SUMMER SCHOOL

~~HOBIE STYLE~~

When the core group planned the Hobie 101 day back in the midst of winter, we nailed down a day that fit into the season’s race schedule. It was nothing less than divine intervention that gave us this day: blue skies, bright sunshine, and a nice breeze.  

Midwest sailing dropped off a Hobie Wave and a Hobie Getaway, while fleet members filled the Whitmore Lake beach area with their Hobies…16’s and an 18. The multicolored sails provided a beautiful backdrop to the Harbor Cove Apartments…our sponsor and providers of unlimited beer and a great barbeque lunch! 

The Hobie 101 program was designed with new and less experienced sailors in mind; and they had the benefit of watching fleet members set up their boats on the beach. We shared assembly and tuning tips and talked about the things that we have added to our boats to make them faster and easier to skipper. 

Matt Bounds then led the group in a chalk-talk, using the whiteboard to discuss everything from mark roundings to some elementary rules of the road. We had some great discussions about sail shape and traveler positions during different points of sail.  

We broke for lunch and filled ourselves with everything from burgers to chips and finished it off with a piece or two of cake. Harbor Cove did an unbelievable job; helping us to provide a day of sailing and instruction, complete with food and drink for a total cost of $0 to the attendees! 

We hit the water after lunch; some of us taking the new sailors out on our boats, while others took advantage of the Hobies supplied by Midwest and made a “Getaway”. John Bauldry found the Getaway a bit much evidently, spilling into the waters after getting the mainsheet locked in moments before a gust!  

We all had a great time on the water for the rest of the afternoon; giving rides and offering advice. We introduced some folks to cat sailing and managed to grow the fleet with the addition of Dan Comstock, who just needs a trailer and he will be hitting the water with his 16.

We wrapped up the day with some disassembly, with everyone pitching in, even the new sailors. We made quite an impression on the lake, with local Hobie owners pushing their boats off the hoists and joining in on the fun. Hopefully, we added some traffic for the apartment complex as well. There are very few places in this area where you can live in an apartment that provides access to the water and a top-notch beach house.  

Thanks again to all our sponsors: West Marine for the marks and the hardware, Midwest Sailing for the Hobie Wave and Getaway, and the Harbor Cove Apartments, for all the food and drinks. Thank you to all the fleet members as well, especially to Matt, for leading the Hobie 101 presentation. The response was fantastic!!