2014 Australian Hobie National Grand Masters Champions - 2nd Alex Young/Phil Smyth (Australia), 3rd Phil King/Chris Mata (Australia), 1st Kit Tong/Shing Tong (Hong Kong). The skipper must be over 55 years old to be scored in the Grand Masters division. Kit won a the skull shaped trophy, and a bottle of rum.
Grand Masters Champs, Shing Tong/Kit Tong were amongst the top 10 boats rounding the marks in each day of racing. They kept the heat on the Open division, placing 18th in overall in the Open division of 48 Hobie 16s.
The island of New Caledonia sent 6 teams over to the 2014 Australian Hobie Nationals. Father-son team of Louis and Thibaut de Lima Mayer say hello in English and French to their fans around the world.
Five New Caledonian youth teams competed at the event. Both the 1st and 2nd place Youth teams of Chatonnier/Kim Goetz, and Thomas Dupont/Jeremy Picot were also in the top 10 in the Open scores (all ages).
New Caledonian Hobie 16 Youth Team of Noa Ancian and Juliette Le Tenier were one of five youth teams that competed in the 2014 Australian Hobie Nationals. Two of the youth teams were girls. The “Island Girls” teams were competitive in light conditions, and they performed well in the heavier air races.
1st Youth - Kim Goetz/Lucas Chatonnier, 2nd Youth - Thomas Dupont/Jeremy Picot, 3rd Youth - Sophie Renouf/ Shaun Connor
Thank you to Hobie Cat Australasia, and the Australian Hobie dealers than helped provide boats and equipment to the international youth teams.
Top Hobie 16 team, Darren Smith and Josie Mark, share a short summary Day 4 racing 2014 Australian Hobie Nationals races. They give candid insight into how they performed on the water, and the types conditions they raced in. Great sailing Darren and Josie!
Three generations of Gummerys raced the 2014 Australian Hobie Nationals.
Grandpa - John Gummery, and granddaughter - Alycia Gummery took 10th in Grand Masters. Son - Nathan Gummery, and crew - Helen Gunn, placed 13th in the Open fleet. There were 48 Hobie 16s competing at this year’s championship. Brother - Scott Gummery was on the water as a volunteer photographer.
The course was 1GO (ACA) twice around the windward mark, but only once through the downwind gate. Standard start with a P flag, 681 and 465 were over early. Light breeze forced a leisurely start.
Seaward side of the course was favoured and most of the teams chose to go west. After the first boats rounded the windward mark, 469 tacked and the fleet behind started stacking up. Several boats rear-ended the front boats. The light wind left no way for the boats in the gaggle to move or tack out. A few more boats hit the A mark trying to avoid the collisions. There was another stack up behind the boats hitting the mark.
Boats on starboard that are coming from the seaward (west) side of the course scream past the stalled boats. Leaders go through the C mark and nearly lap the fleet on the last turn around the A mark. Boats heading to finish work the middle of the course. Epps 344, Wood 648, Owen 111 first to finish. Wind picking up to an average of 7 knots with gusts up to 11 knots. Midfleet is catching up to finishers with the fresh wind.
Race 16
The race committee called course 2GO ACACA (three laps around the windward mark). The downwind gate is sitting near a sandy shoal a short distance outside of the dolphin conservation area. The wind is blowing 7 to 11 knots (light to moderate) out of the southwest, edging westward.
Clean start. 144 Fairey’s jib shackle broke moments into the start. He experienced some difficulty intentionally capsizing his boat to retrieve the jib halyard, but got the line and halyard sorted. 144 dropped out of race 16.
Lead boats were favouring the shore. Half of the fleet took the westward course to sea. Three laps around the windward mark allow for plenty of changes among leaders and midfleet.
Wind started to swing south at the gate. A large number of boats chose to tack and take the middle of the course, instead of going to the edge of the course.
Warren-Myers was first through the gate ending the second lap and starting the third lap up to the A mark. Houk, Epps, and Butler worked the gate. Butler on port pushed through Epps allowing Owen 111 to cut inside and gain two places.
Wind picked up at the gate and hulls were flying on both sides of the course. A gap formed between the midfleet and back of fleet during the end of the second lap.
Houk appeared to be first to finish race 16, but may have been edged out by Warren-Myers. 222 Butler 2nd, Houk 3rd.
Race 17
The final race of the day was set up as course 6GO set, 2 laps around the windward mark. The committee boat moved the finish line to the windward side of the course after the start.
There was a general recall, with too many boats over to call individual boats out. The race committee put up the black flag. The wind remains steady, light to moderate. The water is smooth with very little swell. Barney Houk was first around the A mark on the first lap. 807 and Epps were next around the mark.
By the end of the race, the shore-side (south-eastern side) of the course was the favoured side. The boats finished upwind.
