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 Post subject: First outings
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 2:51 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Well, I'm glad to tell I finally got my 2009 dune AI delivered in time 2 days ago by my Hobie dealer. Good job 8)
And as yesterday was a day off, I headed off to an inland body of water called the Etang de Berre (close to Marseille, in southern France, on the Med sea) as it provides shallow and sheltered water, desirable for a first run.
All went flawlessly. Wind varied from 5 to 10 knots at the max, so the overall speed isn't that thrilling but hey, better than wind waiting if I had been there with my kitesurfing gear and less tiring than if with my previous paddle-only kayak. That's the whole point isn't it :mrgreen:
I only used the Mirage drive for 5 minutes at the very beginning, just to try it, and at times in the longish upwind leg in the afternoon when coming back to shore, let's say the an hour on the whole. Pretty neat. Be sure it is well seated, and yes position 4 is the one where it goes in better but my legs are sized for 6 :roll:
I also tried paddling again just for manoeuvers or beaching, and have to say it was much better than during my trial at the dealer, due to my using another paddle than the one provided by Hobie, which I'm not very fond of.
I was careful to really push firmly the seat and this time too, it didn't slip.
Pretty confortable and relaxing, particularly downwind, where it was a pleasure to stay close to shore and look at some good sights.
Setting up and transporting went without problem, and I'm rather satisfied with the inflatable roof rack I bought.
Next buy definitely is a waterproof camera.
Here's my GPS track and a pic . Others can be found at : http://www.toofiles.com/fr/oip/document ... tosai.html
http://www.toofiles.com/fr/t/images/6626_090521ai1ere.jpg
http://www.toofiles.com/fr/t/images/p21-05-09_140401.jpg



Sorry I really tried to insert the codes provided by the hosting site but nothing works. If anyone can help, here's what it suggests, to no avail :

Image

[img=http://www.toofiles.com/fr/t/images/p21-05-09_140401.jpg]

http://www.toofiles.com/fr/t/images/p21 ... 140401.jpg


http://www.toofiles.com/fr/oip/images/j ... 40401.html


Last edited by arno on Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 3:48 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 2:32 am
Posts: 1807
Location: Terrigal NSW, Australia
Tres chic Arno :wink:
Image
I couldn't find your GPS track.

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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 4:06 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Here it is now

Image
By arno13

And another view on another beach :
Image
By arno13

But I still don't figure out about inserting pics :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 2:43 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Wonderful, congratulations on your maiden Voyage!

Your White AI is beautiful, we are not allowed to have them in Australia, we have only lurid Red and Yellow.

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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:37 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
G'Day Arno,
I'm glad your AI finally arrived. It does look great. 8)
When you say you only used the drive for 5min did you remove it then and try sailing with just the plug in? If not you should try that as well if conditions are light. It is like taking the brake off.
Are you having trouble adjusting the pedal positions?

Skymax,
You can have a dune AI here as long as you are prepared to pay for it. Just order a Dune Adventure and the AI upgrade kit to match.
It'll cost about $1000 more though! :(


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2009 5:00 am 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Good one Arno. Great looking AI and glad you're getting a buzz out of it. You'll be glad to know, and I'm pretty sure the other blokes on the forum will agree, that the buzz doesn't seem to go away. Sail'n round the South of France, it doesn't get much better than that. Welcome to the forum mate. Look forward to talk'n with you in the future.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2009 12:35 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Thank you all for the kind words.
Yes, on the first outing I was set almost all of the time with the drive well plug instead of the Mirage drive. Yesterday I went for a longer trip (took me more than 10 hours to complete), and this time I used more the Mirage drive, perhaps 1/3d of the way, in almost no wind (thank God I had an alternative mean of propulsion, well two indeed !)
Now that I have played with it a little, even set at 6 (very easily done btw), the MD goes in no problem, it's just a matter of 'initial rake' when inserting it before the 'click'. Even in choppy conditions, no problem now.
As for the buzz, well I wasn't really aware of that ; just one word about the color : in reality, or at least in the batch of Dune AI I got, it looks beige as well as white, be aware. No problem for me but still a distinct step from white.
A word on the Turbo fins (kindly fitted by my dealer) : just great ! At first I thought I wanted even more resistance when pedaling, but actually when you have to cover some distance at a steady pace, more would be too much, in my case at least.
Still no pics of the second outing (gotta save first...) but I will give you the gps track as soon as I find a way to convert it from sbn to gpx file format (too big at 3.9Mo to use GPS visualizer as usual)...
Let it be said that in only two sessions, I am already purely in love of the AI, a brilliant piece of kit. I just had to leash everything to be sure and off it goes !
I initially thought I would use a barber hauler or do something about the seat plugs, but now after a few hours, I think it's fine with me the way it is.
One tiny thing for sure : I will sand a little the rudder lever as it can do with some polishing.
One other thing I noticed : above 10kts of head wind, do not hesitate to reduce the sail surface exposed to the wind, you won't loose much speed (if at all) or angle to the wind, and the boat is better balanced, as can be felt through that rudder lever.
Oh, and one last word for today, I will definitely try some trail fishing ! All the fishermen I met (loads of them to be true) gave me quite envious looks :oops:
PS : yes the Med coast is certainly worthwhile, but do consider Corsica if you plan to pay a visit, unforgettable (my AI paramount top on the wish list) !


