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First Pictures of New Carbon Hobie Cat
It appears that rumors of a new, possibly experimental, carbon Hobie are true. The boat appears to be based on the Hobie Fox and is manufactured by Hobie Europe. The first example was at the Texel race but, (like over half the participants) wasn't able to make it out through the surf. We'll have to wait for another event to see what the black boat can do. Pictures of the Carbon Hobie CatThanks to Tony Mels, we have these first pictures of the new boat.
Round Texel 2005 Wrapup and Results.
Wind, waves and shallow water... the 28th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race for beachcatamarans was a tough one. The surf became a huge playground for waves with boats as their toys. It was a challenge to get to the starting line, due to the onshore wind. Many participants crashed and were washed ashore. Even top sailors. Others decided to withdraw from the race and did not try to face the elements. Only 247 teams crossed the finishline, but 120 were disqualified. Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen, sailing on a Tornado Spi, smashed the race and world record with almost twenty minutes. Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer finished about four minutes later with their Hobie Tiger, which was enough for the victory on handicap.At 8:00 hours on Saturday morning 11 June, race director Jaap Tirion wished all sailors a safe and good race. The north-north-west wind was force 5 to 6 and the waves were high. Participants prepared themselves for a tough challenge. Spectators got ready for an unprecedented spectacle. It was like an exciting show. Xander Pols and Sven de Laaf were the first drop-outs among the favourites. Their M20 with brand new carbon sails capsized in the surf, after which the mast broke immediately. Gerard Loos, Rikkert Graat and Daan Koene followed. Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen had bad luck as well. Although they were able to start again, the frames inside their carbon Hobie Concept hulls were cracked, which forced them to give up. Sailors were assisting each other to save masts of capsized catamarans. For others it was too late and they needed help to rescue their equipment. Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen were also in troubles. Samama: "I thought it would not be too difficult, but I fell off the boat and we broke the tiller and we damaged the bow. Fortunately, we could repair the damage on the water."
Round Texel 2005 Results, Tornado Sets Record, Hobie Tiger Wins.
On Saturday June 11th 2005, Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED) broke all records during the 28th Zwitserleven Rounde Texel Race. They sailed their Tornado within 2 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds around the island. That was about 19 minutes faster than Van Teylingen/Manuel in the 1997 race and Bouscholte/Van Wieren at their attempt in 2003. According to the provisional results, Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer won on handicap with their Hobie Tiger.Many drop-outs
Participants had a tough day, due to the heavy conditions. During the briefing at 8:00 AM hours, the north-northwest-wind wind was already force five. The direction in combination with the high surf claimed many victims. Boats capsized by the handful, which resulted into lots of damage to the equipment. Among them were favorites for the victory, like Xander Pols and Sven de Laaf with their M20. Last year’s winners, Team Zwitserleven Booth/Dercksen, turned over as well and cracked the inside frames of their brand new carbon hulls. The damage was too serieus and therefore they could not start the race. Booth: "Of course we are disappointed, but what happened belongs to these kind of events. It was close to the limit." Half of the 547 subscribed teams withdrew prematurely. Finally, 247 catamarans finished. Paralympic sailor Thierry Schmitter completed the race as well.
"The party broke out"Samama and Van Leeuwen did not go through the surf undamaged, but they were able to repair their broken tiller before the start. They started high on the line. Samama: "We could go over everybody and reached the light house in first position." The team hit the ground before the VC-mark and damaged their rudder. "We tied it. Our leg towards Oudeschild was extremely fast, after which we saw nobody anymore. I looked at my watch at the southern point of the island. We still had 45 minutes left to break the record and we only needed 20. As we entered the beach, the party broke out. Super cool!"
Five minutes later, Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer crossed the finishline as second team. De Boer: "Remco Kenbeek and Paul Brouwer were just behind us, until they capsized close before the VC-mark. At that point, there were two Tornado’s in front of us, but Eduard Zanen took in his spinnaker earlier. We passed them, after which we tried to stay as close as possible to Wouter and Jeroen." The Nissan Hobie Pro Team won on handicap. Eduard Zanen and Willem Houwing from Texel finished third.
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