The pedal interested me the most. Because no matter how advanced a paddle you have, you don’t have 100% of your energy spent on going forward. At the very most, you get around 80% efficiency on your strokes. I found that they have a range of kayaks they call “mirage drive”. They have holes in their hull to house the mirage drive, a contraption that works in the same principle of how penguins propel themselves underwater (looking closely at penguins underwater; you will notice that they “fly”). This Mirage Drive is supposed to do the same; they flap and propel you forward. Being under the boat, each stroke you make is a stroke to move you forward dedicating all the energy you spent on each stroke to the forward movement. As an angler, this means added range, and it’s just plain easier. Since your legs are doing all the work, it frees your hands and you can do a lot of things while your kayak moves forward. It almost feels like you’re walking in water. For someone who loves to troll off kayaks, this made things simpler…in theory. Fast forward a year or so, I had the chance of playing with a couple of models of Hobie kayaks and have come to find that it really is easy fishing with the Mirage Drive. Fishing around rocks and submerged structures, you simply “pull” the fish away from the snag! You pedal hard and steer away. This maneuver will yank the fish away from the snag and give you a fighting chance of landing it. Something very hard to do in conventional kayaks. The Mirage Drive gives you range, efficiency and ease of use. But for some people, this is not enough; which is precisely the reason why I still had the Adventure Island in my mind. With both a Mirage Drive and a sail, everything is multiplied exponentially, the possibilities of reaching less pressured waters offshore and out of most paddler’s range plus a tried and true seaworthy ocean going kayak, could sometimes be too much to bear. The real question is, how would you configure a sailboat into a full-blown fishing machine?
Sailing forward
I laid the Amas on the beach beside the Adventure’s main body, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling ear to ear. Assembling everything took only a few minutes and by the time I strapped the Amas to the Akas and put the 15 foot mast on, I stepped back and couldn’t help but chuckle. “That is quite an impressive sight isn’t it?” I told Richie. “It sure is buddy! I wonder how fast it could go in a stiff breeze like this!” He quipped. “There’s only one way to find out!” I said.
The breeze was chilly that afternoon and racing dhows were zipping up and down the coast. I paddled to deeper water and pulled the mainsheet to unfurl the sail, as soon as the sail caught some wind, the boat started moving. I trimmed the sail by pulling the mainsheet and the boat rocketed forward towards the Burj Al Arab, (I felt the same feeling of freedom I did when I was a young boy, only this time, I was sailing alone). With only two lines to mend, the mainsheet and the furling line, things are simpler. The Mirage Drive is there and is used only to paddle out and position the boat for a favorable angle on the wind. I sailed past a guy on a kayak and he was looking in amazement. I smiled and waved, much like the guy did to me a year ago; I nodded and he gave me a thumbs up, I tightened the mainsheet, put on the daggerboard and headed towards the racing dhows.
Hobie Kayaks are exclusively distributed in the UAE by Leisure Marine. Visit their website or go to one of their shops in Shk. Zayed Road (beside Ace Hardware) and at the JBR Walk. http://leisuremarine-me.com Give them a call at +971 4 4243133 or find them on facebook (Leisure Marine - Beach St)
Till next tidechange, Kit
Wait for me fishies…I’m coming to get you!
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