I own a Hobie Wave and it is a blast in the surf. I also own an I-20, I-17R, and even a couple of Sunfish (for sailing with our friends at Woodlawn Sailing Club in San Antonio). However, as much fun as the "fast" Cats are there is still a real rush to surfing the little "ice chest" in 2 - 6 foot Tybee surf.

Tybee is not really known for great surf, but we do get some legitimately good days and even a few great days and the sea breeze is usually reliable. Tybee has come into its own as a hot Kitesurfing spot which gives it the right mix for the Hobie Wave Surfing thing.

Anyway, I was thinking about promoting a new event for the Waves at Tybee Island, GA. Three day event with one day of buoy racing, one day with an out and back distance race to one of our neighboring barrier islands, and then a third day with a "Surfing Contest" as in catching waves and getting judged (and just plain having fun and hot dogging it)...I'm a member of ESA (Easter Surfing Association) for regular surfing and I know our District rep would help put on a super weekend with all the surf contest flair...big luau, music, etc.

Tybee is in a good central location between Florida and the Mid-Atlantic States and not that far from the Gulf States.

It could be a lot of fun...maybe we could get some charter boats from the factory. Maybe a late spring date or early summer...water temps in the high 70's to low 80's, nice beach, funky beach town atmosphere...don't have to worry about tearing up your $14,000 Inter 20 in the surf.

Anybody think this is a good idea???

Jim Stone
Entegra Racing

Jim,
Have you actually gone in and out through the surf yourself on a Wave? Because of their buoyancy, I can sort of picture them being fun surfing in to the beach; but I have heard that they have a really hard time getting OUT through the surf. I would be interested in hearing your experience.

Also, you might have a hard time getting Hobie charter boats for such an event after your reference to "tearing up" Inter 20's in the surf. Manufacturers like charter boats coming out of an event looking as new and unblemished as possible.

Hi Mary,

Yes I have surfed the Hobie Wave in surf as big as "head high" (6') foot surf. The trick to getting out when it is bigger is timing the sets and knowing where the "channel" or rip current is. You also have to fall off as necessary and heat it up as soon as you clear a wave. The whole wave piercing hull concept works until the wave hits the front cross beam on some boats...I think this may be a problem with the F-18HT's this year in the Worrell but let's hope not. The Hobie Wave and Inter 20 both with their increased buoancy float over the wave as long as it is not cracking right on top of you. Wave piercing works in chop or smaller waves, but look at surfing as an example...Shortboarders do what is called a "duck dive" which is essentially board and rider diving and piercing through the water and under the wave and allowing the wave and the majority of its impact flow over top of them. We old fat guys who surf longboards have to blast through, use the rip or even turn turtle to let the wave flow over us as even with our longboards being able to pierce the wave, once the body is impacted you are going tumbling or backwards towards the beach. Since you cannot get the sailors, rigging, sails, etc. under the surface of the wave there is going to be an impact with something that is non-piercing if the wave is big enough and the wave breaks before it gets to you. I've had my Inter-17R out in the surf and it has a much narrower entry profile than the Inter 20 and it behaves pretty well also so I cannot make a judgement as to one design that works best for all wave conditions. I have five different surfboards for the different wave sizes and conditions so there is probably not one best solution in Cats either...only compromise.

The most importanrt things are speed, timing the wave sets, and knowing wher the rip is in my opinion.

Rod Waterhouse and Jaine Livingston are both surfers and you can see how well they do compared to most of the Worrell teams when the surf gets over a couple of feet. When I was sponsoring and supporting Rod in the Worrell with Team Guidant we would always have the wave sets timed and know where rips were which provided a faster ride to the outside.

Most of the time I take the Hobie Wave out in the smaller 2 -3 foot summer surf and with a little practice it is great fun. You are probably right about the factories fear of the boats getting tore up, but I can say from experience that the Hobie Wave is one tough boat.

I just think the Wave is a cool little boat and was trying to think of some new ideas to have some fun with it. There is plenty of serious racing out there...this was just a fun idea to show off another side of the Wave.

All the best,

Jim Stone
Entegra Racing
Inter-20
Inter-17R
Hobie Wave

Jim,
I think it is a really good idea. After all, that's the kind of thing that got people so excited about Hobies to begin with. And, as you mentioned, it would be a great way for people to learn how to sail in surf before they take out their bigger, more expensive boat. You ought to have a class -- "Introduction to Surf Sailing." Lots of inland sailors never even see surf. When Hobie National Championships were held on an ocean, we Midwesterners were very intimidated. To me, it was always scarier coming in through surf than going out -- very out-of-control feeling. I personally would love to learn the techniques in a controlled setting, with relatively low surf and people to help if I capsized.

