20 nov. 2005

Hobie Cat 16 Worlds 2005

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The sailing conditions in Port Elizabeth went from one extreme to the other, which made true winners of the 2005 World Champions Hobie Cat 16. The competitors had to deal with squalls up to 40 knots and high surf, alternated with calm weather and flat water. The South Africans Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur knew how to play this home game and won the title. His former skipper Blaine Dodds ended up in second position with his daughter Roxanne, followed by the Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse. Hobie Cat Europe hired me to report on this true Hobie event. You will find the daily releases and photographs, taken by Pierrick Contin, on www.hobieworlds.com and the final report below.

The competition from October 25th until November 4th in the Nelson Mandela Bay has been tough, but absolutely rewarding. Hobie Beach transformed into a real Hobie Cat scene, with sailors from all over the world, of all ages and abilities. Sixty brand new 16s were assembled and ready to go.

Open Qualifier – Tahiti takes victory
In the Open Qualifier Round for the 2005 Hobie Cat 16 Worlds, two fleets sailed two races each. One with extremely windy conditions and one with a light offshore wind and a huge surf. Everybody around helped the sailors to beat the waves safely. The beach master gave advices through the microphone and the public encouraged the competitors and clapped for every successful action. Veronique Telva and Guillain Kaya from Tahiti won with a bullet and a second place. The top 112 teams were invited to continue with the semi-finals.

Semi-finals – Final sprint with seven races
After three days and only three semi-final races, Port Elizabeth pleased the competitors with perfect and steady conditions on Thursday November 3rd. Finally, the race committee could catch up on the lost hours and managed to complete seven races. Happy faces returned to the beach, as they had about fifteen knots wind outside and great competition. Brazil took three bullets and Australia two. Both teams Tim Shuwalow / Cameron Hooper (AUS) and Juliano Viana / Sebastiao Gomes (BRA) won twice. The Aussies were in first position after the semi-finals, followed by the South African teams Ferry/Le Sueur and Dodd/Dodd. The battle for gold was tied, so the final day promised to be an exciting one. Late in the evening, the best 56 competitors were announced. They were allowed to sail the finals.

Finals – Again former Champion Ferry
Tears came to his eyes, as Shaun Ferry hit the beach and heard about his third World Title. It was a rainy Friday in Nelson Mandela Bay, with a maximum of five knots of wind. Four final races were scheduled to determine the 2005 World Champion, but only one was completed. The top three of the semi-finals produced a disappointing result. However, Blaine and Roxanna Dodds could discard theirs and won silver, followed by the Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse. Race two had to be cancelled after the first beat.

Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur were welcomed back on the beach with a bottle of Champain. Ferry also won the World Title Hobie 16 in 1993 in Guedeloupe and the ISAF Hobie 16 World Championship 1998. “We are relieved”, said Ferry. “There was so much pressure”, added Le Sueur. Before the last start, the South Africans had the same amount of points as the Australians Shuwalow and Hooper. Ferry and Le Sueur finished 16th in the final race, one place before the Aussies, who already had a 21st as discard, so they fell back to a fourth position overall. Shaun Ferry quit sailing a few years ago, but he decided to participate at the 2005 Worlds just for fun. After he won the first race of the semi-finals, the pressure was on. Ferry about his future in the Hobie 16: “I want to put something back into the class, in order to keep it going. I will spend time on that. The sport must continue and that is most important to me.” That was all he could say, because Blaine Dodds, World Champion in 1998, and other competitors picked the winners up and threw them in the Indian Ocean.

Women, Youth and Masters
The 2005 World Championships Hobie Cat 16 started on Tuesday October 25th with the women, youth and masters competing for the World Title. It was a difficult competition, due to wild and light conditions. The Youth and Women teams completed three races in total. The masters and grand masters only one, since they had to challenge big squalls and waves before their second race was cancelled. 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.

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