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semis day 1 [Re: rhodysail] #32808
05/11/04 08:13 AM
05/11/04 08:13 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 894
Branford, CT
rhodysail Offline
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rhodysail  Offline
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Hello Race Fans!!!

Hobie 16 Worlds semi-finals day 1

Our day was not the greatest. We are now a fleet of 120 boats and so 60 sail every other race. We switch boats every race we sail, which means that we have to get it all set up in a short time.

We were in the first group, and we were out on the course on time by 10:00 this morning only to be sent in when a thunderstorm moved over the sailing area. They made us sail back to the beach as fast as we could, sail up onto the sand, and get away from the boat quickly. Lightening was coming down not far away. After a two-hour postponement racing got under way in difficult conditions. The current was moving up wind, as it has been all week, making for large steep waves. The wind was just strong enough for marginal double trapping. The teams that were the best at powering their boat up on the beats and surfing the waves down wind had the best days.

Our start was pretty bad because we hadn't checked every little tiny thing when we got the boat. As soon as Bob got on the trapeze, his line loosened and he was washed over the back. Luckily as I had had this experience with Annie, I knew to get off the wire and back on tto the boat as quickly as I could so that we didn't capsize. Yes, I saved the Day! Haha. but it was a small victory as we were now in last place. The fleet is So Good that even tiny mistakes like that that take up an extra 3 minutes will leave you in last place...alas.

The rest of the race was a matter of bouncing off waves, getting hit broadside by waves (anyone see "Master and Commander?") and trying to keep your feet on the boat, and having some scary mark roundings as we seemed to always be coming in on port tack. But it was a great learning experience. We finished 51st out of 60 boats. Pretty BAD.

The second race we got a little buried at the start, but quickly tacked and headed off to the right side of the course with the biggest waves but hopefully some wind. It was not to be the case. There were some huge holes without wind out there and we would practically stop. But we tried to ride the waves downwind while keeping the jib flying, and we ended up 24th. There are only two more days before they cut the top 56 teams and send them to the gold fleet. If we make that, it will mean back to back races with switching boats every race. It will be grueling, but at this point we face an uphill battle to make the cut. We will do our best.

Since we only had 3 races today, some teams have sailed two races and others have sailed only one. More tomorrow.

Full results are on the web site: http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/default.asp

Liza



-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: semis day 1 [Re: rhodysail] #32809
05/12/04 08:07 AM
05/12/04 08:07 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 894
Branford, CT
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rhodysail  Offline
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Hello Race Fans!!!

Yesterday was another day of minimal wind. At times we were double trapped, but mostly it was single-trapping conditions.

There were four races yesterday, and we were supposed to race in the second and fourth races. So while we could have gotten up late, we didn't -- probably because we were too keyed up.

Race 1: (Our first race) Wind was out of the east blowing about 9 knots. Our start was unbelievable. But it was so good that I thought we were probably over the starting line early. We headed up the left side of the course closer to the beach than the open ocean where the waves would have been smaller. At the top mark we rounded in 5th place. The rest of the race went well and we didn't lose any boats, finishing 5th. It was GREAT. And NO, we were not over early!

Race 2: Again, our start was one where I kept saying, "Bob, we are already over the starting line!!" But in a World Championship, you never go back and re-cross the starting line to exonerate yourself from an over-early. But it made me feel very relaxed the entire race because I assumed we were going to have to throw out that race. But again, we stayed on the shore side on all beats upwind and had a very respectable finish of 16!

We have now sailed four races altogether in the semi-finals, and we get to throw out our worst race and not count it. So we threw out our 51 from yesterday so now we are in 21st place overall with 121 teams. Not too shabby. We didn't get off the water until 6:00 pm because the poor people in the third race today were stuck on the water for over 3 hours because the wind died in the middle of their race thus the race committee had to abandon it. And so they had to start their race all over again.

Today is the last day of the semi finals. We should have two more races, and then the top 60 teams advance to the Gold Fleet -- the finals.

Liza Cleveland


Last edited by rhodysail; 05/12/04 08:08 AM.
Re: semis day 2 [Re: rhodysail] #32810
05/12/04 10:11 AM
05/12/04 10:11 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline OP
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Mary  Offline OP
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May 11

Hobie 16 Worlds semi-finals day 2

The fleet was again racing in marginal double trappezing conditions Tuesday with steep waves. Race one and two went off without a hitch, but the groups racing in race three had a much tougher time. Race three was plagued by general recalls, postponements (while waiting for the wind to increase) and an abandonment. The race was not completed until some five hours after the boats left the beach. As a result race four for the day was not completed until 6:00 at night and, needless to say, the race committee’s goal of getting in five races today was not met. Racing in the semi-finals will continue tomorrow (Wednesday).

Gavin Colby and Simone Mattfield from Australia are in the lead at the moment. When asked who his competition was for the championship Colby responded that he wasn’t focused on anyone else. His goal was just to continue to get good starts and top five finishes in the races. In that regard the Australians faltered a bit today with a 21 in the second race today, which at this point they are throwing out.

