Rob Hazard

WooHoo! Great job, you two! Congrats!

Pru and Cathy, Do you still have room for participants? I haven't been to Peaks in years, and I do love ice cream!

I want to see the pictures! I want to see the pictures! B^D

Wow! Well done, indeed!

Hi Gary, I'd like to join in again. I would launch from either Dolphin Marina or Winslow Park, depending on how many others choose one of those sites. Cheers, Rob

I just read this report through again. Sounds like most everyone had a great time. I hope John is completely recovered from his broken leg by now! Yesterday morning I ventured out on the Gulf off Yankeetown, FL, with a few fellow Greenland stickers for a serene (flat calm) 10 mile paddle. Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope to paddle with you all next summer! Cheers, Rob

How can they tell he's still there behind that pile of traps?

OK, Pru, next year you got to bring your BANJO!

Thinking further about this, it occurred to me that some people respond to questions like, "Hey, you got your paddle?", or to directions that engage their knowledge, like "Go to the stern of your boat, where the Skeg is!", or to a request like, "Can you swim your boat out to me?" The point in each case is to engage them mentally to an active state and jog them free of the frozen state. Sometimes a quick joke can break the spell and get a swimmer back on the team: "Hey, good thing you're wearing that orange helmet, huh?"

Josko, I don't know how helpful any one magazine article would be. What does help is rescue practice and lots of it. Paddling classes under either the BCU or ACA systems will help immensely. You need to be confident in your ability to handle the conditions and to put a capsized paddler back in the boat and ready to continue, even if it's just to be towed to shore. Practice, practice, practice!

The time and hassle involved in launching and rigging a sailboat is part of why I spend so much of my time in a kayak. The speed and ease of rigging my Coquina is part of why I chose that design as a building project. From the videos you posted, Leon, it seems the advantage of roll tacking is to keep the ends out of the water so the boat spins quicker. Only then do you move your weight to weather, just in time to prevent capsizing. Plus popping the boat upright fills the sail instantly without luffing. Looks like it pays to be <30years old. I spent Saturday helping teach an Advanced Strokes class at Crystal River. It felt just like Chebacco Lake with Manatees!

Does a Sunfish respond to roll-tacking the way a Laser does? Maybe it's not your fault! My Coquina, a 17ft cat-ketch, prefers to be sailed serenely through a tack, with just a touch of backed main to help her around. But she's so pretty I forgive her that quirk.

Gee, I WISH I had it as easy as Leon! I have to put the boat on the car, drive 45 minutes to Cedar Key or Crystal River, lug the boat down to the water, put on a shortie wetsuit for the cold water, blah blah blah... And I have news for you; once you've seen your first hundred manatees, they're BORING! A dolphin swimming under the boat is more exciting, but that doesn't happen all that often. And conditions? Some headwind and a few motorboat wakes if you're lucky! (Jason, your shot of Casco Bay is making me homesick! I must be nuts!)

I'll be there!

I'm hoping to make it. It sounds like a not-to-be-missed show!