(no subject)

[timepiececlock]

new favorite quote:

"A ship in port is safe, but this is not what ships are built for."
-Grace Hopper

This makes me want to go sailing again, even though we went a few days ago on New Year's. But there was hardly any wind! It doesn't count. That's what you get for not getting out of the estuary and into the frickin' bay.

I'm going to buy a Hobie Cat when I get older, and live on my own, and have money.

For those not sailing geeks, a Hobie Cat is a type of small double-hulls boats (called catamarans), invented by a guy named Hobie. They're fast, fun, and flip with the enthusiasm and frequency of pancakes on steroids.

But they're fun.

And this is also something that I'm going to require about any man I plan to marry: they either have to like boats, or have the active willingness to learn to like them. Because I love boats, and my kids are going to be exposed to boats, and I'm going to buy boats, and that's how it's going to be.

Comments

Hobie Cats

[ipomoea.livejournal.com]

Those things just scare me. I've never been on one, but that darn shark movie with all the kids trapped on one ruined them for me permanently.

Re: Hobie Cats

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Aw, pishposh! That was the dumbest movie ever. First of all, nothing beats the original Jaws. Second, no shark behaves that way. Heck, the way the shark in the first Jaws behaved was wildly abnormal.

I can't really help you with your shark-fear, but does this mean you don't do any watersports like that at all? Anyway, hobie cats should scare you because they flip hella easy, not because of sharks.

But they're so fun to sail. I've only been on one once, and I loved it--- even more than a Laser, which up until that point had been the most fun small boat that I'd sailed.

Re: Hobie Cats

[ipomoea.livejournal.com]

Oh, not so much sharks really. I know the odds are miniscule (although I would probably be that one-in-however-many-million...). But the flipping over is definitely not of the good where I live. The Gulf of Mexico around where I live, as well as Galveston Bay, is absolutely disgusting, and I wouldn't willingly go in the water here without a HazMat suit on first. Yet I will still ride the ferry. And if I ever get a free summer I've always wanted to crew on the Elissa.

Re: Hobie Cats

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Is the Elissa a ferry?

I live in San Jose, so most of my sailing has been done in the various lakes in California (big and small), and in San Francisco Bay, and surrounding area. Though, I couldn't possibly sail in the bay by myself, not at my skill level.

side trivia-- did you know SF bay is one of the 7 most dangerous places to sail in the world?
It's because of the traffic, combined with the wind movements. There's so many boats in there, and a lot of cargo tankers, and pretty incredibly strong winds.

I've never been to the Guld of Mexico-- closest was Cancun vacation, probably (which we flew to, so no boat). What state do you live in? (not near any maps)

Re: Hobie Cats

[ipomoea.livejournal.com]

I live in Texas, about halfway between Galveston and Houston. The Gulf is pretty nasty where I live because it's right in the curve of it. Then there's Galveston Bay, which is an inlet from the Gulf. It made the news a couple years ago for producing shellfish that were making people seriously ill. I know the Gulf is clear over by Florida, and gets gradually muddier the further into the curve you get. It's clear again by the time you get to the Texas/Mexico border, I believe. Although I've been to Biloxi, in Mississippi, and it's pretty nice there too because they have manmade barrier islands that keep all the yuckiness from the storms and the big ships out.

And nope, the Elissa isn't a ferry. She's an 1877 tall ship, and she's just gorgeous.

Re: Hobie Cats

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

It made the news a couple years ago for producing shellfish that were making people seriously ill.

I might have read/heard about that, but my memory is telling me "Great Lakes".

ooh... looks like a gorgeous boat. I bet its beautiful in real life. I love square-riggers, they just have this look of... of something. Something wonderful.