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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."
Hobie Cat 16 Worlds 2005 - From one extreme to the other.
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."
High winds cancel first day racing at 2005 Hobie 16 Worlds
On Tuesday October 25th, the Hobie Cat 16 World Championships 2005 started with wind gusts up to 46 knots. The Indian Ocean in the Nelson Mandela Bay looked sunny, but very rough, with high seas. All races were cancelled due to the extreme conditions. Some competitors hung around at the Port Elizabeth Beach Sailing Club and others did some sightseeing in the beautiful South African area. It was supposed to be the first racing day for three classes: fifty-three masters, eleven women and nineteen youth Hobie 16 teams. Over the last couple of days, Hobie Beach has been transformed into a real Hobie Cat scene, with sailors from all over the world, of all ages and abilities. Sixty brand new 16s are assembled and ready to go. Since 24 hours, all boats had to be dismasted due to the high wind.
Over 200 Pre-entries for Hobie Cat 16 Worlds 2005 in South Africa
The organization of the 17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships 2005, has received over two hundred pre-entries. These teams represent 28 countries, of which 10 are European. They will all compete for the World titles in the Nelson Mandela Bay of Port Elizabeth in South-Africa. From Tuesday October 25th until Friday November 4th , the heat is on. The fleet is very competitive with current and past champions, like Cedric Bader / Yann Montoya (FRA) who won this year’s Hobie 16 Europeans Youth, as well as the Open, but equally so, the 13 time South African Champion Blaine / Roxanne Dodds. They won the world title in 1998. And former Hobie 16 World Champion Shaun Ferry from South Africa will also keep the top runners honest. Favourites
The history of the Hobie 16 Worlds shows that the Australians have been the most successful with six victories. Fourteen Aussie teams will go for a 7th victory, whereas Bob Enwirda/Anna Wenmmo and Tim Shuwalow/Cameron Hooper are the strongest candidates. They can expect tough competition of many other top sailors, like the current Hobie 16 Youth World Champion Jerome Legal (FRA). He is now too old to defend that title, therefore he and Mickael Siret are aiming at the next one in the open class. Christophe Renaud de Malet and Alban Rossollin, also from France, will try to better their 6th position of last year. Other top ten potentials are Mark Laruffa (ITA), Stephan Rumph/Kim Liedtke (GER) and former World Champion (1994) Enrique Figueroa with Carla Malatrasi (PUR). Enrique Figueroa has a wonderful season winning the Hobie Tiger Worlds earlier in the year. Then following that up by winning the North American Hobie 16 Championships. A dark horse, from Guatamala, is young Juan Maegli, who finished 4th at the Cancun Hobie 16 Worlds 2004.
Women
The womens fleet is competitive as well, with last year’s winners Pamela Noriega of Mexico and Marie Duvignac and Pauline Thevenot (FRA) who won the Women Europeans 2005. Other favourites are Morgane Laurancy and Marion Pennaneach (FRA) and former ISAF Women’s World Champion Inge Schubort (RSA).
Allied Pickfords Hobie Asian Championships - Oct. 7-8-9th '05 - Race Results
**Day 1 - Oct. 7th 2005**
After an 11th hour entrant at last night’s registration party at Dublin Jack’s, a total of 47 Hobie Cats, comprising 7 home based Hobie Tigers and 40 Hobie 16’s, had signed up for the first ever Hobie Asian Championship.
This event follows on from 11 consecutive years of the Club’s Hobie Asian Classic and has attracted this year visiting teams from an impressive 10 nations besides the 32 locally based entrants.
This morning at 10:00 hrs Commodore Nigel Harris welcomed the competitors to Tai Tam Beach on behalf of the main sponsors, Allied Pickfords, before handing the proceedings over to the Principle Race Officer Jerry Rollin who had flown in from Manila the day before to officiate over events on the water.
A total of 44 boats took to the water for today’s 3 back to back races. We presume 3 local teams were unable to take the day off work but we look forward to them joining the fray tomorrow morning.
After an 11th hour entrant at last night’s registration party at Dublin Jack’s, a total of 47 Hobie Cats, comprising 7 home based Hobie Tigers and 40 Hobie 16’s, had signed up for the first ever Hobie Asian Championship.
This event follows on from 11 consecutive years of the Club’s Hobie Asian Classic and has attracted this year visiting teams from an impressive 10 nations besides the 32 locally based entrants.
This morning at 10:00 hrs Commodore Nigel Harris welcomed the competitors to Tai Tam Beach on behalf of the main sponsors, Allied Pickfords, before handing the proceedings over to the Principle Race Officer Jerry Rollin who had flown in from Manila the day before to officiate over events on the water.
A total of 44 boats took to the water for today’s 3 back to back races. We presume 3 local teams were unable to take the day off work but we look forward to them joining the fray tomorrow morning.
Internatioinal Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT) looking for 2006 location.
