Welcome to the British Hobie Cat Class Association Website.		11 March 2010
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Menu	Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.   Main News   2010 Cat Challenge Dates Announced - Posted by dmurphy on the 10 January 2010   Junior Catamaran Development Programme CATAMARAN CHALLENGE 2010 27 & 28 March 2010 at Datchet Water Sailing Club Are you 10-16 years old and a competent sailor? Are you sailing an Optimist, Topper, Cadet or other boat and looking for your next challenge? Have you thought about sailing a fast catamaran? Come along to the 2010 Cat Challenge hosted by the British Hobie Cat Class Association (BHCCA) and Datchet Water Sailing Club. Each one day event will enable junior sailors to try catamaran sailing and racing under the supervision of qualified catamaran coaches. • Prizes to be won • A chance of being selected for the Junior Cat training programme • Opportunity to charter a Dragoon Cost: £20 per sailor Bring: Sailing kit (including buoyancy aid) and lunch To find out more and book a place e-mail David Boniface at dave@youthcatsailing.org.uk or call 01323 484461   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Irish Open Championship Dates Announced - Posted by dmurphy on the 10 January 2010   Irish Open Championships, Ballyholme Yacht Club, 31 July - 2 August 2010 'Big Cat Event' featuring: 5 / 6 Open Championship races on the Saturday and Sunday, and a passage race of approx 25 - 30 miles on the Monday. Socially it will also have a packed agenda starting with a Welcoming Family Night on the Friday, followed by family outings while we are racing, and each day ending with barbeques and music. Crèche Facilities available. More details to follow. Further information from: Richard Swanston Tel: 07878643426 email: r.swannie@virgin.net   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Junior Travellers Trophy 2009 - Posted by dmurphy on the 8 November 2009   Results of Junior Travellers Trophy 2009 sponsored by Wildwind This year’s Junior Travellers Trophy for the Hobie Dragoons was once again sponsored by Wildwind. The series consisted of six events during the 2009 season: (i) Winter Warmer Series at Datchet in February 2009 (ii) Datchet Cat Open in March 2009 (iii) Weston Youth Regatta in September 2009 (iv) RYA Zone Championships in September 2009 (v) Grafham Cat Open in October 2009, and (vi) Weston Cat Open in November 2009. Thirteen Dragoon teams entered the series, and the overall winners were Jack and Adam Murphy. Well done to everyone to took part in this series, and thanks again to Wildwind for their generous sponsorship for the Dragoon programme and this series. The full results are posted in the results section. The top 4 final positions are as follows: 1st Adam Murphy and Jack Murphy 38 points 2nd Rhys Cooke and Jess Cooke/Jack Muldoon 25 points 3rd Sebastian Samways and Daniel Channing 18 points 4th Charles Willet and Harry Willet 18 points   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Weston Cat Open - Posted by dmurphy on the 8 November 2009   Weston Sailing Club hosted a great weekend of sailing, fun and fireworks on 7-8 November 09. Over 60 catamarans attended the event, with four of our Hobie Dragoon Squad teams. The weather was excellent with no rain during the sailing and a good breeze for trapezing and flying a hull. The Results for the Junior Dragoons were: 1st Adam Murphy and Jack Murphy 2nd Jack Ward and Harry Ikibiroglu 3rd Jack Muldoon and Rhys Cooke 4th Guy Lovett and John Maddison For full race results, including other Hobies, go to: http://www.weston.org.uk/site/news/results.htm   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Weston Cat Open - Posted by dmurphy on the 5 November 2009   This weekend of 7-8 Nov is the Weston Cat Open and the last event of the Traveller Trophy Series for the Hobie Dragoon squad. Simon Morgan and the staff at Wildwind are sponsoring the Series - see news from 10 March 2009. The six events in the Dragoon TT series are: 1. Datchet Winter Warmer Feb 2009 2. Datchet Cat Open March 21-22 3. Weston Youth Open September 5-6 4. RYA Zones September 26-27 5. Grafham Cat Open October 24-25 6. Weston Cat Open November 7-8 We're hoping to get a good turnout of Hobie sailors for the event this weekend. To enter the event please contact Weston Sailing Club at sail@weston.org.uk   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Grafham Cat Open 2009 - Posted by dmurphy on the 27 October 2009   Grafham Water SC hosted the Cat Open on 24-25 October 2009 and 128 catamarans took part in the event. The windy weather conditions made for some very exciting and interesting sailing – certainly challenging for the youth sailors. Hobie Cats raced in several of the classes, with Luke Yates and Matthew Humphreys coming 3rd in the F18 class in their Hobie Wildcat. Ben Sherring and Mike Keep finished 7th in the Fast Double Handed Fleet in their Hobie Formula 20. Jack and Adam Murphy obtained an overall 14th place in the medium handicap fleet in their Hobie Dragoon (the highest placed Dragoon -see results for full table). All the youth teams on the Hobie Dragoons found the conditions challenging on Sunday and none were able to complete the last two races. Disappointingly, no Hobie 16s attended the event – it would be good to see some H16s in the racing too. Well done to all the Hobie sailors. Hope to see you all at the Weston Cat Open on 7-8 November 2009.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Hobie National Championships in Poole - Posted by dmurphy on the 9 October 2009   The Hobie 16 and Dragoon Nationals were held at the Poole Hobie Cat Centre over the weekend of Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2009. With a great turnout and strong winds the first day got off to a flying start. Sadly too much wind for the lighter Dragoon teams! But day 2 was a little more gentle and all the boats enjoyed a great day of sailing. The annual “Round Brownsea Island” charity race was postponed until Sunday but it still attracted many Hobie sailors in a variety of Hobies to enter the race. Steve and Hazel at the Hobie Cat Centre organised a fantastic Hobie party on the beach on Saturday evening. The results are: Hobie 16s 1st Adam Butler and Nikki Boniface 2nd David and Emma Boniface 3rd Paul Limpus and Paul Duncliffe Dragoons 1st Seb Samways and Dan Channing 2nd Charles and Harry Willets 3rd Alicia Clifford and Siobham Lamb Thanks to everyone at the Hobie Cat Centre, and our sponsors, Wildwind, for making this year's National Championships such a fantastic event. See you again next year.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     RYA Zone Championships - Posted by dmurphy on the 7 October 2009   THe RYA Zone Chamionships were held across the UK over the weekend of 26/27 September 2009. Grafham Water Sailing Club hosted the Eastern Region and included the national Dragoon event. With little wind over the entire weekend if proved to be a challenge of concentration for all the teams. The results were: 1st Sebastian Samways and Dan Channing 2nd Jack Muldoon and Rhys Cooke 3rd Adam Murphy and Jack Murphy Well done to all the sailors and support crews (i.e. the parents!)   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Weston Youth Open - Posted by dmurphy on the 8 September 2009    5-6 September 2009 Eighteen Hobie Dragoon sailors attended the Weston Youth Open over the weekend of 5-6 September 09. The weather and hospitality at the Club were both excellent. The full weekend programme included a presentation by Iain Percy, double Olympic champion (winning medals for sailing at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics). The results were: 1st Seb Samways & Dan Channing 2nd Adam Murphy & Jack Murphy 3rd Charles Willets & Harry Willets   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Hobie Europeans Lake Como - Posted by dmurphy on the 8 September 2009    1-8 August 2009 Five British Hobie Dragoons and four Hobie 16s made the long journey out to Lake Como for the Hobie Europeans event from 1-8 August 2009. Seventeen Dragoons, 127 Hobie 16s and several Tigers and other Hobie Cats from all over Europe (and entries from Australia) descended upon Gravedona for a fantastic week of sailing. The youth teams pulled out some great performances despite very challenging conditions. The stormy weather meant that not all the races were sailed, however Seb and Dan (centre of picture) won the Dragoon class, with Rachel Scarfe & Seb Greber finishing in 6th place in the Hobie 16. The final overall Dragoon results were: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Entries: 16 1 Dragoon 653 Seb Samways & Daniel Channing GBR 7.0 2 Dragoon 952 Teuntje van Es & Marloes Sprij NED 10.0 3 Dragoon 825 Neiras Johan Robert Solune FRA 20.0 4 Dragoon 673 Patrick Harrison & Benedict Harrison GBR 21.0 5 Dragoon 726 Adam Murphy & Jack Murphy GBR 22.0 Also in the Dragoons, Charles and Harry Willets finished 11th and Jessica and Rhys Cooke finished 15th. In the Hobie 16s, Adam Butler and Nicola Boniface finished 16th, Sam Rowles and Gilly Sutchiffe finished in 23rd place. For further details check out the website: http://www.ehca.hobieclass.com/default.asp?Page=8340 Well done to all the sailors, and huge thank you to Andy Walsh from the RYA for his support and coaching at the event.