17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships

That picture looks like they wrapped the jib on purpose and have three people on board. Maybe a rescue? Diane left this morning and is a little concerned by the pictures.
How good are those youth? I know how good Francisco, Jorge,Jason,Juani and Mike are, and they are getting beat.

Pat - Kenny and Diane will be fine - Just don't do this!

PRESS RELEASE
HOBIE CAT 16 WORLDS 2005, FALL FROM ONE EXTREME TO THE OTHER
Favourites grab the first titles

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, October 27th 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hobie Cat 16 World Championships 2005 fell from from one extreme to the other, as the wind dropped from 46 to 5 knots within three days. The women and youth teams completed three races in total and the masters and grand masters only one. On Thursday October 27th, the French youngsters grabbed two titles: Morgana Laurancy and Marion Pennaneach in the ladies' class and the current European Champions Céder Bader and Yann Montoya in the youth. Past World Champion Blaine Dodds and his daughter Roxanne from South Africa won the masters. The Australians Bruce Tardrew and Sarah Turnbull were world's best grand masters of 2005.

Youth - Mission almost completed
Céder Bader and Yann Montoya already won the 2005 Europeans Hobie 16 Youth and Open in Heiligenhafen, and now they can add the Youth World title to their list of achievements. Céder Bader: "Our goal for South Africa is to win the Youth and to finish top five in the open championship." They finished in second and first position in yesterday's wild conditions. Although they prefer strong winds, the French managed to stay in the lead in today's light circumstances. Bader: "We were seventh at the first upwind mark and fourth by the second time we passed it. The wind was shifty and decreasing. We had some troubles with rounding the updwind mark, since it was positioned close to the surf." The 2004 ISAF Youth Hobie Cat 16 World Champions Tom Phipps and Jon Cook (GBR) came back from a fifth to a second positon overall, due to a second place in race three. Juani Maeglie and Cristina Guirola from Guatemala won bronze.

Women - Gold on the finish line
"We could just barely stay ahead of the Mexican girls at the finish line", told Morgane Laurancy after her victory. She and her crew Marion Pennaneach, Hobie 16 European Women Champion in 2004, finished fourth in the last race, which was good enough for the Hobie 16 Women World title 2005. Pennaneach: "We started as the very last boat, but we passed many teams in the second downwind leg, by making use of the waves." The French girls haven't sailed on a Hobie 16 for a year, because they switched to matchracing. Laurancy: "I think it helped us to improve our racing abilities." The competition was close with the other French team of Marie Duvignac and Pauline Thevenot. Unfortunately, they started their championship with an OCS (early start), which threw them out of the battle for gold. But they did not give up and won the last two races. The 2004 Hobie 16 Women World Champion Pamela Noriega and her crew Andrea Mier y Teran from Mexico dropped to the third place, as the South Africans Belinda Hayward and Kim Wilkinson-Davies climbed up to the second position. Only half a year ago, they teamed up for the Hobie Worlds 2005. Hayward: "We found a sponsor and trained four weekends on the sea in Cape Town. The rest of the time, we sailed on the ponds around Johannesburg. Before that, I had not sailed for eleven years. We were hoping for gold, but nobody told us how good the youngsters are. Especially the European teams."

Masters and Grand Masters - Real survivors
Although they completed only one race, the masters and grand masters are real survivors. Yesterday, they struggled in the extreme conditions with strong wind and high waves. Today, they floated over the swell without pressure in their main sails, waiting for a little breeze. It did not happen and they had to return to the Hobie Beach, surfing the waves. This morning, wave ski's and swimmers were needed to pull the Hobie 16s through the surf. There was a high short break with probably five knots of wind, which is not a good combination. The race committee postponed the race initially, but once the youth and women teams were out on the water, the wind started to shift. As a result, the race had to be cancelled and the postponement flag went up again. Meanwhile, the masters and grand masters discussed the strategy for the boat swap. Some of them decided to go for a ride with the jet ski and change cats on the sea.