The Sea Cliff Yacht Club and the Trustees of the Deed of Gift of the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy are inviting bids from yacht clubs and/or organizing authorities to host the 2006 regatta. Submission of bids should be sent in accordance with the contact information shown below, by November 5, 2005. Announcement of the winning will be made on November 15, 2005.
VMI to provide assistance/parts to all US BIMARE owners
It is well known among US multihull enthusiasts that in April 2005 Vectorworks Marine Inc entered into an agreement with Bimare to be the licensed builder in the United States of the XJ A class catamaran.
Now, a few months later, the first XJs made in the USA have started to be delivered.
Class and formula racing catamarans need constant attention and development to remain not only competitive but to deliver the utmost reliability and satisfaction to their owners. Continued advances in design, materials, and like technologies are not often within the reach of most cat sailors even if they had the time. VMI has already begun working with a few US top catamaran helmsmen and sailmakers for the continued development of the XJ. Then working jointly with the factory in Italy, also striving to continually improve the package, we are confident that this relationship will keep BIMARE/VMI boats at the forefront of the A class worldwide.
Now, a few months later, the first XJs made in the USA have started to be delivered.
Class and formula racing catamarans need constant attention and development to remain not only competitive but to deliver the utmost reliability and satisfaction to their owners. Continued advances in design, materials, and like technologies are not often within the reach of most cat sailors even if they had the time. VMI has already begun working with a few US top catamaran helmsmen and sailmakers for the continued development of the XJ. Then working jointly with the factory in Italy, also striving to continually improve the package, we are confident that this relationship will keep BIMARE/VMI boats at the forefront of the A class worldwide.
Formula 18 West Coast Championships
By Dan DeLave
I wanted to talk about the weekends regatta but first I would like to point out that there seems to be an increasing understanding that since the yacht clubs are running more regattas these days for multihulls there are more yacht club members in our ranks. For example 8 of the 11 entries in the Formula 18 event are members of yacht clubs. There are also sailing associations that are worth looking into if there is a monetary concern. Pick one that is a member of the Southern California Yachting Association. This will open up even more events to multihulls.
This weekends regatta started off with a threat of a high pressure system hanging over or near the Long Beach event. That would not be good for the typically good conditions that most people come to the event for. That high pressure system either did not fully materialize or went away somewhere.
The noon start saw about 5 MPH of breeze and most of the boats made it to the starting line on time. Dave Sparkuhl, sailing with Karen Christensen, was giving lessons to the Formula 18 group on how to sail in that light breeze. He took the lead and kept finding ways to increase boat lengths to finish in a comfortable first. Followed by Steve Leo then Jeff Petron.
I wanted to talk about the weekends regatta but first I would like to point out that there seems to be an increasing understanding that since the yacht clubs are running more regattas these days for multihulls there are more yacht club members in our ranks. For example 8 of the 11 entries in the Formula 18 event are members of yacht clubs. There are also sailing associations that are worth looking into if there is a monetary concern. Pick one that is a member of the Southern California Yachting Association. This will open up even more events to multihulls.
This weekends regatta started off with a threat of a high pressure system hanging over or near the Long Beach event. That would not be good for the typically good conditions that most people come to the event for. That high pressure system either did not fully materialize or went away somewhere.
The noon start saw about 5 MPH of breeze and most of the boats made it to the starting line on time. Dave Sparkuhl, sailing with Karen Christensen, was giving lessons to the Formula 18 group on how to sail in that light breeze. He took the lead and kept finding ways to increase boat lengths to finish in a comfortable first. Followed by Steve Leo then Jeff Petron.
Wayward Winds, Texas City Dike 9/24 - 9/25
Texas City Dike Yacht Club (Fleet 8), Division 6 and the Texas Offshore Multi hull association are proud to present Wayward Winds 2005. This open class multihull regatta will take place at the Texas City Dike on September 24th & 25th 2005.
For up to the minute information, results and photographs go to
http://texascitydike.com
Please RSVP to help us with planning.
For more information email seagreen@texascitydike.com
Chris Green
Commodore,
Texas City Dike Yacht Club (Fleet 8)
For up to the minute information, results and photographs go to
http://texascitydike.comPlease RSVP to help us with planning.
For more information email seagreen@texascitydike.com
Chris Green
Commodore,
Texas City Dike Yacht Club (Fleet 8)
Better Winds at Hobie 16 North Americans
Ventura provided the best wind of the week on Thursday at the Hobie 16 North Americans topping out at about twenty knots. Four races were sailed ending the Semi-Finals. On Thursday night the Gold and Silver fleets were announced at the classes traditional Cut Party. Friday is the final day of the event. The Silver fleet is scheduled to race in the morning and the Gold fleet will sail in the afternoon.
Going into the last day it is a foregone conclusion that the event winner will come form Hobie Division 13. Division 13 includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Guatemala.
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