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Eurocat Results 2009 - Posted by NickH on the 1 June 2009   A full report from Rhys will follow but here are the results from Eurocat The Dragoons and Hobie 16 were part of the C3 class of 102 boats. In the series Adam & Nikki 18th Sam & Gilly 19th Pati & Beni 49th - 1st Dragoon Alicia & Louisa 62nd - 2nd Dragoon Jack & Adam 64th - 3rd Dragoon Jess & Rhys 69th Louis & Alex 84th In the Raid Adam & Nikki were 50th and Sam & Gilly 62nd. The Dragoons had their own limited Raid Alicia & Louisa 1st Jack & Adam 3rd Well done to all who raced   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Datchet Cat Open - Posted by NickH on the 1 June 2009    Day 1 Everyone turned up for the Datchet Cat Open, with a bunch of F18 and other fast cats there too. Day 1 got underway, with the dragoons on the third start. The speedy F18’s had just about done a lap as the dragoons started and they were quickly swamped by them. Patrick and Benedict Harrison won the first race. Adam and Jack came second with Jess and Rhys third. The second race got off to a weird start, with only Adam and Jack actually starting on their gun. The other dragoons didn’t realise the start was actually theirs! Adam and Jack won the first race followed by Patrick and Benedict. Jessica and Rhys again took third. Adam and Jack again won the third and final race of day 1. Jessica and Rhys finished second but unfortunately missed out the gate on the way to the finish, and subsequently got disqualified. Patrick and Benedict, who where overtaken on the line by the disqualified boat. Therefore finished second. By Adam and Jack Murphy Day 2 - Race 4 The second day had started with around the same conditions as the previous day; around 5 knots in a constant breeze but with few pressure differentials for the good, along the right hand side of the course where most of the dragoons stayed. Race 4 started with Jack and Adam bringing up the front with now a slightly bigger gap between first and second. They had perfected their light wind sailing and were taking the fleet with ease. There was a fight for second and third between Patty and Benny and Jess and Rhys, but on the second leg up wind Patty and Benny took advantage of some heavier wind to the far right hand side and managed to edge ahead for the final leg down wind. Patty and Benny finished second with Jess any Rhys coming close behind. The all girl team Siobhan Alicia and were catching up the head of the fleet with 4th. Race 5 There was a huge gap of 1hour 20 minutes for the dragoons between race 4 and 5 but as it finally came to a start Jack and Adam were racing ahead. Due to the wind shift Patty and Benny unfortunately did a gybe on the start to avoid a windward boat, this put them in last position on the first leg. Alicia and Siobhan had also had a good start and were in contention for the lead. By the rounding of the bottom gate Adam and Jack were in first position with Siobhan and Alicia in second Patty and Benny in 3rd and Jess and Rhys in 4th. Patty and Benny did all they could to try and catch the girls but with their superb sailing this was an impossible task. By Patrick Harrison 6th Race Following the large postponement after the first race on Sunday, the second race proceeded as did the final race of the series promptly after. The unpredictable winds prevailed as the sailors tried to compose new strategies on how to round the course successfully. First off the line was again Adam and Jack closely followed by Patty and Benny whilst Tim and Kit also got a good start. Patty and Benny took a gamble by taking a different route. First to round the windward mark were (no surprises) Jack and Adam, closely followed by Patty and Benny, after having evaded the fast and furious F18s and other Cats. Matters were made interesting when the wind picked up slightly and conveyed yet again in a NW direction. First to notice the wind shift were Patty and Benny Harrison and adapted their tactics accordingly. After having noticed an advance in the Harrison’s pace, the other sailors amended their course also. The second lap was similar to the first for the Dragoons, but more spread out, with Jack and Adam closely followed by Patty and Benny. Jess and Rhys also came close behind and a few boats taking up the rear. As the first sailors rounded the second windward mark, it became apparent that not gybing round the spreader but continuing straight on was not only the quickest option downwind, but also the more fun and faster route. Patty and Benny unfortunately found this out. First to end the Cat Open was Adam and Jack who slipped ahead of Patty and Benny for not only the win but also the title of the second TT of the series. This gives them two TT wins out of two. Reported by Alex Gorringe Overall everybody raced well with some pulling out the front of the fleet and some doing really well to hold on to the back of the ever speeding front of the fleet. The final results of the series were 1st Adam and Jack Murphy 2nd Patrick and Benedict Harrison 3rd Jessica and Rhys Cooke 4th Alicia Clifford and Siobhan Lamb 5th Tim & Kit Cope 6th Louis & Alex Gorringe 7th Hannah & Josh 8th Jack & Joe Well done all those who competed! Report by Patrick Harrison In the handicap class there were 25 boats, four of them youth Spitfires and 2 Hobie 16 Spinnaker ISAF teams. There were 6 F16’s from Datchet that despite local knowledge didn’t get a look in at the front. Some strange scoring in the 3rd race skewed the results somewhat but we will not deny Josh and Freddie the win as they sailed well and were pushing Henry and Rupert all weekend. James sailing with rookie Sam seemed to get stronger as the weekend went on with two creditable seconds and it was only the capsize in the last race that kept him out of the cups, losing narrowly to Peter Richardson on the Spitfire and Sam Rowles and Gilly on the Hobie 16. Overall results 1st Henry & Rupert White - Spitfire 2nd Josh Hunt & Freddie White - Spitfire 3rd Peter Richardson & Fenella Miller - Spitfire 4th Sam Rowles & Gilly Sutcliffe – Hobie 16 spinnaker 5th James Henson & Sam Mee – Spitfire 9th Adam Butler & Nikki Boniface – Hobie 16 spinnaker 10th Gary & Charlotte Jackson – Spitfire There were 25 very competitive boats in the F18 with our own Dragoon Coach picking up the honours with Rob Wilson on the Shockwave. The Dragoon connection does not stop there with a very creditable third place to ex Dragoon champion sailors Sam & Ben Newton. Another ex Dragoon sailor Andy Sinclair crewing for Grant finished 7th overall. Yet another ex Dragoon champion Seb Greber was crewing for Jon Worthington and finished 8th, which would have been much better had it not been for an OCS in race 2 on the Sunday. Finally ex Hobie 16 youth sailors Luke Butler finished 15th and Tom Walker crewing for John Tuckwell finished 16th. This all goes to show that the Junior and Youth training programme produces very high quality sailors. Overall Results 1st Rob Wilson & Ed Barney – Shockwave 2nd Hugh Styles & Greg Windle – Nacra 3rd Sam Newton & Ben Newton – Hobie Tiger   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Wildwind sponsor the Dragoon TT series - Posted by NickH on the 10 March 2009   Simon Morgan and the staff at Wildwind are sponsoring the Hobie Dragoon Travellers Trophy by offering 2 free holidays to the winning team of the series. The following 6 events will make up the Dragoon TT series: 1. Datchet Winter Warmer Feb 2009 2. Datchet Cat Open March 21 3. Weston Youth Open September 5 4. RYA Zones September 26 5. Grafham Cat Open October 24 6. Weston Cat Open November 11 Congratuations also go out to Simon who has recently become a dad!   