Hobie 16 Worlds at Rivera Maya, Mexico Overall
by Robert Merrick 16 May 2004 08:51 BST
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.
British Team Report:
It was the sailors from the tropical countries (e.g. Australia, South Africa, French Pacific islands) that dominated the Open Hobie 16 catamaran World Championships 2004, held south of Cancun on the east coast of Mexico. They took all of the first 16 positions overall, the 17th spot being achieved by Tom Phipps and John Cook from the UK.
The UK Youth Teams of Tom Phipps and Jon Cook and Ben Mansfield and Ben Hinks did well to secure a very respectable postion of 4th and 7th in the Youth Category.
UK veterans, Tony Rix and Anthony Delow, were not able to repeat at this year’s championships the podium position that they had achieved previously in Dubai. Racing in the Grand Masters category for sailors over the age of 55, Tony and Anthony faced tough competition from international teams from France, Australia, Brazil, and the USA. They experienced strong winds and confused seas which defeated many of the teams, making sailing very challenging and sweeping crews off their boats. With a combined age of 127 years, Tony and Anthony were the oldest team in the competition, and some race retirements wrecked their points score, putting paid to their high hopes.
More information on the event website www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004