Skeleton Optics, in premiering a line of sunglasses for women, says demand is continuing to increase from female anglers. “Fishing historically has been perceived as a male-dominated sport,” says Eric Storey, the company’s CEO, who adds that “the millions of women who spend their lives outdoors need sunglasses made just for them.”

His company is far from alone in offering an increasingly broad array of styles not only for men and women alike, but also for specific types of on-the-water activities and face shapes. Costa launched King Tide less than a year ago, promising not only its most technical frame to date, but also a version for elite anglers. The new Rigolets line from Bajio is designed for boaters who have smaller, narrower faces, and who previously couldn’t find a comfortable fit. Hobie offers the Everglades Float, which is being marketed not just for general fishing, but in particular flats-fishing and sight-casting.

The one thing they all have in common: This eyewear is being designed by boating and fishing enthusiasts, for boating and fishing enthusiasts. “As avid anglers, we understand the frustration of losing sunglasses while on the water,” says Dylan Coates, marketing manager for Hobie Eyewear.

Bajio Rigolets

Skeleton Decoy

Costa King Tide

Hobie Everglades

Costa Catherine

Skeleton Outlaw

These manufacturers also understand key safety features, which include things like Costa’s venting, which is inspired by sharks, to help prevent lenses from fogging up when skippers are trying to run the boat. Scratch-resistant lenses, ultraviolet protection and more are usually part of the package too.

And as you can see in the examples above, the variety of frames, lenses and styles is pretty darn stunning—as beautiful as the colors of coral on the most vibrant reefs.

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Inflatable kayaks are not a new concept at Hobie, which has been making them for more than a decade. A design breakthrough came in 2014 with Hobie’s first triple-air-chamber stand-up paddleboard. The team then combined that idea with Hobie’s MirageDrive pedal system, which can be used instead of a paddle.

“We launched this boat and found that, because of the triple chambers, the MirageDrive and the seat, the performance was just eye-opening,” says Mark Johnson, senior manager of product development. “This boat was so maneuverable and compact. It was a game-changer, a real ‘aha’ moment for us.”

The model became a bestseller, leading Hobie to develop today’s iTrek series of inflatable pedal kayaks and pedal boards. The five-model series includes the iEclipse stand-up pedal board; the Mirage iTrek 9 Ultralight, Mirage iTrek 11 and Mirage iTrek 14 Duo pedal kayaks; and the Fiesta, a four-person pedal kayak.

“All of the boats except the Fiesta come with a rolling duffel bag that has great wheels and a telescopic handle,” he says. “It’s great for the docks, great for yachts. Everything comes super-compact and fits in the bag.”

Four of the five models have the triple-chamber construction; the Mirage iTrek 9 Ultralight is a single-chamber design for lower weight. At 20 pounds, it can be carried up, say, a hillside in the Caribbean. “Our whole goal with that boat was to make the lightest, most compact design that we could,” he says.

The series premiered in 2021, but because of supply-chain and other pandemic issues, many people saw the iTrek models for the first time at boat shows this past winter. Johnson says he’s excited for more boaters to learn how stable the inflatables feel and experience their speed, which can be 5 or 6 knots.

“The performance on them is so over-the-top. You have this MirageDrive that’s extremely proficient…and you have this steering system that turns on a dime, and you combine it with how light these boats are, and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God,’” he says. “You can go fast enough that you could theoretically get pulled over in a harbor by a harbor patrol. These boats are just fun as heck.” 

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In 1950, Hobie alter built his first surfboard. He later opened Southern California’s first surf shop and went on to invent the first polyurethane-foam surfboard. By the late 1960s, he was thinking about boats, and his Hobie Cat introduced a whole new generation of sailors to the sport.

Today, Hobie is known for surfboards, sailboats and a whole lot more, including kayaks that grace the lazarettes of many superyachts around the globe. The company’s MirageDrive pedal kayaks are popular because they can be used with or without paddling if guests’ arms tire out. Hobie’s inflatable pedal kayaks make onboard stowage easier, and its Pro Angler fishing kayaks can get yachtsmen off the sport-fishing mothership and into the shallows.