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Adam and Jack win the first TT event of the season - Posted by NickH on the 1 June 2009    Datchet Winter Warmer Series – February 2009 The Dragoons arrived at Datchet Winter Warmer Series to find a surprisingly windy day for the start of the series. It proved rather too windy for many sailors, resulting in none of the Dragoons and very few other boats going out on the water. The second day was definitely less windy, with the sailors waiting for the wind to kick in. The racing got underway, with Charles and Harry in 662, and Adam and Jack in 726 battling it out for the lead, which changed places many times in the debatable 3 laps! However, Adam and Jack edged the lead, coming only 8 seconds over the finish line before Charles and Harry. Jessica and Rhys came 3rd with Tim and Kit and Lou and Alex doing an incorrect amount of laps due to the confusion on and off the water. The second race was much off the same with Charles and Harry leading much of the race only to be overtaken by Adam and Jack on the final beat to the finish line. Jessica and Rhys once again finish 3rd followed by Lou and Alex in 4th. The third day of racing was similar condition from the last meeting. However a Topaz 16CX joined the Dragoons. Adam and Jack took the first race, followed by Charles and Harry in 2nd, Tim and Kit in 3rd and Lou and Alex in 4th. The next race was identical with the Dragoons finishing in the same order with only Alicia and Siobhan in the Topaz coming just before Tim and Kit to take 3rd. The final day was an exciting and an entertaining one! The boats got on the water to find very little wind, when, with no warning, the wind suddenly picked up and shifted to the right just before the Dragoons were about to start, making the course not so square! More Dragoons appeared on the water for the final days racing, with Jack and Joe in 950, making a terrific start followed by Adam and Jack and Charles and Harry. Adam and Jack rounded the first mark with Charles and Harry quickly on their tail, who closed the gap by the leeward mark. The beat upwind was a short port tack but a longer starboard tack. The lead was still Adam and Jack’s as they rounded the windward mark for the second time. Approaching the leeward mark, a gust caught out Charles and Harry who capsized, along with Jessica and Rhys who were in 3rd. Adam and Jack then finished, with Hannah and Josh overtaking the two turtled boats to come 2nd. Tim and Kit followed suit and finished 3rd. Charles and Harry though managed to get the boat upright and finish a respectable 4th, narrowly snatching it from Jack and Joe. Alicia and Siobhan, sailing a Dragoon, came 6th. Lou and Alex crossed the line in 7th with Jessica and Rhys still upside down. Jessica and Rhys unfortunately had to retire from the race. The final race was with more wind but slightly fewer boats, with Charles and Harry and Jack and Joe heading for the warmth of the clubhouse. All Dragoons were off to a good start except the reluctant boat of 726 which didn’t want to get going. Adam and Jack managed to come through the field to finish 1st. Jessica and Rhys rounded off the series with a very good 2nd closing the gap between the leading boat. Adam and Jack finished 1st overall with six wins from six races. Charles and Harry came 2nd with Tim and Kit in 3rd. Overall Results as follows: 1st Adam and Jack Murphy 2nd Charles and Harry Willett 3rd Tim and Kit Cope 4th Louis and Alex Gorringe 5th Jessica and Rhys Cooke 6th Alicia Clifford and Siobhan Lamb 7th Hannah Fagg and Josh Clarke 8th Jack Muldoon and Joe Liddon Reported by Jack Murphy Editor's note - interestingly enough three of the dragoons are in the Combined Cat Fleet results for races 5 & 6. Hannah & Josh won race 5 on elapsed handicap time and Alicia & Siobhan won race 6!! See attached link for results http://www.dwsc.co.uk/clubimages/File/Results/results%2022-02-09.htm   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     New BHCCA Committee - Posted by NickH on the 1 February 2009   At today's AGM the new BHCCA committee was agreed: Chairman - David Scarfe Youth Coordinator - Nick Henson Cat Intro Days - Dave Boniface Treasurer - Jan Cope Secretary - Jane Cooke Youth Representative - Mike Conlon Junior Representative - Patrick Harrison Floating role - David Murphy & Gary Gorringe   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Datchet Winter Training and Race Series - Posted by NickH on the 2 January 2009   Happy New Year to you all. This weekend the Dragoon training moves up to Datchet for 3 months. The new Spitfire Youth Squad will be joining them at the end of the month. The Datchet Winter Warmer Series starts on the first Sunday of February. The Notice of Race can be found at the following link http://www.dwsc.co.uk/page.php?page=Winter%20Warm-Up%202009&mlink=Major%20Events   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Hobie 16 Nationals 2008 - Posted by NickH on the 19 November 2008   The re-scheduled H16 National Championship was held over the weekend of the 4th and 5th October, and the change of date and venue saw sixteen boats turn up to Rockley in Poole Harbour. Unfortunately strong winds and heavy squally showers deterred some from racing on Saturday, but with a delayed start, racing got under way at midday in a slight lull in the conditions. On the race course it soon became apparent that conditions were deteriorating again and with numerous spectacular capsizes and pitchpoles, only half the fleet managed to finish. The team of Seb Greber and Nikki Boniface, enjoying the challenging conditions and stormed home in first place, closely followed by Neil Watts and Malcolm Barton in second and Luke Butler and Sam Rowles in third. As conditions continued to worsen, and with the wind gusting to 30 knots, the Race Officer made the wise decision to abandon racing for the day. Sunday saw a break in the terrible weather and with a few hours of force three to four winds predicted between weather systems the racing was on. The light and shifty winds made for some very close and interesting racing and choosing the favoured side of the course was all important. There was a tremendous battle at the front of the fleet between Greber / Boniface and Butler / Rowles, with the latter team showing excellent consistency by never dropping below third. Three first places however, meant that Greber / Boniface just did enough to take the title by one point. Third place went to the father / daughter team of Dave and Emma Boniface, last year’s champions, who sailed a consistent series after experiencing a mighty crash on the first day. An excellent fourth place went to Simon Ellyant and Manny Austin who are relative newcomers to catamaran racing, who put in a string of consistent results just outside the top three. Sunday proved to be an excellent days racing thanks to the great race management of Race Officer Paul Butler. Laying on five good races in shifty conditions is quite an achievement, so our thanks go to the Butler family for their good work. It was great to see a good number of H16s racing together and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Great competition in a relaxed environment. Our thanks go to Steve Beard at the Hobie Centre for hosting the event and donating generously to the prizes by awarding Hobie vouchers to the first four teams, and thanks to the Rockley Training centre for offering the use of their facilities. Dave Boniface   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Seb and Dan win RYA Zones - Posted by NickH on the 2 October 2008    The Dragoon sailors arrived early on Saturday morning at WPNSA, which was getting busier by the minute. The sailors were given their places for storing the boats and the race to get rigged up began. For the weekend Rachel Scarfe had volunteered to be our coach and was very helpful in telling us where we should be at the right times so a big thanks to her. Briefing started at 10.30 and we were told about what the racing would consist of for the day. Racing was to start no earlier than 11.50 and so all the boats were released onto the water. This was made a bit more difficult as there were 3250 boats all trying to launch of the same slipway! Eventually all of the dragoons got to the start line and the race began. The wind was about 3-5 knots and there was only 1 lap set. A lot of people had excellent starts such as Seb and Dan, Charles and Harry and Adam and Nicola. Due to the light and shifty winds the start played a big part in the overall position of the first race. The first boat round the mark was Adam and Nicola closely followed by Seb and Dan and Charles