Hobie Funtime
Warm water, 25 knots of breeze, a Hobie 16 and a group of teenagers. The perfect ingredients for some Hobie fun. At the recent Australian Hobie Championships the organizers split the championships into two series. Series 1 was Hobie 14,Hobie 16 Youth, Women, Grand Masters, Hobie 18, Tiger and Wild Cat. The second series was the Hobie 16 Open and Masters. This allowed some of the sailors to race in more than one series. Also for the Youth and Women to race their own series then compete in a different team in the Open/ Masters series. There are full reports and photos on series 1 and series 2. The next Australian Championships will be at Somers in Victoria over the New Year period. A Notice of Race will be issued soon.
Hobie® 2017 MutiWorlds and Europeans
The Hobie® 2017 Multiworlds and Europeans is heading towards being a great success. Already Hobie Cat Europe has received a lot of demand for the charter boats. There is now a waiting list on all the boats. You can still contact Hobie Cat Europe and add your name to the list for a charter boat, though shipping your boat would guarantee you will have a boat to sail. We are currently working with a shipping company to assist the sailors from outside Europe ship their boats. Please contact us for further information. The organizers of the Hobie® 2017 Multiworlds and Europeans are also asking for your assistance in gaining more sponsorship. Bi-annually Eneco helps local initiatives in Noordwijk, Katwijk and Zandvoort through a donation from their Eneco Luchterduinen Fundhttps. This fund is raised because of the wind park in front of the 3 villages at sea. The ZVN has asked for a donation to help organize the Hobie 2017 Multi Worlds & Europeans. With a donation we wish among others to lower the threshold for the participation of youngsters and we hope to offer more non-sailing and social events to the championships. Hence, if you and your friends all vote for our event, you will definitely have more fun this summer.
RELATED: Sailing – IHCA January 2017 Newsletter
2017 Hobie® 16 & 20 North American Championships at Yankton, South Dakota
The Hobie 16 Open and 20 North Americans will be at Yankton South Dakota June 19-23. The Hobie Beach is approximately 200 meters of sand, with the main sailing area directly south of the beach. RV parking and camping is allowed right on the regatta site for a small fee, with nice showers/bathrooms just steps away. All meals and social events will take place in the park next to the beach in the shelter and large tent. Cabins, hotel rooms and rental homes are all available within a few minutes of the regatta site.
2017 Hobie North American Mini Mega Waves, 14s, 16 Youth, Hobie Women, 17s and 18s
The Mini Mega will be held in Wildwood New Jersey August 2-12. The North American Championships for the Hobie Wave, 14, 16 Youth, Women, 17, 18. The racing schedule is:
August 3rd-5th, Thursday-Saturday: Hobie 14 and Hobie 16 Women
August 6th, Sunday lay day (no racing)
August 7-9, Monday-Wednesday: Hobie Waves and Hobie 16 Youth
Aug 7th-11th, Monday-Friday: Hobie 17 and Hobie 18.
IHCA Rules Committee Changes
The IHCA Rules Committee has gone under some changes. The IHCA long standing Rules Committee Chairman for over 15 years, Erik Olsen (Denmark) has decided it was time to retire. Erik is being replaced by Knud Jansen (Germany) Knud is well known as he is the Chairman of the German Hobie Cat Association. Doug Skidmore (USA) President of Hobie Cat Company has been on the IHCA Rules Committee for over 20 years. Doug shall be replaced by Steve Fields (Australia) Managing Director of Hobie Cat Australasia. The Class is very lucky as Steve not only has the understanding of being a manufacturer but Steve is also a former Hobie 17 World Champion. Steve has also won Australian National titles on the Hobie 16, Hobie 17, Hobie 18 and Hobie Tiger. We all thank Erik and Doug for their many years of work on the Rules Committee and welcome Knud and Steve on board. The Rules Committee has also been busy with some proposals. These can be found at the IHCA website.
At the IHCA AGM in China the IHCA Council voted that the next Hobie 16 Open World Championships will no longer have onsite qualifying. The only way to compete on the Open World Championships will be via qualifying at events in your region. More information will be announced in the Notice of Race when released.
Hobie Asian Championships
The Hobie Asian Championships location will be announced very soon. The tentative dates are 13-15 October 2017. This will be in the North Monsoon season allowing for good breeze and no rain. Charter boats will be available and for those wishing to holiday before or after in Hong Kong this is a great opportunity. More details when they come to hand. But start to plan your holidays.
Mexican Hobie 16 Championships
The 2017 Mexican Hobie 16 Championships will be hosted atValle de Bravo, Estado de México, which is a beautiful lake just two hour drive from Mexico City. Racing will be from Friday 26 May to Sunday 28 May 2017.
2017 French Hobie Championships
The 2017 French Hobie Championships has been announced. It will be from the 3-5 June at Châtelaillon-Plage which is south of the city of La Rochelle. More information can be found at the French Hobie Class website.
17th Philippine Hobie Challenge starts this month
The 17th Philippine Hobie Challenge Series, which consists of five point to point leg races and the second event will be the Inshore Series, which will consist of a number of in shore races. The route will start from Nasugbu, Batangas, then to Lubang Islands, followed by a stop at Apo Reef, into Northern Busuanga, Palawan, passing through Uson Island, Coron, Palawan, and concluding in Busuanga, Palawan. Inshore Races will be held in Nasugbu and Busuanga. The Challenge route distance is approximately 200 nautical miles.
