Hobie 16 Worlds in suva Fiji

Jim and I had a great time in Fiji even though we missed the first Open cut by only 6 boats. We were 55 out of about 104 Open contenders after 4 races, and ultimately the top 49 went on the the Semi's. Crap! We were sceduled to race on the 3rd day, but all races were called due to unpredictable winds which had flipped a few boats on the beach in the late morning. About one minute after calling it, 4 consecutive hours of perfect conditions followed (about 15kts) and knowing the current overall standing would stick made me feel like barfing all over the race comittee. In hindsight it was a terrible decision of them to do this, as the wind died the next day delaying the start of the Semis. When there's wind, send them out man...especially if they traveled thousands of miles for the challenge!

Pine Point Regatta

Here's a cool photo from a local flyer present the day of the CRANNE distance Race at Pine Point Beach. There were two races that day and this pic is after the second race around an offshore Island. The Nacras were flying spinakers and went a further distance...a few Hobies packed up after the first race which was 2-3 hours of sailing. What a great day...I learned that cutting it close around the islands had the consequence of navigating lobster trap fields...with the current running fast by the shore the ropes were at an angle so you couldn't just avoid the buoy, you had to avoid the rope too! Twice I had to come off the wire to pop my one of my rudders back down!

H16 sailing - St. Eiboh's Cove 9-29-07

Bil,

I looked at the GPS tracks and the highest speed I recorded was just over 24mph, not bad for a 30 year old design! There were multiple times where the speeds exceeded 15mph often for a decent distance. I think Doug Baker hit slightly higher speeds probably around 26-27mph for a short distance. I have attached a screen shot of my GPS software showing the tracks we sailed in the afternoon. Feel free to post it on the blog. Thanks again for your hard work organizing the fleet.

Sean McQuilken

Trip to Wildwood, NJ

It's something to see a beach full of Hobies, and even more to know your boat is right there among them ready to go! Sailing can be a solo thing, or a thing to do with a friend, but when you get together with a huge group of people who love to do what you do, it really is awesome. Just down the beach is the Wildwood amusement park...but right here is your very own amusement park with your favorite ride...no lines to stand in, only lines to pull in and fly!!! BW

Last home from a sail at Sebego II. My son Brian at the bow...he enjoyed the early wind as well as the late paddle back in to shore!

It is Official!

I am very excited about the email I received this morning, confirming the charter application has been approved and we now have an active Maine Fleet for Hobie Cat fans!

More later...I'm so late for work!

The Beginning!

Hey all, here we have an historic opportunity to become charter members of a Hobie Cat Fleet for the Great State of Maine..Fleet 207!

Much consideration has gone into the decision to go forward with the new fleet # 207 vs. trying to reactivate the past fleet # 231. Going forward it was felt that the new number better represents who we are in Maine...a number we could wear proudly and one that would distinguish us when sailing outside of the state.

However, I must make it clear for now that this new number has not yet been approved by HCNA, and it is an unusual request, as they commonly assign fleet number (although how they do this is a mystery it seems). It is my hope that they too will see that Maine is a unique territory for a Hobie Fleet, and allow for some flexibility!

All for now,

Bil Weidner