Quote:
Originally Posted by DBreskin
I crewed a Tornado a few times when I lived in Miami. Very nice boat.
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When first introduced, brochures showed the Tornado
towing waterskiers! 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DBreskin
My high point was taking 2nd-in-class in the 1987 Miami - Key Largo race on my Prindle 16. My brother and I completed 50+ miles in under three hours...That's another concern; I don't want to find myself becalmed far from the ramp. It's a real pain to paddle any distance.
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• My A-Cat (Kevlar, wave-piercer,
no carbon
) had
Prindle rudders, that I had to bolt down!
• Lake Winnipesaukee's breezes are subject to quick changes. Even with the mast already raised, you can be rigging your catamaran and, before finishing, the wind can go to nothing!
If you don't launch at dawn from Libby's, the drive to Melvin will save waiting
in line at Libby's. (If there is such a thing as a line at that ramp).
• While the sun was setting, I had sailed the Tornado into the "dead zone" off Keewaydin Point—and had no paddle and no lights!
With spouse at the helm, two of us stretched out on the two forward decks of the Tornado and paddled
using just our hands the ½-mile home! The boat "drove" surprisingly fast, and upon arrival, each of us stated "I won".
• To see what improvement the new Hobie-18 would be to my Hobie-16, I rented a Hobie-18 in Moultonborough, and sailed it to Wolfeboro. (And later bought a Hobie-18-
Formula with the tall mast, square-topped sail and wings—
wings I quickly removed).
I'd launch from Melvin Village.
• IMO, The Broads is over-rated for sailing. When winds fail, you're always too far from home. (Though I get out there regularly—but before 11:32-AM).
Each shore and each island produces its own winds—plus, breeze-producing clouds develop over land.
That said, I don't know how the weekend sailboat races off Welch Island fare; I suspect they have the occasional "drifting-matches".
• Sailing off Key Biscayne's
Hobie Beach was very pleasurable, but the prevailing ocean breezes were also very predictable. I lived "behind Tony Roma's restaurant on the highway", and trailered to Hobie Beach. My new-to-me Hobie-16 had unblemished hulls, but I was greeted with the sight of a dozen other Hobie-16s
sanding their hulls!
.