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2009 2:10 pm 
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Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 8:19 pm
Posts: 72
Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Howdy Arno!

I've been eagerly waiting to hear of your first sail on the AI, knowing that misgivings you'd posted before being on one would evaporate.

It will only get better as you learn the boat's capabilities, then trust it to go into the upper envelope of it's fun factor. When circumstance forces you to be out in wind and weather that's not fun and things become "fighting for survival", you'll be very happy you're on an AI rather than an ordinary kayak.

The AI's are still so new, we're all cutting edge. That's especially so for you in France.

Happy Trails!, my friend,

Chris

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the love you take,
is equal to the love,
you make...
--The Beatles


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2009 3:43 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Cheers Chris 8)
Actually, and I hope I'm not disclosing classified information, there appear to be only a handful of AIs down here. A pity !
For the first trips, I prefer to stay on the safer side, and haven't yet gone to the sea itself. And for now the only +15 kts wind I had was when I had to go upwind yesterday so I'm still waiting for a hopeful speed thrill to come. As you rightly say, it's better to push the enveloppe step after step if I may say so.
Now talking about misgivings, I think you refer to the difficulty I had in getting a 2009 model, and not a 2008. I insisted on that point because of Mirage drive seating / moulding changes that I had heard about. And now that I see I won't hesitate to 'pound' happily one those pedals on every occasion I have, I don't regret having waited and paid a some more.
Thanks for the words of wisdom.
I wish you steady wind and happy trails too 8)
I guess with summer setting in for us, these shouldn't be late in coming :wink:


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 Post subject: Re: First outing
PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 9:39 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Some pics of my last session : http://picasaweb.google.com/ArnaudKite/ ... aiEnKayak#
(includes the GPS track)
I was planning, or the actually the met office, on an East wind turning south, and faced a West / NW wind in reality :shock:
Still, my AI "kept going" as I like it to. Think I might even like 'her' in a short while. :mrgreen:
For those interested, I went through a town called Martigues, and nicknamed "the Venise of Provence" a little pompously by the locals, and it was a hoot to be able to pass even under the low bridges :wink:

Oh, and this was my second outing GPS track :
Image

And small short videos only in little wind (too many splashes for my mobile phone when really sailing !)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Abdh13


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 Post subject: Re: First outings
PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 7:21 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 2:32 am
Posts: 1807
Location: Terrigal NSW, Australia
Nice shots Arno. Thanks for sharing them. It's always great seeing all the places around the world where people sail their AI's.

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 Post subject: Re: First outings
PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:53 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Well then here's more (south of Marseille this time). 50km in 5-10kts of wind, heading downwind most of the time. Very relaxing ride with beautiful scenery, especially between Cassis and La Ciotat (the city where motion pictures were invented !) These are said to be the highest cliffs in Europe ; at least they're really breathtakingly beautiful, with incredible colors.
Pics : http://picasaweb.google.fr/ArnaudKite/0 ... lleBandol#
Small videos : http://www.youtube.com/user/Abdh13
http://picasaweb.google.fr/ArnaudKite/0906064eSortieMarseilleBandol#5344314713162308034


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 Post subject: Re: First outings
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:41 am 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Hi Arno. The shots look really good. The swell looks as though it gets pretty large for a closed in port. Glad everything is going well with it. I think the water you sail on is about the same size as the lake I'm on. Lake Macquarie is a bit skinnyier so the swells don't look as large. I'm in the process of getting a camera to get some shots onto the forum. Have you got into any fish'n with the AI yet ?

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 Post subject: Re: First outings
PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 11:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:52 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Marseille, France, Europe
Actually the last two sessions were on the Med sea, not like the Ocean, but still we can get massive swell (4 to 5 meter high happen a hanful of times every year, and 2m is quite common). But of course that is in high winds, I only go out in little wind no swell is almost non existent.
As for the pics, I'm using my mobile (LG Renoir) but it's not handy at all as I have to take it out of a waterproof bag everytime I want to take a shot and it has to be in calm conditions.
No, no fishing yet but I'm itching ! (or maybe I'm watching 5thofNovember videos too much ;) )


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