First Hobie Wave Midwest Championships
(The Wave Fleets Just Keep Growing and Expanding! )

The Hobie Wave Midwest Championship, attached to the Mayors Cup held by the
Eagle Creek Sailing Club, was at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis Indiana this year May the 16th through the 18th. The Conditions were, according to the Eagle Creek Airport adjacent to the lake property, blustery and unseasonably cold this year with Saturday temperatures reaching 73F and winds approaching 27mph. Sunday high was 63F with winds approaching 28mph. The conditions were described by seasoned Wave sailor Patrick Green as, “Some of the most challenging race conditions I have encountered due to the sudden wind shifts and unstable air.” The difficult conditions crippled several boats in other fleets racing the same day, sending them packing back to the docks but the Hobie Waves kept a blistering pace without failures.

We had a roster of 8 experienced sailors making starts interesting and mark rounding exciting.

The first race got off to a familiar start with Patrick Green wining confidently over the pack hungry to get their chance. In the second race Skip Kaub had his first opportunity for a bullet with a comfortable lead but learned quickly from Patrick that no lead is comfortable as Patrick came bearing down to finish first.
By the third race it was apparent that Patrick was dialed in with others biting at his heals. Not so apparent was Bruce Warthen from Evansville quietly coming up and finishing stronger each race. By the end of the forth race Patrick was clearly out in front with a total score of 4, Skip with 12 and Bruce Warthen with 13 followed by Bob Hickok with 15.

The wild heard at rest!

Sunday started off in similar fashion to Saturday. In the first race, Patrick finished first followed by Skip in Second, with Ki Hickok in third. Shuffling the deck, in the second race of the day, Ki charged forward taking his first bullet of the competition followed by his father Bob Hickok in second. Since the Wave fleet was so well represented we were also in contention for the Mayors Cup. The new hand dealt by Ki created an interesting turn of events. His win turned out to be a tiebreaker with Skip Kaub securing him second place overall and knocked Patrick Green out of the running for the prestigious Mayors Cup. The final race of the day found Ki in second place to Patrick.

First second and third in action.

Left to right, Patrick Green first place, Skip Kaub third place, Ki Hickok Second Place.

In summary, the first Hobie Wave Midwest Championship was well received not only by the sailors who expressed their interest in coming back next year but also by the Event Chairman Jeff Drake who expressed his enthusiasm about having the Wave fleet participating in the Mayors Cup Regatta.

Sailors get a taste of Indy!
Friday prior to the welcome meeting at the Eagle Creek Reservoir, the Wave sailors were on a mission to see the local color. With a guest passes to the garages and tickets to “Lunch With the Drivers” we got a chance to see some drivers up close and personal, visit their garages and actually hold some of their equipment in our hands.

Wave sailor Bill Mulineaux holding 2004 Racing Champion Tony Kanan’s $35,000.00 steering wheel in the Andretti Green Racing garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Group shot of Wave sailors at the front straightaway/finish line.