hi all,
i live in the mountains of japan and sail on a small lake, about 2 miles across, surrounded by volcanos

a good size for windsurfer, laser or other small/slow sailing dingies

i had been looking to get a hobie 14 but they never seem to come with a trailer and are at least hundreds of miles, away meaning transport costs would be another $300-400

http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w14332931

so when a good condition 17foot nacra came up for sale on the lake i bought that

so, who else sails on small lakes and what advantages/disadvantages do you find from doing so?

advantages

- freshwater, so little corrosion
- pretty safe for sailor, as are never too far from shore if boat flips or gear breakage
- when winds die not hard to get home
- if you fall off and boat sails away it can't go far
- very scenic for photos

disadvantages

- you can't get into the groove and sail a fast reach for very long before running out of water
- lake is surrounded by steep rocky shores so if boat sails off by itself it has a good chance of smashing into the rocks
- on very light wind days the wake created by all the bass fishing and wake boarding power boats throws the high volume nacra hulls up and shakes the rotating mast around
- you tend to sail your legs as long as possible and then have to contend with tacking in the fluky airs close to the steep shores

have attached a shot from last weekend, getting colder now needed a cap and gloves, experimenting with trap wires with a windsurfer belt

would like to get a trailer sometime and get out to the coast but the hassle/costs involved with that in japan is unbelievable