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I went out last Friday, launching to some medium size waves that were ridiculously close together. It was the wettest successful launch I have ever experienced.
I will not bother with a fish report. Suffice it to say that the skunk is still in the building.
On the way in, I became a little concerned about landing with sets coming in at 5-7 second intervals so I decided that I would give the back-in method a try. The tide was low and the surf had really calmed down so it was not really necessary. On the other hand it is probably better to try out something new under mild conditions rather than having to learn under the gun.
Since I ride a Hobie, there are a couple things that have to be taken care of which guys on paddle yaks don't have to worry about. I locked the peddles in the up position against the hull and pulled up the rudder. With the bow pointed into the swells, I started to paddle backwards. Whenever a swell came through, I paddled forward a bit just to keep the bow pointed in the right direction.
It worked great. Every wave pushed me closer to shore. When I reached knee-deep water, I hopped out. It could not have been easier.
Of course when I got to the beach, my buddy TMan came over and started ragging on me for my unmanly method of landing. Unmanly or not, I will keep that method in mind the next time I face difficult landing conditions.
Thanks for the suggestion Jorluivil.
Bob
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