in VT. I went swimming yesterday and the water temp was around 48 degrees. Freekin cold let me tell ya. One could easily succumb from water like that in a matter of minutes. And not to have a pfd is just plain stupid. I hope they were grateful for the rescue. Again, good job!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:11 pm 
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Hobie Approved Guru

Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
Posts: 3017
Location: Escondido
Excellent job and a great story! It's in situations like this where Hobie's unique capabilities can become vitally important.

Mirage drive kayaks have a power margin that really comes in handy in situations where rescue is necessary. This is even more important when bad weather shows up suddenly. For this reason, it's good to carry a tow line -- just in case.

Welcome to the Hobie Rescue Squad! 8)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:01 pm 
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Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:03 pm
Posts: 160
Location: Warwick, RI
I've towed a sunken jet ski back in my sea kayak man that thing was heavy.

I've also done a couple t rescues while sea kayaking in the surf gives u a good feeling....

tide was going out...5 foot swells and i see a couple recreational kayakers out in little recreational kayaks...knew it was trouble so i kept my eye on them im glad i did


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:51 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:32 pm
Posts: 142
Good post; better rescue.

Nice job.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:25 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:12 pm
Posts: 50
Location: Pace, FL
Great rescue!! :D I can't believe people go out without their PFD's. You get a ticket here.. if you don't have one either on... or immediately behind you.. where you can grab it on the way out.


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 Post subject: Great rescue boats!
PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:50 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 9:04 pm
Posts: 58
About a year ago my wife and I were kayaking the High Sierras. One of the lakes we tried out was June Lake. As we were pedalling west, during the afternoon winds, we came across a rental fishing boat with a dead engine, two tired fishermen, and one oar. They were going backwards slowly.

I told Jeanne to head into the marina, to let them know I was bringing their boat in. I told the guys to crouch low in the boat, to reduce the windage, and pedaled them in to the slip (about 1/4 mile or so). As I steered them to the dock, one fellow poked his head over the side and said, "Have you got a motor in that thing!?"

The marina owner had a hard time believing a kayak had towed in his 16' rental boat against the wind.

Ain't these little boats grand!!


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