Sailing in the Northwest
January 22nd, 2008
Last weekend, a friend of mine from work took me out on Lake Washington to try out his new kayak sailboats. Of course, this being my first time sailing, I was a little apprehensive. “Me? You want to take me sailing?” I asked quizzically. All I know about sailing is that a boat has a stern, a bow and a mast, and I’m pretty sure two of those three things apply to any boat.
Regardless of my total ineptitude on the water, he still thought it was a good idea, and so began Sailing 101. My friend bought two Hobie Mirage Adventure Island kayak catamarans, so we both had our own craft. We launched from Sand Point in Seattle and sailed across the lake to Kirkland and back in a couple hours. The wind was pretty weak for the most part, making it a very mellow ride.
One of the cool things about these craft is that they have a pedal drive system to propel you when the wind won’t (we had paddles as well). Making them super maneuverable.
I’m sure the nature of the craft we were sailing on made this much easier to learn than it would be on a bigger craft. But now that I’ve done it I would like to try getting on a bigger sailboat at some point.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:12 am
That’s awesome! Sailing is so much fun.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I am very much a passenger when it comes to sailing. When I was younger, I learned how to sail with a girlfriend, although intriguing to learn and in a clutch could still navigate my way to the nearest shore, I loathed the docking, cleaning and storing of the boat and will work to find a friend with a boat so I won’t ever have to deal with it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
One of the best things about these kayaks is that they aren’t sailboats. They don’t require all of the overhead of cleaning, maintenance, equipment, etc. They are also easier to store and much more portable.
Now, you can’t go across the Atlantic in them but you can do camping in the San Juans.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:44 am
sounds dope!! lovin all the philnick blog updates in 2k8!