A couple of weeks ago, I was down at Long Beach and finally saw someone else with a WAVE (for the last couple of years of sailing, I was the only one I ever saw).
Naturally, we struck up a conversation. The WAVE owner told me that when he first bought his boat, he took a friend out. They were newbies, and were sitting on the wrong side of the boat and she capsized.
Southern California water can be COLD (sometimes as low as 50 degrees). His friend started to have a heart attck. The guy righted his boat fairly easily, climbed back up on her and then dragged his friend up and onboard. The friend died, right there on his boat.
This was a sobering story for me to hear. I have always invited dang near anyone to come sailing with me. I couldn't bear the thought of someone dying on or because of my boat. I will be rethinking who I would bring and under what conditions I will bring them.
I guess the moral of the story is this: Even though the HOBIE WAVE is FUN, she shouldn't be treated as a TOY. Sailing is serious business.
_________________
"HOBIE....
Say it
LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it
SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my
WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story