Myself wrote:
When going against the wind with paddles every time you raise the paddle to take another stroke you have a wind catcher.
Boy do I wish I could take that back, shoulda thought about how you can feather the paddles to keep from catching the wind while they are in the air. That said I still like the Hobie system real well and think it's worth the extra $$$ because you have both hands free to fish more of the time than with paddles. I'm also pleased with the speed and stability of my kayak. And I have a suspicion I can generate more power with the Mirage drive than I could with paddles. I'd need to experiment a bit to confirm that.
I can think of a few drawbacks to the Mirage drive though: 1. You need to be in deeper water to use the Mirage drive than if you were paddling. It also catches weeds when they are near the surface. 2. The Mirage drive has no reverse. If I want to go backward it's back to the paddle. 3. I also have to use the paddles for a draw stroke.