Diane has been enthusiastic about learning to pedal and sail the Hobie Adventure Island, so today I took her over to Makena Landing for some practice, and brought along my standup board instead of the second kayak. First breakfast at Moana Cafe (ummm, mahi benedict), then a quick peek at Kanaha (flat and murky-looking) so we were off to the south side.
I had her assemble the Trimaran on her own (good practice, and I’m lazy) but I helped her get it in the water. Sam (the dog) had his float coat on and paddled out to the boat so I tossed him in the Scuba well and hooked him to the boat with a boogey board leash. Off they went, pedaling away, so I jumped on the Jimmy Lewis 11’0″ and followed along behind. I was surprised at how easily I could keep up. Occasionally I needed to bend my knees and paddle hard, but I stayed with Diane as she set sail for one of the tourist snorkel cruise trimarans about a mile away.
Sam was fascinated with his “Dad” apparently walking on water and tried to emulate me several times. The float coat has a handy handle in the middle of the back, so Diane was able to hoist him back into the boat like lifting a sewing machine (albeit, one that’s kicking it’s legs vigorously).
The water was very choppy, with a vigorous wind swell running at nearly 90 degrees to the waves. Made for some interesting practice, but I fell in rarely, maybe four or five times the entire day! I experimented with a number of things, including shortening my paddle stroke (do it–it’s mo’ bettah) and bending my knees to thrust more on the stroke. A hard movement to describe, but you sink deep as you put the paddle in, then rise and pull your feet forward as you stroke, almost like you’re sliding the board forwards with your feet, thighs and knees. Not only is it a powerful stroke, it’s also a very stable one.
I also moved my feet around a lot on the board. I switched from a right foot back position, to side-by-side, to left foot back numerous times. I also experimented with moving forward and back on the board and sinking the rails, sinking the tail, and sinking the nose while I paddled. I found I can turn quickly with the nose sunk using a steady back paddle. I don’t know what this will be good for since when you return to a neutral position the board is dead in the water, but it was interesting to know I could do it.
I’ve also found I can save a lot more upsets–wobbles that previously would have had me heading for the drink. Mostly with paddle sweeps. I think it’s a matter of making these “saves” be an automatic movement. I can pivot the board very quickly now, though the wind picked up so much that I didn’t feel good about sinking the tail. I had the board blow back at me several times, though I managed to save it.
I also find I’m leaning on the paddle a lot harder.
Bottom line, my shoulders are hot and throbbing tonight, my quads are dead, and my stomach feels like someone jumped on it. But it’s all good.
Diane did great, she practiced launching and landing the boat a few times, did a tiny bit of sailing, and pedaled all over the bay. She went out pretty far for a confirmed chicken. She’s getting confident. I’ll have to keep an eye on her. That’s when people get in trouble: Delusions of Competence.
I took Sam out on my standup board for awhile. Total fiasco, but funny. Eventually he had enough and started swimming for the beach. I had a leash on him, so I sat on the board and let him tow me. A one Sam-power motor. Fun for me, I can’t say what he thought about it–he declined to comment.
So here’s the lifts from Giampaolo.
Don’t watch the video before dinner.
I’m not a squeamish guy, I hunt and fish, eat meat, and know where it comes from, but this stuff is simply brutal. I don’t know what the deal is with the Japanese culture that enables them to ignore the suffering of an intelligent creature so blithely, or makes them want to eat everything they encounter. Here’s the link. In marvelous irony, there are google adwords advertisements on the site offering “swim with the dolphins” at Sea Life Park, and “dolphin experiences” at the Mirage hotel that are brutal in their own right (though not in the same realm as this butchery).
There’s an online petition you can sign, though it’s unlikely to make any impact on the Japanese. They’ve ignored international disdain about their environmental practices for decades.
