Category: Press Release

On Tuesday November 8th 2005, the top two teams showed a tied battle for victory in the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED) won the first race, after which Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power (F18, GBR) took the next bullet. John Moret and Gijs Jannink (Tornado, NED) moved into third position overall with today’s top ten results. Due to a miscalculation, the race committee announced the wrong winners of race five yesterday. It was not the Dart 18 of Sybrand Trefffers and Tjitske Stoel that beat all high tech cats, but it was the Capricorn of Gummer and Power.

Yamaha Race 6: No extra miles, two OCS
This morning, the competitors had to sail again a long course with two triangles and two rounds. Some people wrote the numbers of the marks down on their arm, others studied hard on the map, but everybody completed the race correctly. The offshore wind was about force four and initially the sun struggled to burst through the clouds. It was also a typical third day, as many sailors had to deal with muscular pains, painful hands and bruces all over. Zanen and Heemskerk were first at the upwind mark and staid in the lead until the end. Unfortunately for Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren, they got an OCS (early over the line) after a second finish. The same happened to James Power and Marcus Lynch (F18, GBR). Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power scored a second place, followed by Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke.

Aruba, November 6th 2005 On Sunday, Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power had a flying start of the 15th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. The British F18 sailors took two bullets in the first two races and are leading after day one. John Moret and Gijs Jannink (Tornado, NED) are in second position, followed by Richard Allen and Simon Farren (Tornado, GBR). After a big squall during the practice race, it cleared up in the afternoon and the 15 knots wind pleased the competitors.

Gummer and Power were less fortunate at the Aruba Regatta 2004, as their boat was destroyed in a collision. They switched from the Spitfire to the F18 class and bought a Capricorn. Gillian Power: "It is not only great and fast, but also nice to run up with the Tornado’s now." And today, they beat them all on rating (after calculation). "We have to beat Mischa Heemskerk, since he finished ahead of us at our F18 nationals", said Gummer with a smile on her face.

Wrong call
Richard Allen and Simon Farren took the lead in the first race, until the last beat. Allen: "The two teams behind us went to the left and right. I wanted to defend our position and tried to stay in the middle of both Tornado’s. That was the wrong call, because there was no wind there." A fourth position was the result. Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren (Tornado, NED) took the line honours, which was good enough for a second position on handicap, followed by Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED).

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, November 4th 2005 On Friday, Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur (RSA) won the 2005 Hobie Cat World Championships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Tears came to his eyes, as Ferry hit the beach and heard about his third World Title. It was a rainy day in Nelson Mandela Bay, with a maximum of five knots of wind. Four final races were scheduled to determine the 2005 World Champion, but only one was was completed. Race two was cancelled after the first beat. Yesterday’s top three produced a disappointing result. However, Blaine and Roxanna Dodds could discard it and won silver, followed by the Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse.

Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur were welcomed back on the beach with a bottle of Champain. Ferry also won the World Title Hobie 16 in 1993 in Guedeloupe and the ISAF Hobie 16 World Champion 1998. "We are releived", said Ferry. "There was so much pressure", added Le Sueur. That was about it, because Blaine Dodds and other competitors picked the winners up and threw them in the Indian Ocean. Shaun Ferry quit sailing a few years ago, but he decided to participate at the 2005 Worlds just for fun. After he won the first race of the semi-finals, the pressure was on. Ferry about his future in the Hobie 16: "I want to put something back into the class, in order to keep it going. I will spend time on that. The sport must continue and that is most important to me." He finished 16th in today’s race, one place before Shuwalow and Hooper (AUS). The Australians already had a 21 position as discard, so they fell back to a fourth position overall.

Blaine Dodds and Shaun Ferry used to sail together in the past. Dodds about their successes today: "Well, it is a pity that we only had one race. It wasn’t supposed to be like this." He crossed the finish line in 35th position, which was his discard. Blaine is also a former World Champion. He won the title in 1998. The Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse missed this year’s Hobie 16 European Title on the last day, which was different this time. They climbed for a sixth to a third place. "No German has ever won a bronze medal before, so we are very happy", said Wiese-Dohse enthusiastically. "We did not expect this before, but everything came together right. It was also German weather today and we were lucky that we only sailed one race."

This evening, the winners will be honoured at the prize giving at McArthur Pool. The 17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships have experienced changeable weather conditions, which makes the World Champion a real winner.

Final Top five:
1. RSA - Ferry / Le Sueur, 21 points
2. RSA - Dodds / Dodds, 24 points
3. GER - Delius / Wiese-Dohse, 25 points
4. AUS - Shuwalow / Hooper, 28 points
5. RSA - Lagesse / Kerford, 32 points

Port Elizabeth / South Africa, November 3rd 2005 On Thursday the competitors of the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in South Africa finally got a full day of action. After yesterday’s 40 knots offshore wind in Port Elizabeth, there was a nice and steady breeze all day long. The semi-final series of ten races were completed. Brazil took three bullets and Australia two. Both teams Tim Shuwalow / Cameron Hooper (AUS) and Juliano Viana / Sebastiao Gomes (BRA) won twice. The Aussies are in first position after the semi-finals, followed by the South African teams Ferry/Le Sueur and Dodd/Dodd. The battle for gold is tied, so it is going to be an exciting final day.

Race 4 to 6: Shuwalow and Hooper grab the lead
Today’s conditions have arrived right in time, as the Hobie 16 Worlds 2005 are coming to an end and the weather has been very tricky. The fourth semi-final race had to be cancelled again on Wednesday, due to a 40 knot offshore wind that all of a sudden came in during the starting procedure. This morning, the race committee decided to use short courses (upwind, downwind, finish), in order to catch up on the schedule. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds from South Africa were in the lead at the first upwind mark, followed by the British youngsters Tom Phipps and Andrew Taylor. Both of them choose for the left side of the course. Tim Shuwalow and Cameron Hooper (AUS) went to the right. The finish was close, but the Aussies caught a puff and beat father and daughter Dodds at the line. Shuwalow: "We got it just before them." All teams swopped their boats quickly and sailed out again. The Germans Wiese-Dohse and Versi Gehrmann took the lead from the beginning and sailed a conservative fifth race. They went inshore after the upwind mark and increased their lead. "It was nerve-racking", said Gehrmann afterwards. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds finished second. Race six showed exciting competition between Australia and South Africa. Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur (RSA) were heading from the seaside of the course towards the finish, as Shuwalow and Hooper came from inshore. The South Africans got a header and fell back to a second position. Shuwalow, who works for the Volvo Ocean Race organization, took advantage of a lift an won: "We had a nice pressure on the run downwind."

On Tuesday November 1st 2005, Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse from Germany won the third race of the semi-finals for the 17th Hobie 16 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They were first at the upwind mark and never lost their leading position in the battle with the US team of Bob Merrick and Mike Huang. Apparently, the Americans had bad luck with an OCS (early start). The South-Africans William and Lucinda Edwards took over the second place, followed by Paul Lagesse and Tyran Kerford (RSA). The fourth race, today's second, had to be cancelled again, due to a lack of wind.