UPDATE: AUGUST 12, 2026, The final chapter…
2026 H17/ H18 North American Championships Recap
Well, another one is in the books, and what an event it was. 26 races started, 2 fleets, 29 boats, 47 competitors. Volunteers? Let’s say 11 on the water volunteers, 8 ‘management’, 6 shore (at least!), 25 people! And then there is all the other support staff that help make it happen, from the Morrison Family and the restaurant staff who do their best to make sure everyone is happy all week. This is what it takes to run a great North American Championships. All supported by a great location, our ‘Little piece of Paradise’ as we like to call it, Lake Quinault and the Rain Forest Resort Village.
First off, my thanks go to the Event Management team of John/ Della Hoag, J Rosenbach, Al Jones, Don Atchley, Bob Combie, Paul Carter and Dave Wilder. From organizing sponsors, sorting out menus, liaising with the Resort, camping and motel bookings, Trophies, Graphic, T-shirts, competitor giveaways and the other many things that make an event like this happen, it does not get done without a great team. We have one here.
The Morrison, Dave and Don, and Ian Strait, manager, of the Rain Forest Resort Village. Without their continued support of the Hobie way of Life, none of this would happen. I learned in talking with Dave, that we have been coming to Quinault for a regatta for 53 years! If you had a chance to look around the bar and restaurant you would have seen many mementos of years past on display. We earnestly appreciate their willingness and flexibility to work with us and support our events over the years.
The shore team who helped launch and retrieve boats and CatTrax, and the ladies who made the lunches for the RC team every day. 11 lunches a day, 4 days. That’s a lot of lunches!
Finally, Charley Rathkopf and his Race Management team. This includes Jared Hickman, our chief Judge, Matt, Charlene, Catlin on the signal boat, Bob/ Ken on the pin boat, Mike, Don and Rebecca on the Leeward markset and Tim and David on the windward markset. With 4 days of ‘This is not the usual Quinault wind’ being talked about, Charley was able to pull off 13 races for each fleet in tough conditions. Well done and thanks!
And speaking of tough, what about the competition? if you look at the results, in the H17 fleet the top 3 finishes for each race was spread out between 6 different boats, that’s more than half the fleet. Yes, Phil Collins had the most 1st, but 3 other boats had first place finishes. In the H18 fleet, it was even more dramatic. 11 out of 18 boats had top 3 finishes, with 5 boats sharing 1st place finishes during the week. Places were constantly shifting from race to race with the winner (Ken Marshack/ Valerie Pioszak) achieving 1st place on a tie-breaker with Ethan Salkind and Laura Sullivan. It doesn’t get much closer than that!
My final thanks go to all the sailors who made the journey to join us here. Many for the first time, but also several ‘repeat offenders’. We had teams from Florida, California, Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Alberta and British Columbia. Also special thanks to John and Rose for making the trip from New South Wales, Australia to come and join the racing and comradery here in North America.
It was an event worth remembering with its own highlights and memories made by all. As always, it was a great gathering of the Hobie family celebrating the Hobie Way of Life.
There are some pictures available taken by Ken Erickson who was on the Pin boat with Bob Combie. These can be found here: https://wnelson.photos/2026/lake-quinault/
We will be setting up a google photo dump folder if you have any you’d like to share as well. I will let you know then link when it is ready. Meanwhile, Thank you all for coming! We’ll see soon!
Paul Evenden, Chair, Hobie Division 4.
UPDATE! AUGUST 8TH, 2026
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW H17/ H18 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONS! H17: PHIL COLLINS/ H18: KEN MARSHACK, VALERIE PIOSZAK
Showing 9 bullets out of 13 races, and throwing out a 5th, Phil Collins once again took the title of North American Champion for the H17 class. He did face some competition with Paul Carter (2nd) and Stephen Acquart (3rd), but did maintain his lead over the fleet for the whole regatta.
The H18 fleet was a much tougher crowd however, with no less than 4 past champions in attendance, first place finishes were spread out over 6 different teams over the 13 races. With the top 3 places separated by only 5 points Ken and Valerie won on a tie-breaker with Ethan and Laura (2nd) by having won 4 races over 2nd place winning 2 races. It doesn’t get much tighter than that! Mike and Terri rounded out the top 3 with a return to the H18 after a long absence.
Thanks to all who attended the event from near and far and we wish you the best in your future events and safe travels home!
Next years H17/ H18 North Americans will be held at Ocean Springs Yacht Club, Ocean Springs MS October 17-21. We hope to see you there!!
UPDATE! AUGUST 5TH, 2026
Day two of racing complete. 8 races completed in testing conditions. More on that to follow. Results can be found here: H17/H18 Results. The results link will stay the same for each day. If you bookmark the link, you can check results after each day’s racing.. meanwhile, TACO BAR TONIGHT AT THE SALMON HOUSE RESTAURANT! See you all tomorrow!
UPDATE! AUGUST 1ST, 2026
Well, here we are, the beginning of the weekend. as we get ready for the Division Area championships regatta many of you have arrived on site already. WELCOME! We’ve had two great days of sailing in preparation and some folks have been on the water checking it out. That puts us 3 days away from the beginning of racing for the North American Championships. Posted in this message and emailed to everyone are the Sailing Instructions for the event. There will be limited hard copies on site, but there will be a copy posted on the Notice board on Monday. For those still to arrive, We are ready and waiting! See you all soon!
NAC Sailing Instructions
UPDATE! JULY 26, 2026
Well, we are 5 days away from the Division 4 Northwest Area Championships weekend regatta. If you haven’t registered yet, please do ASAP so we can count the number for food etc. Follow this link to register: NWAC
Please remember, there must be one person on board each boat who is an HCA member in good standing. If you haven’t renewed your membership yet or want to purchase a one-event membership follow this link to do that first: Membership Renewal. If you purchase the one-time event membership, please bring the receipt with you to the event so we can confirm your membership.