Wild first racing day
Wednesday October 26th started with a calm breeze from the north, blue skies and lots of sun. Music resounded over the Hobie Beach. The masters and grand masters got the honour to start off the 2005 Hobie Cat 16 World Championships. Just before their first race, the wind already shifted to the east and started to pick up. At the end of the morning, the H16s were swopped with the youth and women teams, who completed two races in row. By the time the masters and grand masters left the beach for their second race, the wind had increased to more than 20 knots. Getting to the starting line caused some problems. The brand new Hobie 16s capsized all over the place, even under the pier. Some teams decided to return after multiple nose dives, and others continued. But all of them got troubles to manage the extreme conditions, with wind gusts up to 35 knots and huge waves. Sailors were washed off the trampoline. In the mid-afternoon, the race committee cancelled the race and all boats arrived safely back on the beach.

The three day open qualifier for the seventeenth Hobie Cat 16 World Championships will start tomorrow. The top 112 teams will go to the semi-finals, starting on October 31st.

/// The End

Is that Mike?

Yep - That's our Mike! - Looks like he made it back on the boat.

Just had a Skype conversation with Steve Fields down in SA. He was able to give me a reality check on the boats and conditions.

Steve says, although the pictures and some reports sound dramatic, the boats are holding up well. The ones that went through the pier had some gel coat chips and one had a slightly bent mast.

Apparently they have a pretty small launching beach that is tucked up against the pier. The wind is either too light for launching or full-on in the afternoon. They had some pretty tough surf to get through. They have used jet skis to ferry boats and people back a forth to help hurry up the process in some cases. They have to cart the boats up off the beach each day and into a compound for the night.

Steve says they expect sail able conditions in the next few days followed by another hard blow period.

Differences in the French Boats as compared to what we do here in the US and Australia? Mostly these are hardware differences.

Their masts are all aluminum. I bet they are wishing for CompTips about now... that would help in the high wind. The CompTip flattens the top of the sail slightly. Shrouds and bridles are 5/32. Forestays are short and they are using a length of line to adjust out the slack when the jib is up. That requires a good knot if the jib comes down!

They have large ronstan jib clew blocks. They have the velcro jib batten pockets that leave no batten sticking out to catch in the mast and halyards. They have the old Tren Tec jib car (Brass knuckles) and swivel cleats mounted on the crossbar.

Main Ratchets are the Carbo Harken. Hard to make jaw angle adjustments on the beach. They are using a 3" upper for some reason.

They are set up with the power paks. 6:1 downhauls, 2:1 outhauls and jib halyard cleat system.

Hobie Cat France uses asymmetrical upper rudder castings and then bent tiller arms, so that looks different but the function is the same.

Tramps are similar, but have double grommets down the center. A grommet in the tramp for the skippers trapeze bungee. Side bars have a narrow strip of neoprene on the outer radius and it stops at the shroud. Makes for a slippery seat and nothing ahead of the shroud.

Boat change over has been slow as they have an inconsistant beach team. The original beach captain has pnumonia or something.

News - Saturday 29th October
PRESS RELEASE

FRANCE AND TAHITI WIN FIRST RACE IN OPEN QUALIFIER HOBIE 16 WORLDS

Strong wind keeps competitors ashore

On Saturday October 29 th 2005, France and Tahiti won the first race in the open qualifier round for the seventeenth Hobie Cat 16 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Both teams, Alban Bruna / Jean Bernaz (FRA) and Telva Veronique / Kaya Guillain (TAH), gained convincingly their first victory. Although the conditions looked perfect this morning, they became rough again and further racing was abandoned. Spectators had a good time on the pier watching the spectacular sailing of the H16 crews out on the Indian Ocean. Back on the beach, all hands were needed to bring the equipment safely in.

Race one

After yesterday's complete cancellation of competition due to a 40 knots offshore wind, today started with a nice breeze from almost the opposite direction. It increased very quickly before the first start and already shifted to the north-west. The starting gun was fired at 10:00 hours AM, with about 20 knots of wind and it continued to build up. Most of the teams went to the left side of the course. Only six decided to try their luck on the right, which did not pay off. The H16s that took a long starboard tack also fell behind, but the ones that took an early flier came out best. Bruno and Bernaz were first at the upwind mark: “We kept this position throughout the race. It was difficult sailing with high and short waves.” They finished about three hundred meters ahead of the runners-up, Fletcher Warren and Georgia Myers from New Zealand. Meanwhile, eleven crews out of forty-three gave up due to the wild conditions. Boats were blown over and the beach master warned the competitors of the next race: “The wind and surf are picking up. If you do not feel comfortable, do not go out. If you want to reef your mainsail, there are ropes available.”