Colby and Mattfields teammates from Australia, Worrall and Seibold, are in second but have also sailed a bad race, a 31.

Right behind the Australians in third is the youth team from Guatemala, Maegli and Lopez. The Guatemalans have the advantage at this point with a 10 as a throw out.

For complete reults: http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/default.asp

Re: semis day 2 [Re: Mary] #32811
05/12/04 06:24 PM
05/12/04 06:24 PM
Joined: Nov 2002
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Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline OP
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May 12, 2004

Hobie 16 World Championships

Today was the last day of the semi-finals. Five races were completed giving each team a total of six races in this stage of the championship. The wind conditions were a bit more consistant today but not much different than they have been all week. From this point the top sixty teams will advance to the final round and sail as one fleet for the remaining two days of the World Championships. For those who make the cut, racing will get more difficult with all of the top sailors in one fleet. For everyone else it is time to party. Most of those who do not qualify will remain in Mexico over the weekend to take advantage of all that this beautifull all-inclusive resort has to offer. The official list of qualified teams will be announced at the "cut party" tonight, and scores will be posted shortly after the anouncement has been made.

Event web site: http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/default.asp

For more pictures check out: http://portcredit.net/h16worlds/

Re: Hobie 16 Worlds News [Re: Mary] #32812
05/13/04 07:30 PM
05/13/04 07:30 PM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 894
Branford, CT
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Hello race fans!!
Well, today was the last day of the semi finals, and the top 60 teams only will advance to the finals. The winds were light all day 8 - 12 knots, and that is good for Bob and me.

Race 1: The winds were so light that it was mostly only single trapping conditions, and I am the lucky one that gets to be on the wire when it is light. Poor Bob has to sit on the boat and maybe even hike out with his feet under the hiking straps if it is marginal... We got the boat tuned up exactly as we've been doing every day on the beach and we remembered to check everything. On the way out to the race course, we do some testing to see if it is all working correctly. There isn't much time for that as they were trying to get five races in today so that everyone sailed six races in the semi-finals. And we had a fairly good start right in the middle of the starting line so we were on starboard for a while until about the middle of the course when we tacked over to the right side. As we were getting somewhat close to the starboard when we got a huge header so we tacked. All the boats that thought they were already on the layline were now overstanding and so we actually beat a
number of them around the mark. Very good luck there!!!!!
Down wind was the same as yesterday -- trying to focus on keeping the jib trimmed perfectly and trying to catch some waves. No major mishaps. They shortened the course and we ended up in 13th. Very respectable.

Race 2: Another good start in the middle of the line where we slogged it out for a while with other boats all around us so we tacked out a little earlier than the first race. The wind picked up nicely up at the windward mark and we were double-trapping. I believe we rounded in about 15th, but then we caught some boats during our downwind legs and ended up that race with an 11th.

So now our final scores are 51, 24, 5, 21, 13, 11. It pretty much means that we have qualified for finals!!! We won't know the final standings until the party tonight, so I'll have to give them to you tomorrow. Or you can check the website:
www.hobieworlds.com
I heard I was in part of yesterday's video -- hugging the organizer of the regatta, Beto Ponce after our race where we came in 5th. I haven't had a chance to check out the website, but I have heard it is really well done.

A lot of people are taking photos, and hopefully the competitors will be given them after the regatta, so I'll be sure to send along the good ones.

The them for the party tonight is a Cuban festival, and they have set up a huge wooden pirate ship on the beach with giant speakers, a dance floor, food stations, and tables with tablecloths!!!! It is going to be somewhat formal apparently.

So now we have two days of racing left. Only 60 teams sail, so with 60 boats, we are racing the entire day. It is normal to switch boats after every single race, and that will make things tough as well. Wish us luck -- we're hanging with the big dogs now!!!!!

Liza


Re: semis day 2 [Re: Mary] #32813
05/13/04 07:33 PM
05/13/04 07:33 PM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 894
Branford, CT
rhodysail Offline
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Branford, CT
Hobie 16 World Championship – Finals – Day 1

Hello Race Fans!!

Last night was the “Cut Party.” Traditionally, it is a party to celebrate those who made it into the final round, and make those who didn’t feel better. The party last night was an all-out grand festival with excellent food, warm sea breezes (it was held on the beach), and even dancing girls (and boys). Alberto Ponce, our Mexican host, put together an extravaganza! A few days ago, a crew started building a giant ship and stage on the beach, and yesterday they added huge speakers and lights. With puffs of smoke and fireworks coming out of the stage last night, the first set of performers were fire dancers. They held either batons or cords with fire burning at the ends. It was beautiful. Then the dancers and singers came out and they were right out of a Vegas show. Tons of beautiful costumes, lots of songs in Spanish, and great dancing.

At the end of the show, the names were read out, and Bob and I were in 20 place out of 60. That was good since we have to carry over our scores into the final round.

Today was the first day of the final round, and we had to sail every race competing against the top 60 teams in the world. Needless to say, it was a challenging fleet. One mistake and about 20 boats would pass you. The mark roundings were absolute scream-fests of people yelling in multiple languages, and the starts were like none I’ve ever been in…imagine 60 boats all lined up perfectly at the last second and then zooming off with incredible acceleration.