and Harry but unfortunately Adam went to the wrong course and so Seb took the lead and led the way round the whole of the race. Adam and Nicola made excellent ground and came in third working their way through the fleet in the very light and flukey wind. The overall results of the first race were: 1st Seb and Dan 2nd Charles and Harry 3rd Adam and Nicola. The Second race brought more wind and the same 1 lap course. Jack and Adam made an incredible start and were leading for a long time. Half of the fleet kept on the starboard tack after the start, which seemed to pay of as they got good lay-lines to the boy due to the shifty wind. Leading around the top mark was Seb closely followed by Adam and then Charles while the rest of the fleet battled it out for 4th. Seb lead for the whole of the race and won. The results were: 1st Seb and Dan 2nd Adam and Nicola 3rd Charles and Harry. The wind continued to stay the same, around 5 knots and so the race officers made the decision to make the race a 2 lapper. This was good as it gave the fleet enough time to be able to gain positions that they had lost. There were some more superb starts from Charles and Harry and Seb and Dan with a lot of people starting at the committee boat end, this meant the boats were all quite bunched together with no clear leaders emerging until the windward mark. 1st round the mark was Seb and Dan which again were closely followed by Adam and Nicola while Charles and Harry were battling it out with Jessica and Rhya Cooke who unfortunately finished 5th. The race had one more leg in it which gave Seb a greater lead over the rest of the pack. This lead ended up with him winning his third win of the day and putting him securely in 1st. The results for the third race were: 1st Seb and Dan 2nd Adam and Nicola 3rd Charles and Harry. The overall results for the days racing were: 1st Seb and Dan 2nd Adam and Nicola 3rd Charles and Harry 4th Jessica and Rhya 5th Jack and Adam 6th Patrick and Benedict 7th Louis and Alexandra 8th Tim and Kit. Sunday On Sunday the wind was a lot lighter but racing still got underway. The Wind was about 3-4 Knots and was meant to drop to nothing at Lunchtime. Racing got underway and due to the even lighter and shiftier wind conditions the start was essential. Seb and Adam and Jack had superb starts. Unfortunately Charles and Harry headed to the wrong mark followed by Jessica. This cost both the teams greatly and made it very hard to regain the places they had lost. In the lead was Adam and Nicola followed by Seb and Dan. The rest of the fleet were all fighting for positions with a lot of overtaking and tactical moves. The wind was ever dying and the leaders had now secured their places. Charles and Harry were now dead last but due to some very tactical and crafty manoeuvres they edged there way through the fleet. Jessica finished third closely followed by Patrick and Benedict. Unfortunately Patrick and Benedict did not drop their spinnackers quick enough and so Jessica raced to the finish. The wind was now very light and Charles and Harry were now slyly creeping up on Patrick and Benedict and due to tacking later they edged their way in front and finished 4th. Due to non-existent wind it was very hard for the remaining boats to cross the line and so they struggled to finish. After the race the wind totally dyed away and the race was postponed and then cancelled. The boats were towed in and that was it for the 2008 South Zone Championship. The end results were: Rank Sail No. Helm Crew Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total 1 1 Seb Samways Dan Channing 1 1 1 (2) 3 2 653 Adam Butler Nicola Boniface (3) 2 2 1 5 3 662 Charles Willett Harry Willett 2 3 3 (4) 8 4 1012 Jessica Cooke Rhya Cooke 4 (6) 5 3 12 5 991 Adam Murphy Jack Murphy (8) 4 4 6 14 6 1011 Patrick Harrison Benedict Harisson 6 5 (7) 5 16 7 944 Louis Gorringe Alexandra Gorringe 5 7 6 (8) 18 8 387 Tim Cope Kit Cope 7 8 (DNC) 7 22 On Behalf of all the dragoon sailors I would like to thank all of the people at the RYA that organised such a great event. Also Dave Boniface and Rachel Scarfe for being such a great help on and off the water and of course all of the parents that gave up their weekend and drove the many miles for us to be part of this competition. Thank you. Charles Willett   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     BREWIN DOLPHIN CHANNEL ISLANDS HOBIE CAT - Posted by NickH on the 29 September 2008   Held St. Aubins Bay, Jersey. Sept.20th &21st With a record turnout of twenty seven Hobie Cats for this years Brewin Dolphin Channel Islands Hobie Cat Championships held in St Aubins bay, all 54 participants enjoyed one of the best events ever, now in its 17th year. Conditions were just about perfect for the two days of racing on long triangular courses set by Race Officer Ken Le Marquand. Each morning the sun came out and the wind increased to a steady force 4 to 5 N/Easterly, ready for the first race start at 9.30am. This continued throughout the 3 Championship qualifying races each day. The keen Hobie crews were in their element, exciting starts, quick double trapezing upwind, flying reaches, at times the racing became fast and furious when the stronger gusts hit the Fleet, enabling the crews to race their Cats to the limits, but also providing some spectacular pitchpoles, which livened up the proceedings, especially for those who exceeded those limits, in their efforts to gain better positioning. The Championships, organised by the the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club has grown steadily over the years. This year was very much a multi Hobie class event. The Hobie 16’s received the largest entry, where 17 boats competed. By the end of racing on Saturday, three crews were out in front and in contention for the Hobie 16 ‘A’ Fleet Trophy. Ian Cabot and daughter Zoe had set an early pace, winning race one, a course infringement in race two set them back, but they came back strongly to take race three. Guernsey crew Ben Garnham and Jamie Hamilton showed excellent form and capitalised on some hairy port starts, with 20 odd boats bearing down on starboard right of way. Former multi C.I. Champions, veteran team, Gordon Burgis and Kenny Snell had a slow start but then improved as the racing continued. The Cabots eventually clinched their first ‘A’ Fleet Championships win, with top results on Sunday. Garnham and Hamilton raced into second with another consistant performance on the second day. A win in the last race, cemented third place for Burgis and Snell. The Hobie ‘B’ Fleet class was just as competitive, husband and wife team Aaron and Zoe Le Cornu excelled, winning five out of the six races to take the class trophy. They were chased throughout by the female Youth crew of Laura Jane Carter and Stephanie Egre who came a well deserved second, they also won 1st Womans crew prize. Relative newcomers to Championship racing, Jeremy Smith and Matt Assman made the right on course decisions and handled their boat well in the challenging conditions to place third. The powerful Hobie 18 Tiger class was dominated by former Australian World team member Darren Stower and his crew Mike Winspear. They showed a clean pair of transoms to the whole Fleet, blasting around the course on all points of sail, with five wins and one throwout race they won the Trophy comfortably and with it the ‘Open’ prize. Former Champions Mick Doleman and Damian James came close to Stower on the downwind legs with good spi work, but couldn’t match him upwind and settled for a credible second. Andy Hart And Michael Kinross racing a Hobie Tiger for the first time after Hobie 16 campaigning, performed well, with continuous improvement as the weekend developed to come third. The Hobie 16 ‘Masters’ class was won by Ian and Zoe Cabot. Laurence Carter and Leo Schofield were winners of the Hobie 16 ‘Youth’ class after achieving a strong third place finish in the last Hobie 16 ‘A’ Fleet race. The Junior Hobie Dragoon class also saw close competitive racing. The relatively new young crews coped well in the fresh conditions for their first major Championships. Louis Sangan and Jonty Gales won the day with a full set of 1sts despite a capsize in one of the races. Hannah Voak and Jamie Sunter raced well, to place second, followed by Lizzie Ferguson and Emily Miller in third who also capsized a couple of times but were determined to finish and gain a position. Emma Voak and crew Alex Tucker were awarded a special prize. Thanks go to Ken Le Marquand and his team for the on water race management, to the ever busy guard boat crews, the beach support team and the new sponsors of the event, Brewin Dolphin, who all helped to make the event such a memorable one.