| PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA-(27-10-2005) 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.
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