| Vol 2 - Issue 7 | May/June 1998 |
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Catamaran Sailing A Mono Sailor's View By John Blake Many conventional mono sailors think of catamaran sailors as a strange bunch of folks who want only to sail as fast as possible; no tactics in their racing just speed. During the lunch break for the Commodore's Cup Regatta recently; I was invited to go for a spin on a Hobie 17 with LDSC's answer to Mario Andretti: Michel Pigeon. You may remember that the wind on this day was about 40 - 45kph so we were very quickly travelling faster than I had ever gone before on a sailboat. After reaching Alymer in about 3 minutes; Michel gave me the harness and I went out on the wire, something else I'd never done before. We were going so fast it felt almost like flying. Unfortunately the Hobie 17 has, for no adequately explained reason; the rather disconcerting habit of trying to bury the leeward pontoon at high speeds. This can lead to a sudden deceleration of the boat and the laws of physics state that anything not screwed down continues at the previous speed - including novice Hobie sailors out on the wire. We were about 2/3 of the way across the river when the wind increased and yes, the Hobie found a wave to bury itself in. The next couple of seconds are rather blurred in my memory. I think we were doing about 130kph when the boat stopped dead and I discovered what flying is really like. The "Hobie from Hell" then decided all by itself, to try and accelerate back to top speed. All my previous sailing has involved sitting on or in; or hanging out from the boat; this was the first time I've ever sailed under the boat. I soon realised that hanging from the cross member under the trampoline was not the normal situation but I must admit it was quite exhilarating and would be fun if I could find an easier way of getting there. I managed to clamber back on board and we headed in where our resident medical experts; Paola St.George and Michel Coughlin, managed to control the bleeding from the cut on my leg and very forcefully suggested that I go visit the local hospital. This led to some stitches and a Tetanus shot. You know, catamaran sailors are a strange bunch; all they want is speed, no tactics just speed. Anyone know of a good used Hobie 17 for sale? John Blake BlakeJJ@stentor.ca Back to Features |