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Congratulations to the new Dragoon National Champions - Posted by NickH on the 14 September 2008    The Dragoon catamaran National Championships took place on the 23rd to the 25th of August at Pevensey Bay Sailing Club. The first day dawned windless and the boats lined up on the start line at about 1 o’clock. After the first lap Charles and Harry Willett from Minnis Bay Sailing Club took a convincing lead on the other boats, followed by newcomers to the Dragoon fleet Charlotte and Dan Fenn. As the wind started to build Seb Samways and Dan Channing, made an amazing recovery fighting their way from dead last to 4th place. The wind continued to build in the second race with the Willett brothers taking the lead again with Samways /Channing close. Unfortunately the Willett Brothers were disqualified after failing to go through the gate on the way to the finish on the last lap. Subsequently Samways/Channing took the race with Andy Sinclair and Jessica Findlay from Weston Sailing Club and Bala Catamaran Club taking second. With heavy wind now set in, the third race saw a spectacular pitchpole from Samways/ Channing. Sinclair/Findlay took a first and the experienced team of James and Kelly Henson took second. Sunday bought a huge swell and near gale force winds and after a 2 hour postponement racing was abandoned for the day. Monday saw conditions much like Sunday however to get a discard at least 1 race needed to be sailed. The conditions were not good for Dragoons with most of the fleet doing synchronised pitch poles on the bear away at the mark. Team Henson were going extremely well in the strong conditions, until they were hit by a massive gust which meant the end of the race for them. New comers to the sport, Patrick and Benny Harrison took a well deserved second whilst Megan Smith and Georgina Quayle from Grafham took a well deserved 4th. Andy Sinclair and Jessica Findlay took the first to become National Champions. (Editor – Andy & Jess sailed very well and fully deserved the accolades!) The final results were: 1st Andy Sinclair and Jessica Findlay 2nd Charlotte and Dan Fenn 3rd James and Kelly Henson 4th Patrick and Benny Harrison 5th Seb Samways & Dan Channing 6th Charles & Harry Willett 7th George Quayle & Megan Smith 8th Louis & Alexa Gorringe 9th Dominic & Pippa Davies Event Report by Jess Findlay Race 1 Report from winners Charles & Harry The Hobies were sent out for the first race of the competition in very little wind. The committee boat was a fair way out to sea and so it was a challenge to get out to the start. Every boat however got to the start but due to the light and flukey wind that was plaguing the race course the race was postponed and the wind totally died. When the Dragoon 5 minute went up it was very difficult for the sailors to get to the line due to the light wind and ripping tide. When the class flag came down and the hooter sounded we were off, but very slowly. A lot of boats had come from behind the committee boat, where as some had started at the port side of the line. This seemed to of paid of as the wind hit that side first and as it steadily increased. The people that started on the port side were off. The wind had now increased to a steady force 2-3 and was ever increasing which made racing a very pleasurable time in such a lovely wind. At the windward mark on the last leg there was quite a big gap between the top 2 boats and the rest of the fleet. Charles and Harry were jostling for position on a very tactical down-wind leg, but due to a quick gybe Charles and Harry just got ahead. The end result of the first race was 1st. Charles and Harry. 2nd. Charlotte and Dan 3rd. Andy and Jess. Race 2 Report from winners Seb & Dan Conditions • BFT Force 4-5 winds gusting to 5-6 – westerly, offshore winds • Four foot waves, some breakers Good start had by all: James & Kelly, Jess & Andy, Dan & Seb, Harry & Charlie and Charlotte & Dan had an especially good start, crossing the line together within 5 seconds of the start-gun. Everyone, except Dan & Seb tacked off onto the portside of the course, which entailed lighter winds and a lifting shift which causes a later tack in lighter winds. At the windward mark it was still even, with Jess & Andy calling starboard over Dan & Seb, with Harry & Charlie not far behind. After ducking the two teams, Dan & Seb tacked, only just making the windward mark. Bearing away out to the spreader mark was risky business as this is an accident black spot for pitch-poling. The downwind leg suited Jess & Andy and Dan & Seb with more weight to keep the bows out of the water. Seb & Dan gybed into stronger wind which allowed them to head lower with more power and speed. Jess & Andy and Harry & Charlie were both overtaken on the downwind leg by Dan & Seb. This lead was held by Dan & Seb on the upwind leg, with both helm and crew on the wire, closely followed by Harry & Charlie in a lighter team. The same tactics as the first lap were employed in the downwind leg which lengthened Seb & Dan’s lead to about 15 boat lengths. At the downwind gate Seb & Dan tacked off again onto the starboard side of the course and tacked in a lifting shift which slowed them down and let Harry & Charlie lead to the spreader mark. On the downwind leg there was a drag race between Jess & Andy, Seb & Dan and Harry & Charlie, with Harry & Charlie crossing the finishing line first, although missing a gate which cost them the race. On the finish line Jess & Andy were stood squarely on Seb & Dan’s wind which would have made Seb & Dan lose the duel if it wasn’t for the well timed wave that took them across the finish line to safety and one 1st place under their belt. Race 3 Report by race winners Andy & Jess The wind and swell was set in for the afternoon. We had a good start and found ourselves just behind Seb and Dan. We chased them to the windward mark which they rounded first. We then had an excellent down wind leg making gains and getting very close to Seb and Dan as we approached the gate. Seb and Dan then proceeded to put in a spectacular pitch pole just in front of us leaving us in the lead to take first place. Race 4 Report by race runners up Patrick & Ben Day 3: This was actually the second day of racing at Pevensey as it was too windy to sail day two. It started out as a calm day; I wouldn’t have thought it was more than a force 3. As we waited to go out the wind grew a lot stronger after a few postponements, the race officer sent us out to sail. As my crew and I launched the boat we accelerated away from the shore. It was a very frantic first few minutes getting settled as the boat was rocking one way and another. As we followed Andy and Jess to the start line we were amazed as they raised there spinnaker. As the Shearwaters crossed the start line for the first leg it was a wake up call for how close our race was to starting. As we moved closer to the start line I shouted over to a neighbouring boat to ask how long before our start. I was shocked to hear that we only had around ten seconds before the horn went. As the fleet bounced over the waves on the first beat, we knew that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. We rounded the spreader in 3rd and saw that Andy and Jess were speeding away with there spinnaker flying, but we knew that if we capsized that we would not be able to right the boat, so we kept ours in the shoot. In second place were Charlotte and her brother. We watched as they hoisted their spinnaker to the top, and then watched as they went straight down a wave and pitched poled. We sailed straight passed there turtled boat. All we had to do now was not to nose dive. Now in third were James and Kelly Henson, they had also raised a kite but we were a good fifty metres in front of them so we did not worry. Rounding the spreader mark in the second and final lap, we were still in second but only just. We started the down wind leg, again with out the kite, but my crew was watching out to see if James and Kelly who were still in third to see if they had hoisted the spinnaker. Not surprised I watched as it was pulled out the shoot. We were both watching them carefully to see if we had to hoist ours to keep our position. I looked forward to keep us going in the right direction then looked back round to see that James and Kelly had unfortunately pitch poled. This secured our 2nd place finish, after Jess and Andy who raced amazingly. It was so windy that only 3 out of 9 boats finished the race.