In fact, I would think there are some Worrell 1000 sailors (or any coastal distance racers) who could also use the practice. Maybe you could get Mike Worrell to help with the class, too, because I understand he is a fanatic about surf sailing and very skilled at it.

I think a class is the way to go, because that would appeal to all the recreational sailors (cruisers) as well as the racers. If it is done in conjunction with racing, that would probably turn off a lot of the cruisers.

I would bring my Wave to a class like that. Sounds like great fun.

I grew up on the coast of Washington and surf sailed in an area called Leadbetter Point, which is approximately 4 square mile area of breaking surf. Therefore, I had a lot of practice in the surf and in an ideal area for cat surfing. I sailed my H14 there and the H16, and to be honest no cat sails as well as these boats in the surf. The Wave reminds me of sailing a box through the surf, just not a good boat in the surf. Let me emphasize the Wave is easier to sail with the waves (obviously) than punching out through them as it will almost feel like you are going backwards, so you need a good amount of wind to get out through the waves depending on their size no matter what technique you use to try to make the Wave behave better in the surf. I think it would be fun in 2-3' surf like someone mentioned but definitely not in bigger surf, actually it may even be unsafe in larger surf (like surf sailing is safe). A friend of mine just got back from Hawaii as an employee of a sailboat rental business and told me that the Wave is just horrible to sail through the surf. So, if you want to go for a sail on a Wave just get out and back through the surf as quickly as possible by timing the waves, etc. The Wave is just not a great surf cat, like almost all symmetrical hulled cats. This is just an area that is not the Waves talent. I have also sailed the Pacific Cat, Prindle 18, TheMightyHobie18 and 21 in the surf. The 21 was not good in the surf, the 18 was ok, the Prindle 18 was slightly better, and the Pacific Cat buried them all but still not as good as the 16. Sorry probably gave more info than you wanted. It will be interesting to see how the new Hobie Bravo sails in the surf, it is definitely more response than the Wave, which is a good characteristic to have in the surf (come to the 2003 Hobie Bravo Nationals on beautiful Lake Coeur d' Alene, should be a lot of fun - more info coming - Aug 2003).

Thanks for the informed reply...but the Hobie Wave does OK in the surf from my experience. I agree that the Hobie 14 is better in the surf. My family lived in Hawaii from 1972 until 1986 and I had a Hobie 14 over there where I learned to both board surf and Cat sail. The 14 was a blast and better than the Wave I agree. My friend Harold ran the sail and surf concession on Ft. DeRussy beach in Waikiki (next to the Hilton Hawaiian Village). I would hang out there and go surf my Hobie at "number threes" and "Pops". I've never surf sailed a 16 but I'm sure it is quite good.

The reason the Wave is still a fun boat in the surf is you can take more chances and not risk major breakage to the boat or seriuos injury...if you stuff it the boat will often pop right back out. If you have an old 14 or 16 that's probably a better boat, but the Wave is fun for all sizes and ages.

The Wave reminds me of the foam top surf boards that are used by the surf schools now...no "real surfers" would admit to wanting one or owning one, but they are actually OK to surf on...Not as good as regular fiberglass or epoxy board but great to learn on and fun to goof around on.

I went out on the Hobie Wave surf sailing today in 3 foot to occasional 4 ft sets at High tide here on Tybee. Water temp was cold in the high 50's but it was still a good time with my 4/3 wetsuit and a spray top.

Stay Wet,

Jim Stone

Jim,
This sounds like a great idea. I used to "surf" my Dart 16 down the face of 2-6 ft breaking waves and over a sandbar break on Cape Cod. The Dart was similiar to the wave (no boom, no boards) The guys that would be able to deal with a surf/sail event would be the sailors who surf. The sailors that dont surf probably cant visualize what you are thinking about. Dont let the naysayers get you down on this... go find a bunch of sailers who surf or surf kayk. And make sure everyone wears a helmet if it gets over a couple of feet.

Surfing sounds like fun, but it also sounds deadly and expensive.

I remember how many times I dove the nose of my surfboard while learning. Considering how easy such a maneuver is in a cat, I think that pitchpoling in rought, shallow seas would be bound to break either man or machine.