The Mirage Island design is arguably the most multipurpose offering in Hobie’s stable of kayaks; it can be used for paddling, pedaling, fishing or sailing. These kayaks are available for single or tandem users, and they come with a retractable centerboard to make sailing easier. In skinny water, Hobie’s “kick-up” technology means that hitting a rock or the sandy bottom won’t be a problem. The kayak doesn’t get stuck; instead, underwater appendages “kick up” so the kayaker can keep going.

And for those who want to use a Mirage Island kayak to fish, Hobie makes the setup friendly to Lowrance displays. It comes standard with a built-in transducer mount and through-hull cable plugs, so a transducer (sold separately) can be added to find the fish.

Perhaps the best feature of the Mirage Island, though, is that it can be beached and then relaunched. So, when you find a sandy spit with nobody else around, you can take advantage of that opportunity too.

Sea-Doo Spark Trixx: Push the Limits

New for 2021, the Sea-Doo Spark Trixx is designed to let riders whip, dip, spin and dunk their way around the water. Available in lava red and deep black (shown above) or in quetzal and manta green, the Trixx comes in versions for one, two or three riders. A portable BRP Audio system with Bluetooth connectivity is optional for adding a soundtrack to a trick routine, and an extended-range variable trim system lets riders exaggerate how high they can raise the craft’s nose or bury it in the water. The handlebar is adjustable for rider comfort, and Sea-Doo’s closed-loop cooling system is designed to keep debris from entering the engine and ruining an otherwise awesome day out on the water.

Peer Into The Depths

California-based Aqua Lung takes its name from the machine that Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnon invented in 1942. The Aqua Lung was the precursor to what we know today as scuba diving equipment, the single invention that spawned decades’ worth of innovations that let people explore beneath the water’s surface.

Now, Aqua Lung makes all kinds of gear, including an array of masks in various styles, colors and sizes. Fields of view can be square or rounded and single- or double-paned. Masks can be used with or without a snorkel. Lenses can be clear or blue, to block high-energy visible light (sometimes called “blue light”). Straps can be wide or narrow, with single or multiple parts. The idea is to help everyone feel comfortable and have a good view, no matter the shape of their face or the type of snorkeling and diving they want to do.

For yachtsmen looking to change up their underwater game, Aqua Lung also offers a bevy of accessories. The Heat Zip Hood can keep divers warm in cooler waters, while hooded jackets made of nylon and spandex can help boaters retain body heat after coming back to the boat. Gear bags are available to pack everything away, then collapse for stowage aboard yachts where lazarette space is at a premium.

Aqua Lung also makes men’s and women’s wetsuits, rash guards and drysuits in various thicknesses and styles, so there is always a good fit no matter the conditions. Gloves come in basic and extra-grip styles, and boots come in high- or low-ankle designs.

The upshot is that no matter how you like to explore underwater, you can do so comfortably. Which, of course, means staying out longer, the most fun of all.

Catch Some Air

In an increasing number of places worldwide, yachtsmen are once again allowed to visit—as long as they stay on the boat. The goal is to minimize interactions with locals and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, essentially limiting visiting boaters to an onboard quarantine.

That’s no limitation at all for yachts that are stocked with watersports toys galore, including the ever-increasing line of products from Texas-based FunAir. The company’s founder was looking for ways to enhance the fun at his lake house, and he ended up creating all kinds of inflatable toys that can be enjoyed aboard express cruisers, trawlers and superyachts alike.

Some of the company’s most interesting offerings include Yacht Golf, which can be set up as a single green in the water or as a course of sorts, with multiple greens floating at varying distances from the yacht. For yachtsmen who have favorite golf courses on land, FunAir can design the floating greens in the same shapes as famous greens from those courses. And the flag for each floating green can be customized with the yacht’s logo.

Another creative offering from FunAir is Water Joust, an inflatable platform that’s much like a balance beam on the water, allowing competitors to swing inflatable jousting poles at each other until one person goes over the side with a splash. There’s a nonslip surface with steps up to the beam, to help players stay balanced, and the poles have easy-grip handles, so they won’t slip out of wet hands.