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Carnac - Posted by NickH on the 1 June 2008   Congratulations to Andy Sinclair & Tom Lyons on winning the Dragoon event at Carnac. Was great to see the Belgian boats turn up in force. Also well done to James Ellis and Andy Glover on finishing second in the SL16, with Seb & Nikki coming third. James and Andy have now been selected as the boat to represent GBR in the ISAF Youth Worlds, so good luck in Denmark boys! Finally congratulations to "Beefy & Lamby" on finishing 2nd in the Hobie 16. If anyone has some photos could you please send them to Nick so they can be added to the website?   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     2008 RYA Youth National Catamaran Championships - Posted by NickH on the 17 April 2008   Thanks to Paul W for the following report - Battle took place at the Youth Nationals, 31st March - 4th April at Pwllheli, for both the National title and coveted opportunity to represent GBR at the ISAF Youth World Championships to be held in Denmark mid July. This year’s ISAF Youth Catamaran is the SL16, a new class to the UK and with the only 3 available being supplied to the sailors by White Formula, the UK’s 3 top youth teams were all thankful that battle could commence. Ellis / Glover the on-paper favourites (Ellis ’07 ISAF 29er Bronze medallist, Glover ’07 ISAF Cat Gold medallist) although strong, didn’t have it all their own way. "With such tricky conditions throughout the weeks sailing, I felt all the sailors did well to maintain such a high standard of competition" said Andrew Glover. Young bloods Butler / Sutcliffe, a long standing catamaran pairing fought hard all the way taking the thrilling 10 race event victory by just 1 point. The third place pairing of Greber / Boniface although consistent didn’t show the form they hoped in the challenging light to medium winds. Due to the nature of the event being such a close match race the selectors made the only fair decision of rolling over ISAF selection to Eurocat, Carnac. All three eager teams are looking forward to continuing their fight whilst also taking on the French. Paul Wakelin, RYA Head Youth Cat Coach commented: “Although we don’t have the quantity of young cat sailors we certainly can produce the quality. Whoever achieves selection, we’re all working hard ensuring team GBR are a force to be reckoned with on the World stage. Additionally with the great work going on within the Junior Dragoon programme I look forward to the trickle of talented young cat sailors becoming more of a flood!! Congratulations go to Adam Butler and Gilbert Sutcliffe, 2008 RYA Youth National Champions. So with Eurocat being the next challenge for our sailors all eyes will be looking over the channel 1st – 4th May.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Happy Christmas from RSA - Posted by NickH on the 28 November 2007    WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL THE RSA HOBIE YOUTH SAILORS ........ Thanks for a memorable year.... 'not all of our 70 new sailors from 2007 are in this picture but the sentiments come from them all'   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Cat Intro Day at Herne Bay - Posted by NickH on the 29 October 2007    Saturday October 20 2007 - a big day. But not just for English and South African Rugby fans with the World Cup Final in Paris. It was the day that 18 junior sailors would be introduced to catamaran sailing at Herne Bay Sailing Club. Dave Boniface and Nick Henson from the BHCCA arrived early with 4 Hobie Dragoons. Coach Nick Tayler had come up from Warsash, having recently come back from catamaran coaching in the warmer waters of Wildwind’s resort in Vasiliki. Herne Bay Sailing Club members Freya and Alice Sanders had recently taken delivery of one of the BHCCA’s charter Dragoons and this had created something of a stir with their friends there. Dad Mark had seen the interest and worked with Dave to organise the Cat Intro Day. The idea had been conceived only about a month earlier. Initially it was thought demand would be 5 or 6 youngsters, as how many raw recruits would want to start their cat sailing adventure in October’s colder climate? There was little time to publicise the event and cat sailors in general were pre-occupied with the 2 RYA submissions to ISAF. Mark got in touch with the youth sections of neighbouring clubs at Minnis Bay, Tankerton and Whitstable. With a large area of high pressure sitting over the country there was very little wind first thing, but at least the sun was shining. This allowed the rigging of the boats to be finished by the adults. There were 5 Hobie Dragoons, 2 Topaz 16CX’s, kindly supplied by Rob White, and a Dart 16 supplied by a club member. After the initial introduction, Nick Tayler demonstrated the skills of tacking, gybing, hoisting kites and finally capsizes on dry land. During that time a 5 knot wind had built up. So it was a quick change and the cats and support boats were launched. The group picked up the basic skills very quickly in the morning’s hour and a half session. Everyone came back with smiles on their faces, although some were a little cold. After a quick lunch, they were on the water again but this time wearing trapeze harnesses. The youngsters swapped around on the boats so all had a chance to try out the different kit. Initially the wind was good but died off towards the end of the 2 hour session. Still they all managed to have a great time twin trapezing, one each side of the boat. Some even took the opportunity for capsize practice. Julia Rees and Eleanor Rouse were very impressed with their boat saying they could not believe how much faster it moved and how easy it was to rig and de-rig. Charles and Harry Willett had only started sailing monohulls this year. They had persuaded their dad to miss their club’s laying up supper and join the BHCCA RYA training at Weston the following weekend instead. The day had generated a lot of interest from parents and children alike. Around 5pm Nick Tayler gave them the important de-brief session and Dave Boniface took them through the options they have available for carrying on, including the Dragoon Charter programme, the RYA sponsored training and events offered on the catamaran youth programme. The Hobie Cat Centre had kindly donated some caps and T shirts for the participants. By the time we had got the boats back on the road trailers and said our goodbyes and travelled home, we managed to see the last 30 minutes of the Rugby World Cup Final. Our boys were beaten by a better team and were gracious in defeat. Something we can all learn from. More Cat Intro days are being planned now. There is one already booked for Alton Water Sailing Club, near Ipswich in February. There is also RYA sponsored catamaran training taking place at Datchet Water on November 17/18, December 1/2 and January 5/6. Please contact Nick Henson (bhcca_youth_coord@yahoo.co.uk or 07968 310077) if you would like more details on Intro Days or how to get involved in the youth catamaran training programme.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Sam and Nikki win Dragoon RYA Zones - Posted by NickH on the 29 October 2007    Sam Rowles and Nikki Boniface teamed up to make a formidable team to win the RYA Dragoon Zones at the WPNSA on September 30th. The Dragoon numbers were bolstered by guest appearances from Hobie 16 sailors Sam, Nikki, Adam Butler and Gilly Sutcliffe. Sam & Nikki won the first 4 races with Adam & Gilly winning the last race. There was some very impressive sailing from all 4 teams, particularly the beat away from the slipway where all 4 teams were twin trapezing on the way out to the course. It certainly impressed the parents from the Mirror fleet. A good weekend for the Rowles family with brother Will winning the 7.8 Windsurfer class. Next year we have to get more Dragoons there than Fevas!   