Race two

During the boat swap, the H16s were tuned for high winds, as it had increased up to 30 knots in gusts. Some of the teams did reef their mainsail. All of them were allowed to leave the beach at 11:15 hours AM, whereafter the struggle against the elements started. The conditions were rough and required a very good teamwork. Veronique Telva and Guillain Kaya from Tahiti knew how to play this game and took the lead pretty soon. Skipper Telva: “We are used to sail in these conditions, although it is normally a little bit less extreme at home. We did not have a good start, since we missed the five minutes signal, but we have been in first position all the time.” According to Telva, they were one or two minutes ahead of Mark Laruffa (ITA) and Joshua Selig (RSA). Telva: “In the end, we had difficulties to find the finish line. They shortened the race, so the gate was gone. We stopped and looked around, before we knew where to go.” After his arrival back on the beach, experienced Hobie 16 sailor Mark Laruffa explained that it was really scary: “The waves just smashed your feet off the boat. The wind must have been easily 35 knots. I have never depowered my side stays that much.” The South African ladies Belinda Hayward and Kim Wilkinson-Davies, silver medallists in the Women World Championship, performed a remarkable feat by finishing in third position. Twenty-seven teams out of forty-three completed the race.

Sunday will be the last day of the open qualifier with 83 teams, representing nineteen countries. On Monday October 31 st , the semi-finals will start.

/// The End

TEAM EUROPE UNITES COLOURS

“I haven't seen any German or French identified crews, so maybe we are united in one European team”, said Ute Vrijburg from the European Hobie Class Organisation. Yesterday early in the evening, all competitors of Europe were dressed in the same T-shirt and had a drink together in the yacht club. Before the photo show started, Ute praised the organisation of the seventeenth Hobie Cat 16 Worlds and of course the French winners: Cédric Bader and Yann Montoya (Youth), and Morgane Laurancy and Marion Pennaneach (Women). Ute: “They already won European Gold, give them a big hand. Thank you for being here!”

PRESS RELEASE
TELVA/KAYA (TAH) WIN OPEN QUALIFIER HOBIE 16 WORLDS 2005
France and South Africa win today's races

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, October 30th 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Veronique Telva and Guillain Kaya from Tahiti won the open qualifier round for the Hobie Cat 16 World Championships 2005 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. On Sunday October 30th, they finished second in the first race, in which the locals Andrew Ward and Steve Arnold took the victory. Maxime Clercq and Yoann Bonte from France just barely won the second race. It was another spectacular day, as sailing off and towards the beach became a tough challenge. The surf was high with an offshore wind that was not really strong ashore. Everybody around helped the sailors. The beach master gave advices through the microphone and the public encouraged the competitors and clapped for every successful action.

First fleet - Bad luck
Although the seventeenth Hobie Cat 16 Worlds experienced the biggest storm and waves so far on Saturday, this Sunday morning started calm. After a postponement, the teams were allowed to leave the beach at 11.30 am for today's first race. Allan Lawrence and Nicola Francis (RSA) took the lead from the beginning, but capsized just before the finish. Francis: "We were by miles ahead, but while reaching downwind, Allan got washed off and we could not keep it up. We came in fourth, but we are very disappointed of course. Yesterday, we broke the tiller bar prior to the start, so we have had bad luck so far." Andrew Ward and Steve Arnold took advantage of their fellow-countrymen and won the race. Ward: "We had a clear start at the middle of the line. We had 18 to 25 knots out there and the swell from yesterday was difficult. Especially downwind, you had to keep your bow up. We rounded the top mark in fourth position, took an early gibe and came second at the gate." The boys from Tahiti were second, followed by Fletcher Warren and Georgia Myers from New Zealand.

Landing safely on the beach was the final challenge for the first fleet, as the wind came straight ahead of them. John Dinsdale from Hobie Cat France watched the teams coming in and gave them advices and complimented their actions: "Catch your wave! Well done number 20. See, they were on the back of the boat and nothing happened." It was like a real time show with lots of spectators. Christian Wright and Charlie Clement from Hong Kong caught the best ride and surfed their way down to the shore and just missed another H16: "We went off so quickly."

