TOP TEAMS BATTLE IT OUT IN CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
112 Teams from around the world are currently in action during the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships being sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth. The first day of the semi-finals welcomed the competitors with light breezes and flat seas, a welcome change from the stormy winds and roughs seas of the past couple of days.
42 Top international teams from Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Africa have pre-qualified for the semi-finals of the world championships. After this weekend’s races in the qualifying rounds, a further 45 teams qualified for spots in the semi-finals. South Africa is at the top of the competitors list with 30 teams in the semi-finals, especially after South African competitors put up a show of strength during the four qualification races.
Capetonians Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur quickly put their stamp on the competition with a convincing win in the first race of the day. Puerto Ricans Enrique Figuero and Carla Malatrasi took the second race of the day to tie with the South Africans at the top of the leader board.
France, which is considered top contenders with twelve teams in the running, has proved their reputation with three teams amongst the top five. France already walked off with the youth and women’s world titles last week and did very well in the qualifiers over the weekend. The young Frenchmen Cedric Bader and Yann Montoya will definitely pose a strong challenge to the rest of the fleet. They put up a compelling performance to win the youth world title last week and are also the current European champions in both the youth and open classes.
The semi-finals are taking place from Monday, 31 October, to Wednesday, 2 November. The top 56 teams will advance to the final rounds, which will be sailed on Thursday and Friday to determine the winners of the Open division.
PRESS RELEASE DELIUS/WIESE-DOHSE WIN THIRD SEMI-FINAL RACE HOBIE 16 WORLDS
Port Elizabeth / South Africa, November 1st 2005
On Tuesday November 1st 2005, Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse from Germany won the third race of the semi-finals for the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They were first at the upwind mark and never lost their leading position in the battle with the US team of Bob Merrick and Mike Huang. Apparently, the Americans had bad luck with an OCS (early start). The South-Africans William and Lucinda Edwards took over the second place, followed by Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford (RSA). The fourth race, today's second, had to be cancelled again, due to a lack of wind.
Golden tack According to the local weather forecast, the wind would set in at 2pm and it did. The race committee put in a short course of 3/4 of a mile, since they had to catch up on the racing schedule. Four teams were early over the line. Ingo Delius, Belgian and German Hobie 16 Champion 2005: "Today's strategy was to have a good start and we did. We had clean air, went outside and tacked at the right time, not too far out." They rounded the weather mark in first position, followed by the Americans and the Brasilian team of Ricardo Navarro and Mequias Queiroz. Delius: "It was very tough to defend our place, because the Americans are very good sailors. The wind dropped already on the first beat. We went from double trapeze to floating. It picked up a little bit on the way down to the finish. That is why we gibed twice, because we wanted to go to the other boats that were further out on the ocean. They had more pressure." Enrique Figueroa and Carla Malatrasi from Puerto Rico, yesterday's winners, came back from a nineth to a fourth place.
European competition When Delius and Wiese-Dohse left Germany for the Hobie 16 Worlds in South-Africa, their goal was a top ten position. Delius: "We had a bad race yesterday, so it will be hard. But the score between us and the French boys Cédric and Yann is tied. We beat them in France and they won the Europeans in Germany. We read on the internet that they are aiming for a top five result here, so we actually have to do the same."
A 30 knots wind has been reported from Cape Town, about 650 kilometers to the south. It is heading down to Port Elizabeth and will probably arrive tomorrow morning. The windy city will once again live up her name.
Today's result from race three: 1. GER - Delius / Wiese-Dohse 2. RSA - Edwards / Edwards 3. RSA - Lagesse / Kerford 4. PUR - Figueroa / Malatrasi 5. RSA - Fine / Wichardt
After waiting all day for wind it filled in quickly. They sent us out in 22 and started a sequence. 1 minute into the sequence it went nuclear. We saw it coming and gybed in 30+, then managed to get lined up on the start line. From there it really got nuts. 1/2 the fleet got destroyed. They abandoned with 20 seconds left in the sequence. RC stopped taking wind readings at 46 knots.
It was totally survival just to get back to the beach. We couldn't even trap at all. Big waves and huge gusts. Ken [Hilk] and Diane [Bisesi] flipped twice on the way in. During flip #2 Diane got hit in the face and broke both her front teeth. She was taken off on a chase boat and Mike Siau jumped onto Ken's boat with no life jacket and no harness. He got picked up off the beach to help.