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     2007 Nationals - Posted by NickH on the 31 August 2007    Thursday August 16 – Day one of the training – too much wind! Marcus had the difficult job of shore based training 4 new Dragoon teams along with the existing old hands. To liven up proceedings, Ria’s Mum Roe decided to christen the new camper with a daring display using kitchen knives culminating in visit to Eastbourne General Hospital. Two hours later and Roe return with 11 stitches and a sling. Class room training ended early and many of the sailors went swimming at the “Souvenir Centre”. Friday August 17 – Day two of the training – a new day with hardly any wind. Simon trained the Dragoons and Marcus the Hobie 16’s. Ria and Jess went for a blast to France and pitched it, whilst one of the new Dragoon teams got blown downwind to Bexhill. With Marcus and the Hobie 16’s west of Sovereign Harbour, Simon was racing from one boat to another in a very widely spread Dragoon fleet. Try to keep together next time kids! The wind picked up in the afternoon resulting in fewer Dragoons going out. Those that did thoroughly enjoyed it. Adam and Gilly got some useful capsize practice in the strengthening winds! There were a host of new arrivals and Steve T and Chris R showed us what good fun a Hobie 16 can be. A string of A level results were announced – congratulations on some very impressive results. Saturday August 18 – a very windy day with no racing, which was a shame as it probably, was the ideal conditions for the newly formed (heavyweight) team of Laming & Henson!! Another visit to the souvenir centre followed by Garry’s Pig Roast and a master class from the big fella in limbo dancing. Sunday August 19 – at last some racing. Ad & Gilly win their first race in the Hobie 16 SPI, but Seb & Nikki win the next 2. James & Kelly also get two bullets in the Dragoon and are pipped on the line in race 3 by Sean. Dave and Emma Boniface go one better with 3 straight bullets in the Hobie 16 non-Spi. Following the BHCCA AGM, there’s am excellent BBQ from PBSC. Monday August 20 – A race officer’s nightmare with a falling wind predicted to change 180 degrees in direction. Race 4 was dominated by the Rowles’ clan with Hannah ably assisted by Steph Wall winning the Hobie 16 SPI and Nick and Will winning the Dragoon race. Paul James and Anthony Delow won the Hobie 16 non SPI race. The poor race officer tried in vein to get a further race in, but the wind came in several times with rain then promptly dropped to zero. In the end racing was abandoned for the day and most of us got towed in. Thanks to all at Pevensey for the great effort needed to run a Nationals, particularly the race officer, rescue crews and catering staff. Results Hobie 16 SPI 1. Seb Greber and Nikki Boniface PBSC 2. Rachel Scarfe & Tom Walker WWSC 3. Adam Butler & Gilly Sutcliffe Highcliffe SC Dragoon 1. James Henson & Kelly Henson Parkstone YC Youth and Open 2. Sean Sutcliffe Highcliffe SC 2nd Open 3. Freya Sanders & Alice Sanders Herne Bay SC 2nd Youth 4. Dominic Davies& Pippa Davies Alton Water SC 3rd Youth Hobie 16 non SPI 1. Dave & Emma Boniface PBSC 2. Paul James & Anthony Delow PBSC 3. James O’Leary & Tom O’Leary PBSC   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Adam and Gilly win Gold - Posted by NickH on the 14 August 2007    On Tuesday July 31, the British Adam Butler and Gilly Sutcliffe won the Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007. Although they dominated the competition, their victory was not taken for granted on the final day. After a day and night of strong onshore wind, the surf was huge with a light north-westerly breeze. All boats experienced difficulties sailing through the breakers including 2 inverted ribs. James Henson and Oliver Amphlett performed strongly with three seconds, which pushed them to the second place overall. The French boys Antoine Bezile and Quintin le Tallec won bronze. “It feels great”, responded Gilly Sutcliffe happily to the congratulations of winning the European title. At the beginning of the championship, Adam announced that this would be their last Hobie Dragoon event, as they will continue on the Hobie 16 with spinnaker. Gilly said about their final day: “The conditions were light, in which we did not do very well. We won the last race and finished fourth and third in the others.” While almost running the Hobie Dragoon towards the dunes, Gilly recalled the spectacular morning. “That was exciting. We managed just about the stay upright in the surf. I don’t think we have ever gone to such high breakers. It was pretty impressive.” Silver medallist Oliver Amphlett (14) called it ‘quiet scary’, but according to his skipper James Henson (12) they crossed the surf ‘pretty safely’. They had a good afternoon with three seconds. Henson: “There was a strong tide going from the right to the left.” Amphlett continues: “That affected the lay-line a bit. We used the current to drift to the mark, so we tacked halfway the course.” The teenagers had a fierce battle with Butler/Sutcliffe and the French duo Bezile/Le Tallec. Henson: “It was close racing, much closer than on the other days.” In his winning speech Adam gave special thanks to the event organizers, the event coaches (Paul & Brian) and their parents. In the Hobie 16 Youth, Richard and Andy finished fifth with two bullets in races 8 & 9. Seb & Nikki had a creditable 18th, just ahed of Rachel & Tom 19th, Hannah & Steph 22nd, Ryan & Lizzie 27th and Rory & Fergus 40th. In the Masters our “old boys” Boniface & Glover did us proud with an overall 8th. In the Hobie 16 Gold fleet Richard and Andy were top Brits with an overall 12th including a win in race 4. Hannah & Steph finished 52nd and Dave & Emma 61st. In the Hobie 16 Silver Rachel & Tom managed an excellent 6th including a win and two second places. Seb & Nikki were 11th, Ryan & Lizzie 25th, Neil & Malcolm 40th, Rory & Fergus 47th and Ben & Josh 48th.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Richard and Andy win Gold at ISAF Worlds - Posted by NickH on the 23 July 2007    Press release on ISAF Youth 2007 Website - Multihull Open: GBR Gold, DEN Silver, AUS Bronze Britain’s Glover brothers, Richard (18) and Andrew (15), from Weymouth, Dorset, led the multihull open division from start to finish. But it wasn’t all plain sailing; they were always being pressed by Danish team of Emil Landry/Jacob Dannefer who were nipping at their heels throughout the series and eventually took the silver medal, four marks behind. The Australian duo of Jason Waterhouse/Michael McCormick were always in contention, finally taking the bronze medal with 29 points.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Bognor TT - Posted by NickH on the 31 August 2007    Bognor Regis YC was again the host for a Hobie Cat Open following on from last year’s successful event. The club staged their own Pimms Cup simultaneously putting around 20 cats on to the water. The club although small has a particularly strong catamaran presence. The number of visiting Hobie youth sailors was down on last year due to school examinations. The race officer for Saturday quickly communicated that racing would be postponed due to worries of a big surf break around high tide. The RO must have some sixth sense as the force 4 forecast turned into a force 6 gusting 7 with a large chop, particularly for us sailors used to the calmer waters of Poole and Portland Harbours. Another announcement was made at 14:15, with very few home Hobie and Dart sailors at the club and the wind showing little sign of dropping the RO decided to cancel racing for the day. Similar conditions were found down the coast at Worthing, where the F18s did not start racing till 16:00. On Sunday morning the conditions had moderated slightly and with little sign of a course being laid, the Hobie youth sailors decided that having spent a day waiting around they could wait no more. Seeing the youth manage the conditions inspired the other competitors and race committee and racing started around 11:00. Rachel and new crew Tom Walker gave a superb demonstration of how to sail a 16 spi and romped home to a convincing win being first across the line and first on handicap. James and Ollie on the Dragoon started to master the large waves and although 12 minutes behind Rachel were second on handicap. Paul Adams and Mike Hughes came in third on their non Spi 16. Strangely in race 2 the day’s RO decided to make the only Dragoon use a closer upwind mark, thereby excluding them from the handicap process. The RO on day 1 had already indicated that all boats were to sail the same course and if he had to shorten the Dragoon after 2 laps he would. Day 1’s RO was now overseas on vacation. Rachel and Tom dominated racing for the day with 3 bullets. Tom certainly knows how to hoist a kite quickly! James Hawkes and Marianna Brett also started to get to grips with conditions and were closing in with each race. Final results were: Hobie 16 1st Rachel Scarfe / Tom Walker 2nd James Hawkes / Marianna Brett 3rd John Oliver / Emma Beattie Dragoon 1st James Henson / Ollie Amphlett Thanks to BRYC for another good event.