Fleet two - Close racing
The second shift faced an even bigger surf with more wind on the Ocean, so some crews decided to reef the mainsail. All the people on the beach helped the competitors through the waves. The boats were pushed as far as possbile and the spectators on the wall clapped and cheered for the sailors. The beachmaster used his microphone to comment upon their actions in the surf and asked for help as one team capsized: "Give them a hand guys." At least ten persons jumped into the sea. In the end, everybody got out safely. "Thanks to all the helpers on the beach", spoke the beachmaster. Meanwhile, the wind had picked up to 25 knots. It was close racing between the top four teams. Maxime Clercq and Yoann Bonte had a good start at the committee boat and choose for the left side of the course. They rounded the upwind mark first and kept this position: "The second boat was only a few meters behind us. It was great to surf the waves." Robert and Paula Archibald from South Africa came in second: "It was very gusty and choppy. In the first beat, we choose the left side. We went to the right in the second beat, since we were too lazy to tack that often." Shane Peterson and Jesse Dobie from Australia finished third. Jobie: "We were fourth, but Mark Laruffa capsized at the bottom mark in front of us and we could pass him." Laruffa: "I am probably the capsize king so far."

This evening, there will be a welcome party for all competitors of the 17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships. The official overall results from the open qualifier rounds and the qualified teams for the semi-finals will be announced. The semi-finals will start tomorrow.

/// End

"The South African ladies Belinda Hayward and Kim Wilkinson-Davies, silver medallists in the Women World Championship, performed a remarkable feat by finishing in third position. Twenty-seven teams out of forty-three completed the race. "

GO JUST KIM !!! Must be humbling to be one of the all-male teams who retired becuase the conditions were too wild, to find out that an all-girl team consisting of a skipper who hasn`t sailed in 11 years, and a crew who hasn`t sailed offshore except for a few days training before the event just KICKED YOUR BUTT ALL OVER THE OCEAN ..

Go girls

Winners of the first two races:
Enrique Figueroa
Shaun Ferry
(full results posted here)

Top US finishers - Bob Merrick (7th - race 1), Mike Montague (15th - race 2)

Report from Rich McVeigh:

MEDIA RELEASE 31 OCTOBER 2005

TOP TEAMS BATTLE IT OUT IN CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

112 Teams from around the world are currently in action during the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships being sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth. The first day of the semi-finals welcomed the competitors with light breezes and flat seas, a welcome change from the stormy winds and roughs seas of the past couple of days.

42 Top international teams from Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Africa have pre-qualified for the semi-finals of the world championships. After this weekend’s races in the qualifying rounds, a further 45 teams qualified for spots in the semi-finals. South Africa is at the top of the competitors list with 30 teams in the semi-finals, especially after South African competitors put up a show of strength during the four qualification races.

Capetonians Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur quickly put their stamp on the competition with a convincing win in the first race of the day. Puerto Ricans Enrique Figuero and Carla Malatrasi took the second race of the day to tie with the South Africans at the top of the leader board.

France, which is considered top contenders with twelve teams in the running, has proved their reputation with three teams amongst the top five. France already walked off with the youth and women’s world titles last week and did very well in the qualifiers over the weekend. The young Frenchmen Cedric Bader and Yann Montoya will definitely pose a strong challenge to the rest of the fleet. They put up a compelling performance to win the youth world title last week and are also the current European champions in both the youth and open classes.

The semi-finals are taking place from Monday, 31 October, to Wednesday, 2 November. The top 56 teams will advance to the final rounds, which will be sailed on Thursday and Friday to determine the winners of the Open division.

For updates and results, visit the official website on www.chevrolet.hobieworlds.co.za

PRESS RELEASE
DELIUS/WIESE-DOHSE WIN THIRD SEMI-FINAL RACE HOBIE 16 WORLDS

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, November 1st 2005

On Tuesday November 1st 2005, Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse from Germany won the third race of the semi-finals for the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They were first at the upwind mark and never lost their leading position in the battle with the US team of Bob Merrick and Mike Huang. Apparently, the Americans had bad luck with an OCS (early start). The South-Africans William and Lucinda Edwards took over the second place, followed by Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford (RSA). The fourth race, today's second, had to be cancelled again, due to a lack of wind.