Diane seems ok other than being really upset. She was taken right from the beach to a local dentist and is in with the dentist right now.
It's 1:32 now. All the boats are finally accounted for and back on the beach. They have postponed all racing until 4:00 but they are dreaming. It's now blowing 50+ and the sand is blowing so hard it will hurt you down on the beach.
Other than Diane, I saw a few people at the ambulance getting fixed up but didn't seem to be anything serious.
After three days we have now sailed a grand total of 1 race in light wind and we have been abandoned twice.
SI's say the round robin will continue until all competitors have four races, so no cut tonight. Maybe no cut all week!
We made it in fine, no flips just slow going. We managed to loose a jib batten though and I am sure they are going to ding me for that. The jib battens on these boats are held in with velcro and not ties. One of mine just got ejected.
There is also a big forest fire just west of us. So when the wind comes, so does the smoke. It smells and hurts your eyes.
Rich
Re: Diane is OK
[Re: mbounds]
#59446 11/02/0509:26 AM11/02/0509:26 AM
I have teeth again - but only temps. The woman who drove us to the dentist her husband is on the committee boat and said it was blowing 48 knots when they called it. Ken and I were on the line with 33 seconds - were worried we might be over early. There were boats to avoid if we did start - they were flipped everywhere. We started our way back to the beach and flipped a few times. Found out on the beach that they clocked the wind at 55 on our way in. The last one - we were righting the boat and I had the dolphin striker when the boat flipper over again and hit my mouth and teeth on the crossbar. 30 seconds later I saw Mike Siau on our boat and was I GLAD to see him!!!!!!!! I jumped on the resue boat. The Resue boat continued to pick up people flipped and let guys on the boat do exchange for the light weight women. Rex Mitchell's daughter we picked up next. Then a crew from Africa. I went to see Lori Mohoney and she got a local dentist to take care of me. Steve Leo was my saviour and went with me, Karla took my gear and off to the dentist. Tomorrow is suppose to be good sailing weather - like not blowing 55. They need to get 5 races in tomorrow so they can do the cut - according to the sailing instructions. They might race us Friday am also and only have one race for the Gold. Steve have me pain pills and Puerto Ricans and giving me drinks to ease the pain of course. Bye for now.
Re: Diane is OK
[Re: deq204]
#59447 11/02/0509:43 AM11/02/0509:43 AM
They don't call Pedro "The Doctor" for nothing. Two new teeth: $$$Thousands. Making the cut at the Worlds: Priceless. Hang in there Honey and Smile . Might as well go for it now. Just a couple of good races. Diane(with teeth)& Matt B
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204
Press Release for November 2nd...
[Re: pbisesi]
#59448 11/02/0512:27 PM11/02/0512:27 PM
The unpredictable weather conditions again played havoc with the fleet during the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships. The ninth day of the championships, currently being sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth dawned with no breeze. Over 200 anxious competitors waited until 11h00 before the predicted winds came through to sail the fourth semi-final race.
However, a strong north-westerly wind came through unexpectedly and with gusts of up to 48 knots on the bay, the race was abandoned as several boats capsized. Rescue boats and spectator craft rushed to the rescue of competitors, who were struggling to right their vessels. Seasoned sailors such as current South African national champion Shaun Ferry and Mark Laruffa from Italy joined the rescue missions spread across the bay to assist competitors with bringing the Hobie Cats safely to shore.
As the visibility over the bay worsened due to the raging veld fires in the Eastern Cape, race officials did careful beach checks to ensure that all the Hobies were safely back on the beach. Zac Wessels’ Hobie were eventually beached at Kings Beach and towed back by vehicle, while other competitors were towed back by boats. Spectators and officials were relieved when the final Hobie eventually made it to the beach shortly before 13h00. Christian Wright and Charlie Clement from Hong Kong drifted across the bay and were towed back by rubber duck.
Despite the chaotic morning, injuries were minimal with only bumps, bruises and lacerations being reported. Except for one bent mast and a couple of torn sails, the boats also escaped relatively unscathed.
Further racing was cancelled for the day and with only three races completed in the semi-final rounds, race officials have extended the semi-final rounds to Thursday.
112 Teams are competing for the coveted 56 spots in the finals.
EXCITING SAILING IN SEMI-FINALS OF CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLDS
After the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships were extended due to adverse weather conditions, racing got underway shortly after 10h00 on the penultimate day of the championships. The light westerly breeze held steady at approximately 12 knots as the 112 teams took to the water to battle it out for a spot in the top 56. The finals will be sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday, 4 November 2005.
