Welcome to the webpage that introduces our fleet.  My name is Joanie - and I'm pretty new to the world of Hobies and catamarans.   Born and raised in Texas, I lived along the Gulf Coast over twenty years and never learned to sail.  So now that I live in western Maryland, and have never lived so far away from a decent body of water, I've decided to own sailboats and start sailing - especially catamarans.  Go figure.
        In the 70s I taught myself how to sail a Snark while in college, but ten years ago I rented an H-16 near Destin, Florida and sailed my first catamaran.  The fellow assured me if I remembered to release the jib AFTER the catamaran finished its tack, I would do just fine.
        I'm sure I exhibited no real forte for sailing catamarans, and didn't try to fly a hull or attempt anything with the trapeze.  But a dolphin swam alongside for a short while, so I knew I would remember the first day I sailed a Hobie.  By the end of that day I was already caught up in that whole "Cult Mystique" that seems to surround Hobie Cats and their owners.  I really wanted to get one.

        For a couple years I noticed an older gentleman kept an H-14 Turbo moored at the local  lake.  Remembering how much I enjoyed my first Hobie sail, I asked him to keep me in mind - should he ever decide to sell.  I liked the small size of his H-14, and appreciated how it was geared for the solo-sailor.  He took my name and number, and I crossed my fingers.  Western Maryland is the "nautically-challenged" part of the state, and our list of sailors (much less Hobie cat owners) isn't long. 

        Meanwhile, the few Hobies I could locate were in sorry shape, had no trailer, or were too far away; and three years later I was STILL looking and still hoping to hear from the gentleman at Rocky Gap.  When I just couldn't wait any longer I wound up driving to Michigan to pick up a very nice H-14T on a registered, road-worthy trailer.  Don't laugh - but within half a year I found a second Hobie Cat - only two and a half hours away.  I bought it, too.  And not long afterwards I bought a third as a parts boat.  Between these three I was able to completely outfit two very nice Hobies, with parts to spare.
        But by then I couldn't stop:  I've since added two Trac-14s, an AquaCat, and several other boats (single, dual, and tri-hulled) to my personal fleet.  I try to rotate their use at the lake, so I can keep all of them in good working order.  Most of my family think I'm nuts - but my two nephews think it's just great.

           And what about the elderly gentleman with the Hobie?  Although I am new to the World of Hobie, Derr is a seasoned sailor having sailed his H-14 for many years at The Gap.  He turned 83 last year, and is by far the most active sailor of The Rocky Gap Hobie Fleet.  He's more apt to be the one sailing if you see a boat out on the lake.  I'm lucky he decided NOT to sell his Hobie, because two catamarans sailing together are always better than one.
          Derr taught me how to rig my Hobies, and has been a valuable source of information so I could fully enjoy them in the tricky mountain winds.  He's also a glider pilot, so his knowledge of wind properties has been very beneficial.
          We recently added a third fleet member, Elaine.  She received an H-16 from her uncle and began learning the tricks to sailing it towards the end of the 2002 sailing season.  She is a welcome addition to the fleet.