Loungers of multiple sizes, with or without shades, are also available, and some can be used as part of a floating island—perfect for creating the ultimate socially distanced space in a beautiful harbor.

The post 10 New Watertoys appeared first on Yachting.

Hobie has unveiled its MirageDrive 360, a 360-degree rotating pedal drive for kayak fishing boats.

The MirageDrive lets anglers to maneuver a 2020 Mirage Pro Angler 360 12 or 14 fishing kayak in every direction—backwards, forward, sideways, diagonally—or spin the kayak on its own axis.

Also new are Kick-Up Fins, which automatically retract upon impact. The idea is to let anglers go into shallower waters without having to worry about damage to the drive system’s underbelly.

“The MirageDrive 360 completely changes how you engage with your boat and the environment,” Philip Dow, lead design engineer for Hobie, stated in a press release. “For example, if you’re fishing along a shoreline or highly contoured underwater structure, you can follow those nuances exactly with boat placement. Similarly, with the Kick-Up Fins, shallow and structure-filled waters become far more manageable. Hobie’s MirageDrive 360 completely redefines boat control.”

Can the MirageDrive 360 do what a trolling motor can do? According to Hobie, yes. It can hold a kayak in an exact location and direction against wind or current.

For more information, visit: hobie.com

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Here’s a fun fact: Hobie, the California-based company best known for its Sunfish and catamaran sailboats, has spent the past two decades or so seeing 15 percent to 25 percent growth year after year in demand for fishing kayaks, according to Morgan Promnitz, Hobie’s senior fishing brand manager. During the past five years, he says, kayak-fishing has gone mainstream, with manufacturers of rods, tackle systems and more making gear for anglers who plan to kayak to the fish stealthily, instead of cruising there in a tender with an outboard engine that scares the catch away.

“It’s probably been the fastest-growing segment of the fishing industry in the past six years,” he says of kayak-fishing.

The fact that so many novices want to try the sport is why Hobie just launched its Mirage Passport 10.5 kayak. At $1,299, it’s not intended to compete with the company’s $3,500 tricked-out models for hardcore anglers. Instead, the Mirage Passport 10.5 is an all-purpose kayak for exploring and shoreline fun, but with just enough standard features and removable options that die-hard fishermen also will be happy when they’re the ones heading out.

“The Passports have a track system on either side of the cockpit, on the gunwales, so you can use any accessory that fits into the track: a camera mount, extra rod holders, tool holders, a fish-finder mount, flags, lighting systems—we sell all of them,” Promnitz says. He adds that everything can be removed for safekeeping when the fishing is done and the kids want to play on the kayak.

Key accessories for yachtsmen who want to fish, he says, include Hobie’s H-Crate, which fits in the back of the kayak with tackle stowage, as well as four rod holders and a way to clamp on accessories.  “We also make a livewell, which actually has a battery and a pump in it with three rod holders on the back,” he says. “It plugs into the rear scupper holds. If you want to fish with live bait, you can put it in this livewell and take it with you.”

For owners who offer their yachts for charter, the kayak is not only versatile, but also built to take a beating. Unlike Hobie’s roto-molded kayaks, the Mirage Passport 10.5 is made with thermo-forming technology, which means a machine heats the plastic to create two polyethylene pieces that are welded together. The process lets Hobie offer the kayak at a lower price while maintaining strength.

“It’s a plastic that is very, very durable,” Promnitz says. “You can bang it into rocks or drag it over boat ramps, and it’s going to hold up for a long time.”

The post Hobie Launches New Kayak appeared first on Yachting.

Hobie Mirage Kayak

The two-seat Hobie Mirage Oasis kayak ($2,499) features three forms of propulsion, including traditional paddling, pedal power, and a sailing option. The pedals connect to the company’s MirageDrive underwater flippers, while steering is maintained by a fingertip-controlled rudder system. Or let the wind do the work, while you and your companion enjoy the scenery as the sail pushes you along. Weighing just 69 pounds, this stable, sit-on-top design lets you reconnect with the water while exploring secluded anchorages. Hobie Cat Company, (760) 758-9100; www.hobiecat.com

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