Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans at ‘s Gravenzande - Day 2
by Diana Bogaards 29 Jul 2007 22:46 BST
28 July - 4 August 2007
First champions crowned
On Sunday July 29 2007, the first Champions of this year’s Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans were crowned on the ‘s Gravenzande beach (NED). Detlef Mohr and Karen Wichardt from Germany won the Masters’ title. Belinda Zanesco and Jesse Dobie from Australia and representing France, are the new European champs in the Women class. As expected, the northwester picked up strongly to about 25 knots and challenged the sailors to the utmost. Many boats capsized and several teams gave up. The conditions required good seamanship. Especially the last races in the afternoon were rough, but everybody returned safely to the beach.
“Well, that is also a way to land”, joked Ingo Delius while a Hobie 16 capsized in the surf. Today, the Master class completed three races. After the first two, Delius and Wiese-Dohse were leading by one point. The German teams put up an exciting competition for the highest position on the leader board. Delius: “We had a second, first and DNF… We had to win the third race in order to secure the overall victory, but Detlef was already gone. That is why we lost our concentration, which resulted in a capsize.” It was not an easy win for Mohr/Wichardt though. Detlef Mohr: “At the beginning it was hard, due to the combination of medium wind and high waves. In the end it was extremely windy and wavy. There were many capsizes. It was on the edge, but it was a perfect training for the Open Europeans.” Mohr and Wichardt sailed a series of 3-1-1. The German domination is not really unexpected, since the class is still pretty big in Germany. “We have an average of fifty to sixty boats lining up for national regatta’s.” It is Mohr’s tenth European Master title. Delius/Wiese-Dohse won silver, followed by Jansen and Jarling.
Women – Photo finish
“Here is your Champaign, you deserved it”, said Andy Dinsdale from Hobie Cat Europe. He handed over the bottle of victory to the Italian Sitouri sisters. At that point, they did not know whether they finished first or second overall. Crew Lara Sitouri while unrigging the mainsail: “We had good results. We were leading in the last race, but we capsized twice, so Belinda could pass us. The second finish was very close, so we might be first or second.” It turned out to be a second place. “We had a good battle with them”, said Lara Sitouri. Belinda Zanesco and Jesse Dobie won, followed by the Sicouri sisters and the French girls Marie Caroline and Mathilde Passet.
Hobie 16 with spinnaker – Chaotic racing
The youth crews on the Hobie 16 with spinnaker had a tough day out on the North Sea. Especially the last race turned into a battle field. Yesterday’s leaders Richards/Kersuzan from France were unlucky and capsized just before the finish line. Richards looked briefly back on a disappointing second day: “We started this morning with an OCS, won the second race and then we capsized in first position.” Despite all of this, they are still leading by one point. The French team Antoine Lauriot-Prevost and Alix Pervier was more fortunate with the best score of the day. They performed consistently with a series of 2-2-3, which put them in second place in the provisional ranking.
Lauriot-Prevost: “It was very difficult for all of us. We had good starts and went through the centre of the course, which paid off. We are very happy.” So were the Dutchmen Sprij/Frank. Rob Sprij: “The first race was all right, the second became harder and I was exhausted after the last one. It was more surviving than sailing tactically, so it was chaos out there. We managed to perform consistently, which I think is really good in this weather. And we finished before the World Champions.” The Dutchmen are in fourth position overall with a series of 4-6-7. The Italians Bissaro and Cesari maintained their bronze course.
The Hobie Dragoon sailors were the first to finish their four races on the second day. Once again, the British talents Butler/Sutcliffe were unbeatable and took all bullets. According to the race committee, the competition was much closer than yesterday. The podium positions did not change though.
Results after Day 2: (top three)
Hobie 16 with spinnaker (35 boats, after 7 races, 1 discard)
1st FRA – Richards/Kersuzan, 21 points
2nd FRA – Lauriot-Prevost/Pervier, 22 points
3rd ITA – Bissaro/Cesari, 26 points
Hobie Dragoon (9 boats, after 8 races, 1 discard)
1st GBR – Butler/Sutcliffe, 7 points
2nd NED – Rowles/Sprij/Karrenbeld, 19 points
3rd FRA – Bezile/Le Tallec, 24 points
Final Women (7 boats, after 7 races, 1 discard)
1st ITA – Sicouri/Sicouri, 9 points
2nd AUS – Zanesco/Dobie, 12 points
3rd FRA – Passet/Passet, 15 points
Final Masters (15 boats, after 7 races, 1 discard)
1st GER – Mohr/Wichardt, 8 points
2nd GER – Delius/Wiese-Dohse, 10 points
3rd GER – Jansen/Jarling, 19 points
The Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007 are sponsored by: I-Drukker.nl, 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 MD, Combifleur, Hobie Cat Holland BV, Westland Workwear, Woodfever, Veenman, Gemeente Westland, Arditio fotografie, Valere ICT Strategies, Vrijwillige Reddingsbrigade 's Gravenzande, Jessica emotions& flowers, Venvo Zonwering and van Spronsen, b.v.
More information at www.hobiecateuropeans.com