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Ellies Carnac Report - Posted by NickH on the 6 June 2007   Training The first two days were training for both the dragoons and the 16's. The Dragoons had to be down at the beach for 10am all rigged and ready to do some fitness and the 16's ready for 1pm. We all sat and waited. After a few hours of fun beach football, running up and down the beach a few times and finding a small patch of grass somewhere to do our morning stretches, we finally saw a bit of wind, so off we went to get changed. We ended up doing a bit of sailing upwind and downwind until it was time for us to go in. The next day the wind was lighter. Although it was only about half an hour of debating we decided we would go out for a fun session. It was great fun although nearly all of us got wet from either capsizing or diving in after the ball. Day 1 of racing. 2o'clock start. We all arrived on time, only to find thick mist which meant we couldn't see what the wind was like at all. Once it had nearly cleared, we found that there was no wind behind it. We were all disappointed and after the postponement came down there was still no wind! We had to go out. After our endless trek to the start line our committee boat messed around for about an hour and finally at 4 o'clock we started our race. Once we started there was no turning back. We were racing against the SL16's, a Hobie Max and various other boats. This meant that we were the slowest boats. We had all just started the second lap when the committee boat and crew all came round saying all races abandoned. There was a cheer of joy from everyone. At last, at 8 o'clock we were free to go in. Day 2 of racing. 11o'clock start. After a disappointing first day for the Dragoons, as we all got timed out, we were all determined to get some better results. Luckily there actually some wind. We all went out , the Tigers flying hulls, the 16's having fun, but not really enough wind for us Dragoons. Day 2 ended in some better results for the Dragoons. We all managed to finish a race. In the 16 fleet both GBR teams did well. Day 3 of racing. The raid! There wasn't quite enough wind to do the full raid, so the committee decided they would shorten it quite substantially. Once we had all got out to the biggest start line many of us have ever seen, they started the 15 minute start sequence. 5...4...3...2...1...General recall. Another 15 minute start sequence. 5...4...3...2...1... GO!!! Off we went. It was a great experience, just being on the start line. Unfortunately none of the youth GBR boats finished because it took us Dragoons about 2 hours to do the shortest upwind. However Paul and Emma finished first Dart 18, so not all bad. Day 4. Last Day!!! Where had the week gone? We were all sad it was the last day but we had had great fun, ie. the sailing obviously, the swimming pool!, and the going into town and getting ice creams and smoothies. The wind was not perfect but there was no postponement so we all got off the water at 9am, the scheduled time. All the GBR squad did well. Prize Giving The Dragoon results were not very good overall, as they were put with the SL16's and the odds and ends. Paul Wakelin and Emma went up about 4 times to collect their prizes for various things. It seemed as if they won all the prizes. Ed's comment - there was also an unfortunate incident where Richard and Andy were expected to pick up 1st place for the 16's, but found out at the prizegiving that they were OCS in the last race and calls for redress fell on deaf ears. Still they remain winners in the eyes of the Brits and indeed the other competitors on the podium! Overall it was a fantastic week in Carnac and I hope to go next year.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment     Hobie Europeans Update - Posted by NickH on the 1 June 2007   The latest information from Ute Vrijburg at EHCA: The Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007 will be sailed off the Dutch coast of ‘s Gravenzande, close the The Hague and Scheveningen. From July 28 until August 4, about 150 teams will face the elements of the North Sea in their battle for European titles in five classes: Hobie 16 with spinnaker youth, master (from the age of 45), women, Hobie Dragoon youth and Hobie 16 Open. So far, the organization has received 33 pre-entries, representing 11 countries in the Open class. For the Dutch Hobie Cat community, it is definitely a revival of the more that thirty years old Hobie 16 competition. Twelve young crews with eight nationalities have registered for the Hobie 16 with spinnaker, the ISAF youth catamaran. This fleet is expected to increase up to thirty until fifty participants. Registration is open until July 1st. It all starts with the two-day Women and Master (from the age of 45) championships on Saturday July 28th. Youth sailors in the Hobie 16 with spinnaker and Hobie Dragoon will race from July 28 until 31. The qualifications for the Open Class will start on July 30 and the finals on August 1st. “If you look at the pre-entries, it is obvious that many former Hobie 16-sailors use the opportunity as a come-back”, says Ute Vrijburg, Event Director on behalf of the European Hobie Cat Association (EHCA). “In that perspective, it is like a revival of the Hobie 16 in the Netherlands.” This most popular catamaran ever, was introduced to the American market in 1969 and it dominated the Dutch catamaran sport for years. The coastal sailing club ‘s Gravenzande (KZVG) and the EHCA may organize the 33rd edition of the Hobie Cat 16 European Championship, under the leadership of Race Director Rob Hoogstra. The challenge for competitors is about fighting the elements, such as current, tides, waves and surf. It is also about competition and socializing with fellow sailors from all over Europe. Rising stars The Hobie 16 with spinnaker is an ISAF recognized youth catamaran and therefore one of the classes at the ISAF Youth Sailing Worlds. That means this multihull is worldwide the training boat for sailors under the age of 21, who are aiming at a career in the Olympic Tornado. The Hobie Dragoon is a new youth catamaran with spinnaker and double trapeze. If both crew members are under the age of 16, they compete in the junior class. It is also possible to race with a parent in the open class. Subscription for the Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007 has started in May. Professional training sessions In order to maintain the level or to improve it, the organization offers professional training sessions prior to the start of the races. From July 25 until 27, top trainers Brian Phipps (GBR) and Cédéric Bader (FRA) are ready to help participants. Phipps is a former RYA coach. Nowadays he trains sailors all over the world, works as youth co-ordinator for the Hobie class and is the British national coach for the Hobie 16 with spinnaker and Hobie Dragoon. Bader won the 2005 Europeans Hobie 16 and Hobie 16 with spinnaker. In 2006, he added the Youth World Title Hobie 16 with spi to his performance record. The training sessions in ‘s Gravenzande are open for Hobie 16 and Hobie Dragoon. During the weekend of July 28-29, the Hobie 16 teams are welcome to warm up at the Westland Cup, also organized by KZGZ. Race schedule Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007: Hobie 16 Spi, youth, 28 July – 31 July Hobie Dragoon, youth, 28 July – 31 July Hobie 16 Master, 28 July – 29 July Hobie 16 Women, 28 July – 29 July Hobie 16 Open, qualification, 30 July – 31 July Hobie 16 Open, finals, 1 August – 4 August The Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007 are sponsored by: I-Drukker, Carrier Airconditioning, the Greenery, Autobedrijf Schoenmeijer, Vakantiepark Vlugtenburg aan zee, Tomselect, Ernst Olieman BV, Hogenboom vakantieparken, AfvalisHipenSexy.nl, Wealco Systemen BV, Westland Energie Services, ProfMedia BV, Rabobank, Boekestijn Transport Service, De Parel, Center Line, Hoeve de Viersprong, Colour XL, IkSloopGoedkoop.nl, Kwekerij Rozenhof, Ariën Hofman, Combifleuren Hobie Cat Holland BV.   Read Comments: 0 | Post a Comment       More Reports can be found here...	Notices   Next Event: Dragoon and Youth Training - 13/03/2010 NOR | Entry Form   Login   Username: Password:     Register Forgotten Password?   Random Ad.     Sail: 108936   Details: Hobie 16 spi sail #108936 2005 boat Boomer sails New style chute 2 spinnys [One as new] Big wheel trolley Good condition Kept at Christchurch SOLD   Price: £4,250   Contact: SOLD /   Buy/Sell Natural Progression of our Charter Programme!
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