8:27 AM Sun 10 Jan 2010 GMT
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'Hobie Masters Champs Anthony Duchatel and Ejay Schaffer - Australian Hobie Nationals'
Picture-graph Photography Mike Thorman
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The Hobie Nationals have been run and won over a two part series, held in Mandurah Western Australia from the 28th December through to the 5th January.
The West Australian contingent was out in force, relishing the generally moderate to strong conditions experienced at this time of year. There was a little bit of light stuff thrown in to 'mix it up' for the 170 competitors that attended over the two series but it was largely a test of stamina.
Series 1 included the Hobie Tigers and the Hobie 16 Women's, Youth, Masters and Grandmasters.
The Hobie Tigers saw a tight contest between WA's Taylor Booth and Ryan Duffield and Vic's Robbie Lovig and Lachlan Gibson. The result came down to the last race, held in a 25 knot sea breeze (called 'the Doctor'), with Taylor and Ryan taking out the title.
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Hobie Womens’ Champs Emma Sturgeon and Josie Marks - Australian Hobie Nationals - Picture-graph Photography Mike Thorman
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Locals Emma Sturgeon and Josie Mark were clear winners in the Women's really coming to grips with the moderate to strong conditions experienced on days 2 and 3. Emma then teamed up with Taylor in the Open Hobie 16's (series 2) taking out 3rd place - a real test of strength and endurance!
The Hobie 16 Youths was won by Brendan Effeney and Nick Sommerfield in a very close contest between the top 3 teams, with only 3 points between them at the finish.
Up until now it was a WA clean sweep but there were a trio of New South Welshmen and a couple of overseas competitors (from Germany and Singapore) intent on changing that!
The Masters came down to the last day of racing with NSW's Anthony Duchatel and Ejay Schaffer tied with the German champ Knud Jud Jensen sailing with local Jasmin Hill.
In came 'the Doctor', by the start it was 15 knots, by the top mark it was 18 knots and settling in at 22-25 by the bottom mark and for the rest of the race and the subsequent 2 races that were to decide the title. Young Schaffer, only 11 and in his first Nationals, stepped it up a notch to help Duchatel win the three races and the champs.
The Grandmasters was a close contest between two of the 'Hobie families' best with Kerli and Ali Corlett, the current Hobie 16 GrandMaster World Champions, taking it out from Upu Kila (all from NSW's Palm Beach Sailing Club) with Upu sailing with Jonathan Russel Chew from Singapore.
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Hobie GrandMasters Champs Kerli and Ali Corlett - Australian Hobie Nationals - Picture-graph Photography Mike Thorman
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The NSW reprieve from a WA domination was to be short-lived though.
Series 2 kicked off after New Year's Day.
The weather conditions looked like they were going to be tough, probably only beaten by the level of experience brought by some of the competition - 2 World Champions, 8 National Champions and a host of State champs.
The first three days of racing turned out to be heavy to moderate with the heavier air churning up a challenging wind-swell. For the large number of the local WA teams, the swell was significantly harder to sail than the flatter and more serene Swan River that they were used too. There were some spectacular crashes in the back of the fleet. In the bumpy water and heavy breeze, there were stories of hulls through main sails, bent masts, tangled boats and capsizes. Despite the chaotic racing and collisions, there were no major injuries to the sailors.
The front of the fleet loved the challenge. This had been an endurance test for many of the elite sailors who participated in both the three days of Series 1, the Tigers / Youth / Women / Masters and now the Open.
After 3 days Taylor Booth and Emma Sturgeon, the 2008 Australian National Champions were still in the running for another national title with only a few points between their team and the first place team of Gavin Colby and Sasha Marks with Darren Smith and Josie Mark close on their heels.
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Hobie 16 Open Champs Gavin Colby and Sasha Mark - Australian Hobie Nationals - Picture-graph Photography Mike Thorman
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The last day of racing though finished with a light wind and a hot summer morning. The fleet spread out across the course with boats falling from first to last or climbing to a finish on a lucky puff of wind. Many of the sailors enjoyed the change and found the light air to be more relaxing than frustrating.
At the end of racing and after a five-year hiatus from major Hobie 16 competitions, WA's Gavin Colby returned to the top of the Australian Hobie National spotlight with a convincing win from Darren Smith and Josie Mark. Gavin's crew, Sasha Marks, is an athlete who'd done many sports other than sailing like water skiing and competitive netball. Gavin explained his new sailing strategy as 'just trying to have fun'.
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Hobie Nationals bottom mark action - Australian Hobie Nationals - Picture-graph Photography Mike Thorman
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All competitors thought the 2 series were superbly run in a great sailing venue. The regatta was organised by the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club with help from the Hobie Cat Association Western Australia. There was great support from The Hog's Breath Cafe & Hobie Cat Australasia with generous contributions from SailPower, ClubMarine, Intelligent Life Air Conditioning, Amberley Wines and FonteLaura Water.
by Anthony Duchatel
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Manly, QLD
