Australians take Hobie 16 World Championship

Jervis Bay, Australia (February 15, 2014) – The top 56 teams advanced to the finals of the Hobie 16 World Championships, incurring the full scope of conditions throughout the event.

Race 11
In what was a somewhat challenging day of stops and starts we saw the winds get up and the boats go out on schedule for the first race of the day. The 12 knot northerly dropped off toward the end of the race but not before we saw a result for Cam Owen and Suzzi Ghent.

The West Australians gave it everything they had and lead wire to wire taking victory followed by Jason Hess and Irene Abascal from Guatemala in second and fellow Aussies Stephen Watt and Arbi Watt from New South Wales picking up third.

The drop in wind put a hold on racing but our sailors enthusiasm was not left wanting and they were back on the water at 2:00 for the second race of the day.

Race 12
That enthusiasm was evident as Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin from New South Wales, Australia threw themselves at the line taking the lead and holding it all the way to 1st! Narrowly beating Jason’s parents Rod and Kerry Waterhouse also from New South Wales who couldn’t be prouder of Jason and Lisa’s victory. Coming in third were Koreans Byeongki Park and Haekwang Youn.

The real shake up of race 12 though was current China, Hobie World Champion Jerome Le Gal’s Black Flag Disqualification (BFD) placing him 57th for the race and ultimately costing him the title and changing the game for the other competitors in the field.

Race 13
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin again took the top spot in what was a fantastic days racing for the pair as winds freshened and the boats got to stretch their legs giving the sailors some pressure for the last race of the day. Second and third were picked up by Tim Shuwalow and Nina Curtis from Sweden and Daniel Bjornholt-Christensen and Lachlan White respectively.

Gavin Colby and Josie Mark gave it their all and placed fourth. Unaware of Jerome Le Gal’s BFD the pair unknowingly sealed up the event to ultimately be crowned the new Hobie 16 World Champions!

The original field of 188 competitors at the Hobie 16 World Championships were reduced to 112 teams for the Semi-Finals, and then further whittled down to the top 56 teams for the finals. The top North American team was Jeff Alter and Natalie Gray in 32nd position.

Click here for final results.

Source: http://hobieworlds.com/node/311