Texas 200 - Day 2 recap - Or How I Lost 1st Place

So after my first day and a screaming sail through the land cut (picture included) I decided to start a little earlier this time and maybe have a shot at finishing towards the top 10. I left about 2 hours after most had already left including some of the other multihulls. I knew it would be a challenge catching them but I was curious to see what my boat and I were capable of so I was up for it.

I pushed hard through the morning and around noon is when the winds really picked up. 20-25kts from the SE and they really created some challenging chop when in the open bays. I had to surf around them carefully and sail somewhat conservative to avoid a capsize and possible damage to my boat. I was blowing by boats left and right and having a great sail when I finally saw the front 5 boats. A quick check of my charts showed I had roughly 10 miles until the finish, a measly 1 hour or less at the rate I was sailing.

I was hiking out all morning trying to keep the boat on her feet so I decided to rest my back a little and save it for the last miles where I knew it would count the most. As I was resting/sailing my damn hat blew off and I quickly jybed around to grab it. A Texas200 with no hat is just short of suicidal so I really wanted that cap back. I sailed close to the wind with the mainsheet loose, effectivly hove-to (about as much as you can on a hobie cat) and forereached back towards the fleet looking for my hat. As I was looking and I wasnt paying attention to my sideways drift and I drifted out of the channel and hit a shoal, kicking up both my rudders. This is an issue with hobies, especially mine as it is extreamly difficult to get them to lock back down if the cams dont pop properly. The boat was trying to sail too much for me to jump out with a screwdriver and re-open the cams for the rudders so I decided to sail on, no rudders and no hat. BOOOM! Thats the sound of the boom, a part of the rig on a sailboat, slamming against my head. It almost knocked me out so I sat down before I fell off. I finally got her turned around and headed back for the yacht club after giving up vital positions and watching my victory get away. Upon entering the yacht club channel I blew a tack which caused me to backflip in the high winds funneling through the channel.

What a day right???? Thats how I blew my first place (at least top 5) finish.

the image of landcut shows its amazing position to top speed a sailboat. perfectly flat water in a deep channel cut through the low lying land. winds @ 20kts from the SE. PERFECT!

Hobie Sailing!

I finally sailed the hobie! Basically... it HAULS ASS! We sailed in about 15kts of wind and we had her on GPS doing about 11kts! Not bad for my first time.

In other news... Im about to head to Kemah because tomorrow morning we set sail for Port Aransas! We are going to head about 80 miles offshore into the gulf to check out one of our favorite bouys (The main bouy I use for surfing!) and then head back in. Total trip 1 way should be around 240 miles. We will hang out in Port A for about 2 days before we head back out to sea and return to Galveston. I cant wait!! Im bringing the fish and a wetsuit as well and there should be some small surf later on in the week. Yeeehaw!

My Weekend

Well, I got a lot accomplished this weekend. I finally had a friday off that I didnt have to work or cover for someone so I enjoyed my 3 days and worked hard on the boat. I dont think I worked half as much on my old and much bigger boat but Im hoping I will be rewarded for my efforts.

Friday it was dreary and pretty much crappy weather for trying to work outside on the boat. I called Rami up and learned he was planning something extravagant for his girlfriend for Valentine's. Basically, he bought a little over 1000 balloons and a small handpump and was going to need some help. So for the next 5 hours we pumped and tied balloons and had to call it quits at a little over 850. One balloon had a necklace he bought her and we hid it amongst all the others for her to find.

Saturday I got up early (around 10) and started working on the trailer for the boat again with a new determination to finish up. I learned that Ace Hardware carries the apparently rare rectangular U-bolts I couldnt find anywhere else short of the internet. So after $30 in bolts, I assembled the trailer with the help of my uncle who is living with us right now. We got the trailer almost finished and then the rain set it. I went to the bar that night to meet up with Joe and I learned of a small electrical issue with my car. My step dad said he'd seen it before and it was due to my dual filiment taillights. Thank God someone knew because Im pretty mechanically inclined but I hate tracing electrical issues.

Sunday I finished the trailer and began finishing up the actual boat. We got the new siderails mounted and got the chainplates riveted into the tramp bars. I retensioned the stay that runs over the dolphin striker and fixed a pin that was missing. All my rigging showed up this weekend and I was hoping to rig her but I couldnt find the damn turnbuckle I needed at the local West Marine so once again, Im delayed another weekend. Thats when I noticed that small electrical problem go from small to huge. Basically, the bulbs were not the answer. My dad, who was a commercial electrician once upon a time, helped me trace a little and basically it looks like somwhere 2 circuits have fused together. I have taillights but no dash lights, ac, or brake lights. When switching the fuses, I loose all lights but regain my AC and power windows. Amazing! So, my dad offered to help me tear into it this Saturday which basically ruins my plans to head to Austin to check out a 30ft Allied sailboat. O well....

The New Project

Well, there she is. I mean... there THEY are. I gave Chris the yellow one, mr blue is mine. I picked them both up for $600, they need some work. Hopefully I will be sailing mine this weekend after a few upgrades. They are both Hobie 14 Turbos, meaning they have a front jib instead of just a main. I cant wait, Im super excited!