I won’t give you a blow by blow of our four races because I really don’t remember much about them. We had to switch boats for every race which meant that we had to tune each of them to our liking…changing trap wire lengths, changing batton tension, etc.

Unfortunately, our first race was really bad and we were almost last. It kind of set a negative tone for day… We had the boat tuned wrong, and while everyone else was double trapping, we could only single trap. We were so slow…!

Our last race went very well. We had a great start, and went up the left side of the course where the waves were flatter. (Yes, another day of 6 foot seas!).

All the course were long courses – three times around the windward mark with a downwind finish.

We started this part of the regatta in 20th place, but now we are now in 30th place. Our scores for today’s races were: 53, 18. 42, 11.

Lots of food and a very early to bed are in order so we can sail another full day tomorrow. Lots of pictures and video on the website. I heard we were in one of the videos too!

Liza



Re: Finals Day 1 [Re: rhodysail] #32814
05/14/04 09:10 AM
05/14/04 09:10 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline OP
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Mary  Offline OP
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For Imediate Release

Hobie 16 Worlds

After day 1 of the finals Axel Silvy and Pauline Jupin have taken the lead with four incredible races. The french duo scored a 1,8,1,2 in the four races sailed on Thursday and have a solid lead going into the final day of the championship. Defending Champions from Australia, Gavin Colby and Simone Mattfield, have slipped to third.

Six American teams made it into the finals. William Jeffers and Karen Grisko, from New York, are the top of the American goup in 24th. In other news a group of Americans who did not make the final round had a great day fishing and so the US team will be feasting on mahi mahi tonight.

Full results at: http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/default.asp

Re: Finals Day 2 [Re: Mary] #32815
05/15/04 11:52 AM
05/15/04 11:52 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline OP
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Mary  Offline OP
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Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
For Imediate Release
May 15

The Hobie 16 World Championship ended Friday with four more races on the final day.
There were once again marginal double trapeezing winds for the first two races of the day.
There was a long postponement before race three when the winds dipped below the
five knot class minimum. Fortunately the wind filled with a vengance and the last two
races were sailed in about 18 knots. Much credit goes to PRO Paul Ulibarri for patiently
waiting for the wind, not to mention the fantastic work performed by him and his team over the course of the entire regatta. Fourty seven races were run over the two weeks of racing.

The French team of Axel Silvy and Pauline Jupin had another epic day to win the series by seventy five points over the defending champions from Australia.

All of the sailors have had the time of their lives racing in paradise off the beach of this tropical resort. The general consensus is that the event organizer Alberto Ponce put together the best Hobie Worlds ever.


The next Hobie 16 Worlds will be held in South Africa in 2006.

Event website http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/

END


Lizas final report [Re: Mary] #32816
05/17/04 12:14 PM
05/17/04 12:14 PM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 894
Branford, CT
rhodysail Offline
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rhodysail  Offline
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Branford, CT
Hello all!

Yesterday [Friday] was our last and final day of racing in the Hobie 16 World Championship. We were sailing against 60 of the best teams in the world, with over 200 teams competing for spots in the final round. The day started out with another heavy breakfast (ham omelet, waffles, sausages, potatoes, orange juice and very strong Mexican coffee) (Thank goodness I can now go back to my bowl of oatmeal...). The winds for the first two races were marginal for double trapping - most of the time Bob was hiking out with his feet under the hiking straps, and I was on the trapeze. But for the first race we had tuned the boat incorrectly, and were slow slow slow. We literally got rolled on every leg. As the course was a 2G, that meant there were 6 legs...! Also, we hit a boat rounding the windward mark and had to do a 360. It was a slaughter. We ended up in 43rd in that race. It would have been worse, but there were some OCSs that pushed us up a little.

The second race was a little better -- we ended up with a 38. The third race was sailed after a very long postponement on the water as we waited for the winds to pick up to the class minimum of 5 knots. And the wind finally did come in with a vengence. In the last two races, the winds were blowing about 17 knots, and the entire pace picked up. Mark roundings were complicated, scary, total mahem events. People are screaming in all different languages so that you see them. Luckily, Bob has sailed in a number of World Championships in other classes of boats, so he remained pretty cool throughout.

Our last race turned out to be our best with a finish of 22. We ended up in 34th place in the World Championship, with the only other American beating us being Jeff Alter -- the son of Hobie Alter, designer of the Hobie 16. He came in 20th. The event was dominated by the Australians and the French. A French team won the event, and the second and third places were taken by Australian teams.

After the racing was another closing ceremony/show where we had a chance to see all the people who have been working for over two years to put the event together. They were a cast of thousands, it seemed. The event ran so smoothly that the competitors were completely unaware of the numbers of people running the show, and it was wonderful to have a chance to thank them.

The famous Cuban dancing show once again entertained the crowd, and rumor has it that numbers of race committee folk, competitors, and others stayed up until dawn drinking and dancing the night away.

All in all it was an event that was wonderful to be a part of.

Liza

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