Golden tack
According to the local weather forecast, the wind would set in at 2pm and it did. The race committee put in a short course of 3/4 of a mile, since they had to catch up on the racing schedule. Four teams were early over the line. Ingo Delius, Belgian and German Hobie 16 Champion 2005: "Today's strategy was to have a good start and we did. We had clean air, went outside and tacked at the right time, not too far out." They rounded the weather mark in first position, followed by the Americans and the Brasilian team of Ricardo Navarro and Mequias Queiroz. Delius: "It was very tough to defend our place, because the Americans are very good sailors. The wind dropped already on the first beat. We went from double trapeze to floating. It picked up a little bit on the way down to the finish. That is why we gibed twice, because we wanted to go to the other boats that were further out on the ocean. They had more pressure." Enrique Figueroa and Carla Malatrasi from Puerto Rico, yesterday's winners, came back from a nineth to a fourth place.

European competition
When Delius and Wiese-Dohse left Germany for the Hobie 16 Worlds in South-Africa, their goal was a top ten position. Delius: "We had a bad race yesterday, so it will be hard. But the score between us and the French boys Cédric and Yann is tied. We beat them in France and they won the Europeans in Germany. We read on the internet that they are aiming for a top five result here, so we actually have to do the same."

A 30 knots wind has been reported from Cape Town, about 650 kilometers to the south. It is heading down to Port Elizabeth and will probably arrive tomorrow morning. The windy city will once again live up her name.

Today's result from race three:
1. GER - Delius / Wiese-Dohse
2. RSA - Edwards / Edwards
3. RSA - Lagesse / Kerford
4. PUR - Figueroa / Malatrasi
5. RSA - Fine / Wichardt

/// End

Image gallery has more wild shots

Report from Rich McVeigh:

Quote From S.Africa - Diane B:

They don't call Pedro "The Doctor" for nothing. Two new teeth: $$$Thousands. Making the cut at the Worlds: Priceless. Hang in there Honey and Smile . Might as well go for it now. Just a couple of good races.
Diane(with teeth)& Matt B

MEDIA RELEASE WEDNESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2005

DRAMATIC ACTION AT CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLDS

The unpredictable weather conditions again played havoc with the fleet during the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships. The ninth day of the championships, currently being sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth dawned with no breeze. Over 200 anxious competitors waited until 11h00 before the predicted winds came through to sail the fourth semi-final race.

However, a strong north-westerly wind came through unexpectedly and with gusts of up to 48 knots on the bay, the race was abandoned as several boats capsized. Rescue boats and spectator craft rushed to the rescue of competitors, who were struggling to right their vessels. Seasoned sailors such as current South African national champion Shaun Ferry and Mark Laruffa from Italy joined the rescue missions spread across the bay to assist competitors with bringing the Hobie Cats safely to shore.

As the visibility over the bay worsened due to the raging veld fires in the Eastern Cape, race officials did careful beach checks to ensure that all the Hobies were safely back on the beach. Zac Wessels’ Hobie were eventually beached at Kings Beach and towed back by vehicle, while other competitors were towed back by boats. Spectators and officials were relieved when the final Hobie eventually made it to the beach shortly before 13h00. Christian Wright and Charlie Clement from Hong Kong drifted across the bay and were towed back by rubber duck.

Despite the chaotic morning, injuries were minimal with only bumps, bruises and lacerations being reported. Except for one bent mast and a couple of torn sails, the boats also escaped relatively unscathed.

Further racing was cancelled for the day and with only three races completed in the semi-final rounds, race officials have extended the semi-final rounds to Thursday.

112 Teams are competing for the coveted 56 spots in the finals.

Wow!
Has this event been over the top in terms of bad luck with extreme conditions or what?

Any news from the US sailors?

MEDIA RELEASE THURSDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2005

EXCITING SAILING IN SEMI-FINALS OF CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLDS

After the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships were extended due to adverse weather conditions, racing got underway shortly after 10h00 on the penultimate day of the championships. The light westerly breeze held steady at approximately 12 knots as the 112 teams took to the water to battle it out for a spot in the top 56. The finals will be sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday, 4 November 2005.

