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Light Conditions on First Day of Semi-Finals at Hobie 16 Worlds in South Africa
Port Elizabeth / South Africa, October 31st 2005 -- South Africa and Puerto Rico in the lead
On day one of the semi-finals for the Hobie Cat 16 Worlds 2005 in South Africa, the competitors faced light conditions for a change. Today’s surf did not cause any problems either. The first race on Monday October 31st showed close racing in the top. Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur from South Africa went inshore, took advantage of a lift and finished first. The current World Champion Hobie Tiger, Enrique Figueroa and his crew Carla Malatrasi from Puerto Rico, won the second race after the French guys Chichemanian/Bruges had to take a penalty. The tropical colours of Port Elizabeth area were covered by smoke today, as a fire further inland has been a spoil-sport for the last couple of days.
Fleet one: Flier between the rocks pays
"We undertacked the mark and were lucky to get a lift", said Michele Le Sueur after their victory. "We could double trapeze, as everybody else sat inside." Ferry and Le Sueur had a bad start: "We had dirty air and we were pushed up, so we were forced to tack." They took a flier inshore and sailed between the rocks just outside the surf towards the upwind mark. Le Sueur: "That paid, so we decided to go back in the second beat and this time we tacked earlier." That was their golden move, since it opened up a comfortable lead. At their finish, the South African people cheered for their fellow-countrymen. The French teams of Thomas Richards/Moana Trankcart and Cédric Bader/Yann Montoya sailed consistently in the top three and finished respectively second and third. Bader: "We did not take any risk and staid with the fleet. Our start was bad, but we went to the right side on the left. There was more wind and the waves pushed us up."
On day one of the semi-finals for the Hobie Cat 16 Worlds 2005 in South Africa, the competitors faced light conditions for a change. Today’s surf did not cause any problems either. The first race on Monday October 31st showed close racing in the top. Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur from South Africa went inshore, took advantage of a lift and finished first. The current World Champion Hobie Tiger, Enrique Figueroa and his crew Carla Malatrasi from Puerto Rico, won the second race after the French guys Chichemanian/Bruges had to take a penalty. The tropical colours of Port Elizabeth area were covered by smoke today, as a fire further inland has been a spoil-sport for the last couple of days.
Fleet one: Flier between the rocks pays
"We undertacked the mark and were lucky to get a lift", said Michele Le Sueur after their victory. "We could double trapeze, as everybody else sat inside." Ferry and Le Sueur had a bad start: "We had dirty air and we were pushed up, so we were forced to tack." They took a flier inshore and sailed between the rocks just outside the surf towards the upwind mark. Le Sueur: "That paid, so we decided to go back in the second beat and this time we tacked earlier." That was their golden move, since it opened up a comfortable lead. At their finish, the South African people cheered for their fellow-countrymen. The French teams of Thomas Richards/Moana Trankcart and Cédric Bader/Yann Montoya sailed consistently in the top three and finished respectively second and third. Bader: "We did not take any risk and staid with the fleet. Our start was bad, but we went to the right side on the left. There was more wind and the waves pushed us up."
Telva/Kaya from Tahiti Win Open Qualifier at Hobie 16 Worlds in South Africa
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."
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."
Strong wind keeps competitors ashore at Hobie 16 Worlds
Port Elizabeth / South Africa, October 29th 2005
On Saturday October 29th 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."
On Saturday October 29th 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."
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