Category: Press Release

St. Petersburg, Fla. (February 16, 2007) – On the opening day of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., wild weather conditions proved a challenge for the record 195 boats competing. Gusting 15-17 knot northerly wind combined with a sharp dip in temperature – where the high temp registered a mere 40 degrees – and created an unusual test for competitors who traveled to the west coast of Florida despite the snow storms that crippled the nation’s travelers earlier this week.

Newport, R.I. (February 13, 2007) – While most of the country is preparing for a winter storm this week, over 1500 sailors are headed to Florida for the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta, in St. Petersburg, Fla.  Scheduled for February 16-18 at host St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the regatta’s organizers are preparing for 200 teams spread across 19 one design classes. Daily racing will take place on Tampa Bay under the guidance of Principal Race Officer (PRO) Peter “Luigi” Reggio, who also is known as the PRO for the America’s Cup. The 2006 defending overall champion, John Storck (Huntington, N.Y.), will return to J/80 class competition with his Rumor.

The largest class is the Melges 24 with 40 boats set to compete. “As usual the class is deep in talent this year,” said Reid Collins (Flowery Branch, Ga.), the U.S. Melges Class Southeast Governor and skipper of Desperate Measures.  “From the South, I'd have to say Bob Dockery (Longboat Key, Fla.) on Barracuda could be one to watch, while our class president, Scott Gregory (Marietta, Ga.), with pro sailor Scott Nixon as tactician is another.  Steve Jones (Silver Point, Tenn.) on Sick Puppy came close to winning the regatta last year, so he may be one as well.  If I opened this up to outside the South, I definitely would have to add Argyle Campbell (Newport Beach, Calif.) on Rock 'N Roll and John Pollard (Torquay, U.K.) on Excellent, both of whom regularly compete at the very top of the class.” The regatta doubles as the first of seven scheduled for the southeast circuit. 

Lake Neusiedl, Austria, May 19th 2006 - Team Zwitserleven Booth/Dercksen is close to a medal at the ISAF WorldS ailing Games 2006 in Austria. After eight races on Lake Neusiedl, the Dutchmen are second on the points table of the Hobie Tiger class. The Australians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby are leading. The medal race on May 20 will be decisive for the final podium ranking. According to Mitch Booth, the competition is close. Theoretically, it could be a win or a tenth.

Before Herbert Dercksen starts to talk about today's racing in Austria, he expresses his feelings about the tragedy onboard ABN AMRO II: This is a really tragic story and our deepest sympathy go out to all at the ABN Amro team, and our hearts go out to Hans=92 family and close friends.

The Hobie HOTLINE, the original publication for Hobie Cat news, has returned. The Hobie HOTLINE started in 1971 as a little newsletter for Hobie Cat owners but grew into a full-fledged magazine thought the 80's and early 90's. In the mid-80's, the HOTLINE began to loose its way. It became more of a marketing tool for the Coleman Company, promoting Alpha sailboards, Hobie Power Skiffs and other Coleman products. The Hobie Class Association started the NAHCA News newsletter in 1992 in part because the HOTLINE was trying to serve too many masters. Eventually the HOTLINE became a financial burden on the Hobie Cat Company (now independent of Coleman), who ceased publication in mid-1995.

For ten years after the demise of the HOTLINE, the NAHCA News/HCA News kept plugging along, filling the void. In the last ten years, the HCA News has grown into a professionally produced magazine, comparable to the original HOTLINE. So, the Hobie Class Association has changed the name of its bi-monthly publication to the Hobie Class Association HOTLINE. For many the name change will bring back memories of "the good old days." Not to mention the fact that Hobie HOTLINE rolls off the tongue more easily than Hobie Class Association News.

Aruba, November 10th 2005 British teams dominated on the fourth day of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. In the morning race, Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power (F18, GBR) beat Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke (Spitfire, GBR) by just three seconds after calculation. The Dutch Tornado sailors Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk won the Gaastra long distance race in the afternoon, followed by Gummer/Power and Allen/Farren. With one race left, Gummer and Power are unbeatable, so they can start to dismantle their F18 Capricorn.

"We had a good race with Mischa", told Richard Allen in the morning. "We were up to three laps in the lead, when he took it over. We caught them back and we rounded together the last gate, but we both choose another mark and Mischa finished just ahead of us." After calculation, Allen and Farren got a 7th position and Zanen and Heemskerk a 6th.

Bad start for leaders
Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power, the current leaders, did not win the eighth race because of a good start. Power: "We were too conservative. We rounded as fifth Formula 18 the first upwind mark. It was a terrible feeling to see all the Tornado’s and then the F18’s in front of us, but in every downwind reach we caught one up and we ended as first F18." Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke came very close to victory with their Spitfire in the morning race. Sproat: "We had a good start at the committee boat, so we had clear air. We zig zagged through the middle and reached the mark just behind Stuart. We increased our speed downwind, so we seemed to do very well. It was a good day for us so far."

Capri speed wanted
James Power and Marcus Lynch finished as second F18, which put them in third position on handicap. Power sailed a Spitfire last year, but he enjoys his Hobie Tiger (F18) now: "It sails smoother and you can push it much harder, but we want to have some ‘Capri speed’ upwind." The British sailors had two bad results, due to a broken jib and an OCS. After eight races, the second result could be discarded and that is why they came back in third position overall.