The weather gods smiled on the competitors and the winds continued for the duration of the day with non-stop racing taking place and seven round-robin races were completed. “The wind gusted quite a bit around the course, which made sailing quite tricky but it is wonderful that we were able to sail so many races on one day. Everybody will obviously be quite tired tonight, but at least we had six races on the day and everyone had a chance to compete,” said South African Gordon McGillivray after the final race.

Tim Shuwalow and Cameron Hooper from Australia scored the first hit with a victory in the first race of the day. South African Blaine Dodds and his 19-year old daughter Roxanne finished second with the Guatemalan team of Juani Maegli and Cristina Guirola in third place. Germans Stefan Rumpf and Kim Liedtke and South Africans Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur were fourth and fifth respectively.

The round-robin races continued after a quick beach change-over and the rest of the fleet got back on the water for the fifth race of the semi-finals. Stefan Wiese-Dohse and Versi Gerhmann of Germany won the fifth race with SA champion Blaine and Roxanne Dodds second across the line and local sailors Andrew Ward and Steve Arnold in third place.

Competitors were delighted with the opportunity to race several races in one day after several days of frustrating sailing conditions and took to the water again after lunch to complete the sixth semi-final race. Aussies Shuwalow and Hooper repeated their earlier performance to win the race, followed by South Africans Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur and the French team of Jerome Le Gal and Siret Mickael.

Brazilians Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes claimed victory in the seventh race with South Africans Hylton Hale and Kim Rowlands second, Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur third and Allan Lawrence and Nicola Francis fourth.

The Brazilians were coming into their own as Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham won the eighth race followed closely by fellow countrymen Bernardo Arndt and Bruno Oliveira. The French team of Christophe Renaud de Malet and Alban Rossollin was third with the father-and-daughter combination of Blaine and Roxanne Dodds in fourth position.

The sailing conditions suited Brazilians Viana and Gomes, who went on to win the ninth race with South Africans Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford claiming second position and Sam Newton and Nick Tayler from Great Britain third across the line.

The tenth and final race of the semi-final rounds started shortly after 17h00. Newly appointed Chairman of the International Hobie Class Association Colin Whitehead won the last race convincingly. Whitehead, a former world champion, is sailing with his son Matthew, who at age 12 is the youngest competitor in the semi-final event. He is trying to repeat history as he won his world championship title sailing with his father Mick when he was 12.

PRESS RELEASE
FINALLY A FULL DAY OF RACING AT THE HOBIE 16 WORLDS 2005
Brazil takes three bullets on Thursday

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, November 3rd 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Thursday November 3rd 2005, the competitors of the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in South Africa finally got a full day of action. After yesterday's 40 knots offshore wind in Port Elizabeth, there was a nice and steady breeze all day long. The semi-final series of ten races were completed. Brazil took three bullets and Australia two. Both teams Tim Shuwalow / Cameron Hooper (AUS) and Juliano Viana / Sebastiao Gomes (BRA) won twice. The Aussies are in first position after the semi-finals, followed by the South African teams Ferry/Le Sueur and Dodd/Dodd. The battle for gold is tied, so it is going to be an exciting final day.

Race 4 to 6: Shuwalow and Hooper grab the lead
Today's conditions have arrived right in time, as the Hobie 16 Worlds 2005 are coming to an end and the weather has been very tricky. The fourth semi-final race had to be cancelled again on Wednesday, due to a 40 knot offshore wind that all of a sudden came in during the starting procedure. This morning, the race committee decided to use short courses (upwind, downwind, finish), in order to catch up on the schedule. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds from South Africa were in the lead at the first upwind mark, followed by the British youngsters Tom Phipps and Andrew Taylor. Both of them choose for the left side of the course. Tim Shuwalow and Cameron Hooper (AUS) went to the right. The finish was close, but the Aussies caught a puff and beat father and daughter Dodds at the line. Shuwalow: "We got it just before them." All teams swopped their boats quickly and sailed out again. The Germans Wiese-Dohse and Versi Gehrmann took the lead from the beginning and sailed a conservative fifth race. They went inshore after the upwind mark and increased their lead. "It was nerve-racking", said Gehrmann afterwards. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds finished second. Race six showed exciting competition between Australia and South Africa. Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur (RSA) were heading from the seaside of the course towards the finish, as Shuwalow and Hooper came from inshore. The South Africans got a header and fell back to a second position. Shuwalow, who works for the Volvo Ocean Race organization, took advantage of a lift an won: "We had a nice pressure on the run downwind."