The weather gods smiled on the competitors and the winds continued for the duration of the day with non-stop racing taking place and seven round-robin races were completed. “The wind gusted quite a bit around the course, which made sailing quite tricky but it is wonderful that we were able to sail so many races on one day. Everybody will obviously be quite tired tonight, but at least we had six races on the day and everyone had a chance to compete,” said South African Gordon McGillivray after the final race.
Tim Shuwalow and Cameron Hooper from Australia scored the first hit with a victory in the first race of the day. South African Blaine Dodds and his 19-year old daughter Roxanne finished second with the Guatemalan team of Juani Maegli and Cristina Guirola in third place. Germans Stefan Rumpf and Kim Liedtke and South Africans Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur were fourth and fifth respectively.
The round-robin races continued after a quick beach change-over and the rest of the fleet got back on the water for the fifth race of the semi-finals. Stefan Wiese-Dohse and Versi Gerhmann of Germany won the fifth race with SA champion Blaine and Roxanne Dodds second across the line and local sailors Andrew Ward and Steve Arnold in third place.
Competitors were delighted with the opportunity to race several races in one day after several days of frustrating sailing conditions and took to the water again after lunch to complete the sixth semi-final race. Aussies Shuwalow and Hooper repeated their earlier performance to win the race, followed by South Africans Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur and the French team of Jerome Le Gal and Siret Mickael.
Brazilians Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes claimed victory in the seventh race with South Africans Hylton Hale and Kim Rowlands second, Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur third and Allan Lawrence and Nicola Francis fourth.
The Brazilians were coming into their own as Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham won the eighth race followed closely by fellow countrymen Bernardo Arndt and Bruno Oliveira. The French team of Christophe Renaud de Malet and Alban Rossollin was third with the father-and-daughter combination of Blaine and Roxanne Dodds in fourth position.
The sailing conditions suited Brazilians Viana and Gomes, who went on to win the ninth race with South Africans Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford claiming second position and Sam Newton and Nick Tayler from Great Britain third across the line.
The tenth and final race of the semi-final rounds started shortly after 17h00. Newly appointed Chairman of the International Hobie Class Association Colin Whitehead won the last race convincingly. Whitehead, a former world champion, is sailing with his son Matthew, who at age 12 is the youngest competitor in the semi-final event. He is trying to repeat history as he won his world championship title sailing with his father Mick when he was 12.
On Thursday November 3rd 2005, the competitors of the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in South Africa finally got a full day of action. After yesterday's 40 knots offshore wind in Port Elizabeth, there was a nice and steady breeze all day long. The semi-final series of ten races were completed. Brazil took three bullets and Australia two. Both teams Tim Shuwalow / Cameron Hooper (AUS) and Juliano Viana / Sebastiao Gomes (BRA) won twice. The Aussies are in first position after the semi-finals, followed by the South African teams Ferry/Le Sueur and Dodd/Dodd. The battle for gold is tied, so it is going to be an exciting final day.
Race 4 to 6: Shuwalow and Hooper grab the lead Today's conditions have arrived right in time, as the Hobie 16 Worlds 2005 are coming to an end and the weather has been very tricky. The fourth semi-final race had to be cancelled again on Wednesday, due to a 40 knot offshore wind that all of a sudden came in during the starting procedure. This morning, the race committee decided to use short courses (upwind, downwind, finish), in order to catch up on the schedule. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds from South Africa were in the lead at the first upwind mark, followed by the British youngsters Tom Phipps and Andrew Taylor. Both of them choose for the left side of the course. Tim Shuwalow and Cameron Hooper (AUS) went to the right. The finish was close, but the Aussies caught a puff and beat father and daughter Dodds at the line. Shuwalow: "We got it just before them." All teams swopped their boats quickly and sailed out again. The Germans Wiese-Dohse and Versi Gehrmann took the lead from the beginning and sailed a conservative fifth race. They went inshore after the upwind mark and increased their lead. "It was nerve-racking", said Gehrmann afterwards. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds finished second. Race six showed exciting competition between Australia and South Africa. Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur (RSA) were heading from the seaside of the course towards the finish, as Shuwalow and Hooper came from inshore. The South Africans got a header and fell back to a second position. Shuwalow, who works for the Volvo Ocean Race organization, took advantage of a lift an won: "We had a nice pressure on the run downwind."
