What do you wear while sailing your Hobie shoes or barefoot? I know many great sailors who swear by barefoot and an equal number who feel some footwear is essential. Is there a magic formula?
My story, I always wear shoes, but that wasn’t always the case. Years ago, I often sailed barefoot, but after badly cutting my foot walking around barefoot and ending up in the ER with the doctor digging stuff out of my foot, I changed. For years afterwards, I wore thin slipper-like booties, but this also changed. About 12 years ago, I needed surgery on my left foot, and after that, everything changed with my footwear. I needed all new shoes, and everything had to be wide width. I found that the thin sailing booties I used to wear no longer worked; I need wide shoes with way more support. My journey and struggle with sailing shoes began! Do you know how hard it is to find wide sailing shoes? Nearly impossible is the answer.
So, what’s the answer? Ordering online is nothing but frustration. For shoes, I must try on everything. You would think that once you find something that works, you could reorder the same thing, but oh no, shoe manufacturers seem to want to change their shoe lineup constantly, and what you previously liked is suddenly no longer available. Can I scream now?
My current favourite is the Zhik ZKG, but it’s often out of stock and hard to find, yet another frustration. The ZKG technically isn’t wide, but it’s just wide enough for me and has excellent grip.
So, how about your shoes or no shoes? What shoe is your favourite? I am always on the lookout for the perfect shoe.
Rich