Lap 2, Houk again rounded first, with Butler close at their stern. 807 and Epps duelled for next positions at the offset mark. Houk rounded through the gate and chose the shore side of the course. Lost a lot of his lead to Butler. Butler appeared to cross the finish line with Houk right behind. Smith and Epps crossed 3rd and 4th. Phil Smythe 339 had an outstanding finish. 807, 472, and 657 cleaned up the back of the top finishers.
Final results will be shared with competitors at the 6:30 pm presentation dinner.
The afternoon breeze filled in nicely with 12 to 17 knots out of the west and southwest. There were a few gusts at the beginning of the afternoon, but the wind settled in across the course nicely for most of the day.
A few concerns during the setup of the course included cray pots near the start and a few anchored recreational fishermen. The fishermen happily cleared the course, and the competitors managed to avoid the cray pots’ lines.
The starts were fast, and the competitors were enjoying the wind.
The wind had set in beautifully by the time we got under way, the wind around 15-18 knots. The fleet was particularly eager to get underway and pushed quite a few boats over the line to cause a general recall. The second start got everyone underway and really fast race ensued. The wind started to get into the challenging range and quite few boats ended up on their side.
Long Way To The Top Mick Butler/Patrick Butler 1122221
Gill Cam Owen/Suz Ghent 1131112
Blew By You Darren Smith/Josie Mark 1117963
Race 11
The wind really started to kick in and the waves and swell now started to be a factor. The start once again took two attempts to get the fleet of the line. Most went out on starboard to the beach, however there was good wind out to sea and quite few boats went out there and up the middle. This was also a very quick race, with great swells to surf with downwind and plenty of action on the top mark and offset.
Gill Cam Owen/Suz Ghent 1131111
Blew By You Darren Smith/Josie Mark 1117962
Tektite Phil Smyth/Alexandra Young 1144393
Race 12
Started with the black flag to focus the mind. The wind was probably the strongest at this point of the day. The swells picked up and it was very easy to get washed off if you didn’t keep the hull up going upwind. Quite a few skippers did their skiing impressions with various consequences. Going out to sea paid on this leg and Tektite went for mid fleet to third around to the top mark by taking to further out to sea than anyone else was game to do. Plenty of boats capsized and it was a very tough race.
Gill Cam Owen/Suz Ghent 1131111
Blew By You Darren Smith/Josie Mark 1117962
Barney’s Toy Barnaby Houk/Trent Robson 1142743
Race 13
The Black Flag was straight up this time, everyone was worn out by this point. No one wanted to delay getting back to the beach. Fortunately this was a 5GO race so was quite quick. The wind was still in but had back off a bit in patches. The swells were still building and were great to ride if you could catch them. The course was pretty fair and going either way worked if you got it right. The top mark rounding was naturally exciting and there were many near misses.
The bright Bunbury morning brought a light southeast wind that seemed to hold some potential for good racing. However, once out on the course the wind dropped and swung around, reminiscent of the first days racing.
Race 9
The first start naturally ended with a general recall as everyone decided about 30 seconds to early to stack up on the line. The black flag then made an appearance and settled the fleet down for a good second start. The pin end was slightly favoured and that side of the course did pay going close to the beach. CracknWood had picked the beach and then the mid of the course and rounded the top mark first. Once the majority of the fleet rounded the top mark the wind dropped off more and became more unpredictable.
The back and mid fleet caught up to the front of the fleet and everyone bunched up getting through the gate. Gill had gone down the right hand side and made up a huge amount of ground. The committee decided to bring the top mark closer to make the course smaller to give the race a chance of being completed within the time limit. The wind still swirled around both for the upwind and downwind leg making it hard work for everyone. The majority of the fleet was still all very close making for many close finishes and a very busy start boat. Gill however had gone down wind well again and won by some margin.
Race 9 - Provisional Results
Gill Cam Owen/Suz Ghent 113111
Blew By You Darren Smith/Josie Mark 1117962
Trim Paul Galloway/Georgia Ryan 1121903
After the end of the first race the committee send the fleet back to the beach to wait for the southwest sea breeze to set in.
Day 3 of the 2014 Australian Hobie Nationals continues today. The first morning races are scheduled to start at 10 am, Sat 3 Jan 2014. The wind conditions are predicted to parallel yesterday’s weather with 5 to 7 knots in the morning and building.
The wind produces a wind-swell that gradually amplifies the ocean swell. The favoured side of the course, along the northeast edge of the water tends to get steeper and bumpier as the afternoon progresses.
The windward side of the course on the southwest corner - near the cargo ship channel can get gusty. There was plenty of chaos mid fleet at the windward mark - especially rounding to the offset mark. The port-tack (give-way) boats had the advantage with the swell and wind, but the starboard (right-of-way) boats weren’t able to make quick tacks.