Race 7 to 9: Brazil dominates The blue, green and yellow colours of the mainsails symbolized the Brazilian colours today, as Brazil took three bullets. Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes won the seventh and nineth race, Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham the eighth. After his first victory, Viana explained his success: "We come from a place with strong winds, so we know what to do with the breeze that was picking up. And we always went out on the ocean, because it was better there." Hilton Hale and Kim Rowlands (RSA) grabbed the second position on the finish line: "Blaine undertacked the line and we got him." In race eight, Robert Bezerra and Sergio Nottingham had a porttack start at the committee boat. Bezerra: "We had clean air and went off, but we watched the other competitors all the time." However, there was more Brazilian fortune, as Bernardo Arndt and Bruno Aliveira finished second. All of them received a warm and enthusiastic welcome back on the beach by their fellow-countrymen. Bezerra about their national team spirit: "We live at the same place as Juliano and Sebastiao and we train together." Juliano Viana and Sebastiao Gomes had to fight for victory in race nine, after rounding the first upwind mark in third position . Viana: "On the downwind reach, we looked for wind and gibed several times in the center of the course. Sometimes for catching puffs and sometimes aggressively on others." It paid and they finished far ahead of the runners up, Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford from South Africa. Viana: "We are going to celebrate it tonight. You never know about tomorrow."
Race 10: New IHCA president Colin Whitehead serves the sailors South African Colin Whitehead, second World Champion Hobie 16 ever, has been elected as the new president of the International Hobie Class Association. At yesterday's non-cut party, he was introduced to all competitors. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you all", spoke Colin. A day after, he already leaded the fleet by far. He and his 12-year old son Matthew won race ten, followed by Jerome Le Gal and Siret Mickael from France.
The top 56 teams will be announced this evening at the yacht club. They will compete in the final round for the 2005 World Champion Hobie Cat 16.
Top five after ten races and one discard: 1. AUS - Shuwalow / Hooper, 11 points 2. RSA - Ferry / Le Sueur, 11 p. 3. RSA - Dodds / Dodds, 16 p. 4. RSA - Lagesse / Kerford, 18 p. 5. FRA - Le Gal / Mickael, 18 p.
Yeah, but he's got a herd of South Africans breathing down his neck. Tim's already bought his throw (a 21) and Ferry and Dodd's worst races are a 10 and a 9.
Don't count Kiki out yet. Although Carla's looking worried.
The races today were short - if you didn't get a good start, you were hosed. And I know all too well how hard it is to get a good start at the worlds.
Now you know why we are scared of Sean and Blaine ... and have to race against them at open events. At least our boats are faster . Small consolation, they beat us boat for boat most times, even though we are rated about 1min/hour faster than a H16. At least when we DO cross the line ahead of them we know we`ve had a good race !! (happens once in a lifetime though.) Just looked up the results for the SA Nationals in April to compare, http://www.abyc.org.za/Downloads/Results/20050429%20HOBIE.html Brazilians Viana & Gomes were 4th at Nationals, 15th at Worlds, the German team who were 4th at Worlds were 6th at Nationals, Paul Lagesse 5th at both Nationals & Worlds (wow, he hasn`t raced Hobies for a good couple of years, I think), and Blaine, William and Sean seem to have traded places, (William down in 22nd ?) You know the fleet is tough when Enrique F finishes 12th. Guys like John Ryall who is FAST doesn`t make the top 56 ???
Re: 17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships
[Re: mmiller]
#59456 11/07/0507:41 AM11/07/0507:41 AM
Congratulations to Bob on being the top US sailor at the Worlds. The East coast can claim bragging rights this year. We will continue to try and push you to get better and crack that top twenty next time. It was in reach this time . Bob: no more head starts.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2005/051029-01webgallery/images/_DSC1860.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hobieworlds.co.za/userimages/copy_of_And_some%282%29.jpg)
. Might as well go for it now. Just a couple of good races. 
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2005/051031-01webgallery/images/_DSC2089.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2005/051031-01webgallery/images/_DSC2163.jpg)
. Small consolation, they beat us boat for boat most times, even though we are rated about 1min/hour faster than a H16. At least when we DO cross the line ahead of them we know we`ve had a good race !! (happens once in a lifetime though.)