Meanwhile, there is still time to register for the H17/ H18 North Americans. The weather is looking promising for the week so it should be a fun time! Follow the links below if you are still going to register.
UPDATE! JULY 14, 2026:
Well, this is almost it! Tomorrow, July 15th, 2359hrs, the regular price goes out of style and the higher fee kicks in… We don’t like doing it, but we’ve made arrangements for certain things based on numbers, if the numbers change, well, you all know how that works. Anyway, we still want you to come if you still on the fence about it. It’s going to be a grand time for sure. What’s scheduled you ask? Meet and greet party on Monday, Pizza at the local restaurant, Salmon dinner! (like you’ve never had before!) and many more special treats. You’ll regret not coming that’s for sure. Don’t delay, do it TODAY!
HAPPY JULY 4TH TO ALL OF OUR U.S. FRIENDS!:
With this celebratory day, I bring you the next installment of registrations for the 2026 H17/ H18 NAC event. Of course, with it being July 4th, it leaves only 11 days before the late fee kicks in. We are now at 17 H18s and still only 10 H17s. Make your commitment, get your registration is now! Camping and motel space has gone public, and there are very few spots left for both. Let us know right away if you need a spot to lay your head (and dry your gear!) All the information is below.
UPDATE: 06/30/26:
Here’s our latest (6/28) list of entries for the 2026 H17/ H18 North American Championships coming up August 3-7. As you can see there at 10 H17’s and 15 H18’s signed up so far! I know there are more to come… but don’t wait too long! The deadline for early registration is coming up soon, July 15th is just over 2 weeks away. After that the price goes up!
UPDATE: 06/ 18/ 2026:
More registrations have arrived! We now have sailors from BC (Canada), Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Nevada, Texas, Kansas, California and New South Wales (Australia)! A total of 8 H17’s and 13 H18’s. Is your state/ province represented? If not, better sign up! Camping and motel space is almost sold out and will go out to the public next week. If you’re planning on coming, better get your name in soon!
UPDATE 06-05-2026:
More registration arriving as week speak!
When do we see your name on the list?
UPDATE: 05/ 18/ 2026:
Registrations are slowly coming in for the H17/ H18 NAC’s in August. Here is the current list. You don’t want to miss this! You regretted not coming last time! When are you going to register? There may be only a few camping and motel spots left so check in soon! (there is other camping nearby if you can’t fit in to the resort)
Registration is available HERE:
And you can register for the Division regatta on the weekend prior HERE .
UPDATE: 04/ 25/ 2026:
Well, registrations are slowly coming in, the current list is below. Do note however that the campsite is ALMOST FULL!! If you want to reserve a spot, do it now! Use the form below. The bookings for the Motel are about 1/2 full so be sure to call them soon also.
There is some great planning happening for the event. Live Music! Salmon dinner! Pizza night! and more…
And for those who don’t know yet, Chris Bradshaw (chris@sailandkayak.com) is putting together an order for NEW H18 SAILS to be delivered to the event. Contact her directly for more information.
Here is the current competitor list. Why is your name not on it!
Updated: 12/28/2025:
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! As promised, registration for the H17/ H18 North American Championships will open January 1st, 2026! Here is the link to register: REGISTER H17/H18 NAC HERE
Please be sure to read the Notice of Race regarding accommodations! Motel and Cabins are booked through the Resort Village (let them know you are with the Hobie Event. CAMPING IS CURRENTLY CONTROLLED BY DIV 4 AND WILL BE UNTIL MAY 15TH! Use the following form to book your campsite for RV’s/ campers and tents: CAMPING REQUEST FORM. Be sure to do this soon, even if you don’t register yet!
Anyone wishing to join Div 4 for the Northwest Area Championships being held Aug 1/2, you can register here for that. NWAC Registration. You are able to register at anytime including on-site, but we’d prefer to know if you’re coming so we can sort out things like food/ t-shirts etc.
October 31/2025:
After such a great success in 2023 when Division 4 hosted the H17/ H18 North American Championships, we are going to do it again! With 25 boats in the H18 class and 13 in the H17 class in 2023, we hope to exceed these numbers in 2026. Interest is already sparked among the sailors as many have already started asking about accommodation bookings! Also, please consider joining us for our Division regatta to be held August 1/2 prior to the event. Registration details will be posted here.
Here are the pertinent details:
DATES: AUGUST 3-7, 2026
WHERE?: Rain Forest Resort Village, Lake Quinault, Washington.
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN JAN 1 2026: REGISTER HERE FOR THE NAC EVENT
DOWNLOAD THE NOTICE OF RACE HERE
Campground space is being held by Hobie Division 4 from Friday July 31st through Sunday August 9th. Any remaining spaces will be released May 15th to the public, so please book early to arrange for your preferred spot, especially if you plan to arrive early or depart late! For campground space ONLY please complete this form. Please provide arrival and departure dates, and space requests…RV large, RV small or tent only (limited space). Warning – ONE extra vehicle per space ONLY will be enforced! Rates are based on 4 guests – there is a $5 charge per person over 4. Dry camping (no power) sites are available for a reduced cost. Stay 9 nights and get one night free!!
CABINS OR MOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS: For Cabin or Motel Accommodation please contact the Resort directly at: 1-360-288-2535
As always, we look forward to being your hosts again at this one-of-a-kind location for Hobie Sailing. It has been a favorite location for Division 4 for almost 50 years. With on site camping in the Olympic Rainforest, thermal winds off the ocean it doesn’t get much better than this. Start your planning now and come and join us for an epic event!
Hobie Division 4 