I I became hooked on watching Riger Mann's final approach to the finish on the Tracker. He was racing two other boats very closely, a large cat and an Etchell of all things. Truely amazing. They got away from him and Roger needed some sleep, I could see he had stopped but the tracker was showing 0.3 of a knot for some reason. Daylight came and Roger sailed in, here he is finishing on the Alaska harbour web cam.
Someone then posted why he was moving when sleeping. Seems he had lost his anchor when the boat pitch poled! So he tied up a large floating patch of kelp!
His boat is the new 2015 version which is larger, much more floatation, perhaps not enough though the conditions were extreme in the first week. Half the fleet dropped out.
Roger was developing a home build wooden version of the Hobie with Metz Boats
http://www.metzboats.de/htm/designs/multihulls/triraid560s/triraid560s.htmBut the shipping cost was so high to the race and back home that it was the same amount to just buy the new version. He has it up for sale or will donate to a local charity if not sold. I reckon Hobie should buy it and display it at all the boat shows.
Talking of people doing amazing things in smal adventure boats, Keith from the OCSG has posted a video this morning of a recent trip they did around the Isle of Wight. I was swimming off the beach at Milford that morning and the only reason I could swim was that the waves were breaking on the sand bar and I could swim between the bar and the shore. White tops right across the Bay. Quite a testing trip but does show, as Roger's does, what small boats can achieve if the helm is experienced enough. Very impressed that a new 2015 updated model Hobie took such a testing trip and finished. Although plastic it must be well engineered.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ouqWTir4xmQ&feature=youtu.beBrian
Locked