Race 7 to 9: Brazil dominates
The blue, green and yellow colours of the mainsails symbolized the Brazilian colours today, as Brazil took three bullets. Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes won the seventh and nineth race, Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham the eighth. After his first victory, Viana explained his success: "We come from a place with strong winds, so we know what to do with the breeze that was picking up. And we always went out on the ocean, because it was better there." Hilton Hale and Kim Rowlands (RSA) grabbed the second position on the finish line: "Blaine undertacked the line and we got him." In race eight, Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham had a porttack start at the committee boat. Bezerra: "We had clean air and went off, but we watched the other competitors all the time." However, there was more Brazilian fortune, as Bernardo Arndt and Bruno Aliveira finished second. All of them received a warm and enthusiastic welcome back on the beach by their fellow-countrymen. Bezerra about their national team spirit: "We live at the same place as Juliano and Sebastiao and we train together." Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes had to fight for victory in race nine, after rounding the first upwind mark in third position . Viana: "On the downwind reach, we looked for wind and gibed several times in the center of the course. Sometimes for catching puffs and sometimes aggressively on others." It paid and they finished far ahead of the runners up, Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford from South Africa. Viana: "We are going to celebrate it tonight. You never know about tomorrow."

Race 10: New IHCA president Colin Whitehead serves the sailors
South African Colin Whitehead, second World Champion Hobie 16 ever, has been elected as the new president of the International Hobie Class Association. At yesterday's non-cut party, he was introduced to all competitors. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you all", spoke Colin. A day after, he already leaded the fleet by far. He and his 12-year old son Matthew won race ten, followed by Jerome Le Gal and Siret Mickael from France.

The top 56 teams will be announced this evening at the yacht club. They will compete in the final round for the 2005 World Champion Hobie Cat 16.

Top five after ten races and one discard:
1. AUS - Shuwalow / Hooper, 11 points
2. RSA - Ferry / Le Sueur, 11 p.
3. RSA - Dodds / Dodds, 16 p.
4. RSA - Lagesse / Kerford, 18 p.
5. FRA - Le Gal / Mickael, 18 p.

Hey Matt
My guy Shuwalow is starting to look pretty good.

Yeah, but he's got a herd of South Africans breathing down his neck. Tim's already bought his throw (a 21) and Ferry and Dodd's worst races are a 10 and a 9.

Don't count Kiki out yet.

Although Carla's looking worried.

The races today were short - if you didn't get a good start, you were hosed.

And I know all too well how hard it is to get a good start at the worlds.

When the top USA team is a former Olympic medalist and places 35th in the Hobie 16 Worlds... you know it is top notch competition and TOUGH.

Way to go Bob!

Now you know why we are scared of Sean and Blaine ... and have to race against them at open events. At least our boats are faster . Small consolation, they beat us boat for boat most times, even though we are rated about 1min/hour faster than a H16. At least when we DO cross the line ahead of them we know we`ve had a good race !! (happens once in a lifetime though.)
Just looked up the results for the SA Nationals in April to compare, http://www.abyc.org.za/Downloads/Results/20050429%20HOBIE.html
Brazilians Viana & Gomes were 4th at Nationals, 15th at Worlds, the German team who were 4th at Worlds were 6th at Nationals, Paul Lagesse 5th at both Nationals & Worlds (wow, he hasn`t raced Hobies for a good couple of years, I think), and Blaine, William and Sean seem to have traded places, (William down in 22nd ?)
You know the fleet is tough when Enrique F finishes 12th.
Guys like John Ryall who is FAST doesn`t make the top 56 ???

We all get to try again in October 2007. I believe the host will be either Brazil of Fiji.

Bob ,are you going to write another "What I learned at the worlds ",article .I really enjoyed the last one.

Congratulations to Bob on being the top US sailor at the Worlds. The East coast can claim bragging rights this year. We will continue to try and push you to get better and crack that top twenty next time. It was in reach this time . Bob: no more head starts.