The estuary on the right side of the picture produces a shore effect that can leave the sailors tumbling through swirling gusts.
There were several general recalls in races 6, 7, and 8 yesterday afternoon. The fleet was eager and the mid-fleet boats put a lot of pressure on the top-of-the-fleet sailors.
Look for the most accurate wind readings from the shipping channel weather station 3:
Racing concluded with the delightful hospitality at Koombana Bay Sailing Club. The sailors and their guests enjoyed a handmade Mexican Dinner and wine tasting by sponsor, Henty View Vineyard.
Events like the Australian Hobie Cat Nationals are of interest to sailors around the world. The site traffic to hobiecatnationals.com.au is hot, with nearly 2000 individual people waiting to see the latest news out of Bunbury.
So who is watching? It comes as no surprise that many of our site visitors are in Australia, with the majority on the East Coast. We also have a big following in New Caledonia and in France. Hobie sailors and fans from USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, Thailand, UK, Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Denmark, Hong Kong, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, New Zealand, China, Tanzania are hitting the site multiple times every day ……. and the list goes on.
Where ever you are in the Hobie World - you can be sure someone is watching.
The morning was overcast and little colder than it has been for the previous few days. Initially glassy the wind started to waft in slowly around 9.15 am and slowly filled in to a consistent 5- 7 knots.
Race 4
Naturally the first start was a general recall with some a little over eager.
The second start got away well and the breeze favoured the left beach side. Those near the pin end generally got the better of it if they found some clear air CracknWood led the way to the top mark the first time. The breeze was consistent throughout and with a downwind finish there were plenty of position changes from the top mark to the finish line.
The competitive juices were really flowing in the second morning race. The wind had come up a few notches and was in the 8 – 12 knot range. The first start was a general recall which was great for Red Dog who was half way to the top mark by the time the gun went. The blag flag then made its first appearance for the day, but that didn’t slow all of us down. That start also ended up with a general recall and two boats being black-flagged. The third attempt got off well, this time however the right hand side of the course paid dividends for those that went that way. The fleet was tight in this race and there were once again many good luck and hard luck stories on the last leg that was finished upwind
Local Southwest WA TV - GWN7 covers the Australian Hobie Nationals. Great footage from King/Mata’s boat. Interviews with Geraldton (WA), Bunbury (WA) and VIC sailors.
Bunbury turned on a beautiful day for the first day of the 2014 Nationals. With plenty of wind initially everyone was keen to get racing. Race office Paul Davis made it clear they plan was to get ¾ races out in one session partly to avoid the shipping movements in the channel – that can be an issue.
Race 1
The first race got underway wind in the upper range around 15 -20 Knots. As usual the first start resulted in a general recall. The next start was clean and away we went. The breeze stayed strong but did vary quite bit. Picking the direction and the right way to go was difficult and remained that way throughout the day.. The wind stayed strong and the race went a a cracking pace. Blew By You (Darren Smith) eventually prevailed and chalked up his first victory followed by Lucas Chatonnier (TNC) and Cam Owen Gill)
Blew By You 111796 Darren Smith/Josie Mark
TNC 114475 Lucas Chatonnier/Kim Goetz
Gill 113111 Cam Owen/Suz Ghent
Race 2
The wind had started to drop off in the second race making it more challenging as the wind swung around more. Although going to the beach seemed to work it was far from certain. Every now and again there was some big squirts, one of them blew over 3 boats mid-fleet. Let the shuffle continue. It’s more like a betting on a slot machine, than calling the wind.
Boat SailNo HelmName/CrewName
Blew By You 111796 Darren Smith/Josie Mark
Bluefin 114471 Shing Tong/Kit Tong
Barney’s Toy 114274 Barnaby Houk/Trent Robson
Race 3
Race 3 took some getting away with a the postponement flag pulled within two minute of the first start time. Some furtive repositioning of the pin end of the start line and general recall and the expected arrival of the black flag.. With most of the fleet tried the beach again which after some scary moments eventually paid off. The downwind was patchy with the rear of the fleet getting good breeze behind them to catch up the front-runners. The second up wind was like navigating the Bermuda Triangle. Gill found some good breeze on the right of the course while the front runners had gone down the beach again. Gill rounded the top mark well ahead and held that until the finish.
The theme today – was shuffle the winners. The house is winning. Lay day tomorrow. So we will sort the competition out starting on 2 Jan 2014. After all that shuffling - the current overall results after 3 races are at: http://hobiecatnationals.com.au/results/index.php
2014 Australian Hobie Nationals could not happen without support from the local Bunbury hotels, including Mantra. Contact our sponsor, and find out if there are any last minute bookings available (1300 987 604)
