Hobie Division 4

Last weekend was CYC-Seattle’s Puget Sound Spring Regatta for small boats.  We got out 5 Hobie 16s and a couple of Hobie 18s to start off the season.  It was fantastic seeing everyone again in the parking lot Saturday morning!  The 16s were graced with Martin & James Hollinsworth, Jeremy Groesz/Val Pioszak, John Ped/Alex LeBlond, Tim Webb sailing with Hobie newbie Rodon just arrived from France, and Peter Nelson/Laura Sullivan.  Paul Evenden drove down from Chilliwack, BC with Sarah Isaac to duel with Jerry Valeske crewing with Hobie newbie Jennifer Olegario.

Saturday morning greeted everyone with fog and that put a damper on the sailing.  When the skies cleared and the wind filled it was only a light breeze enough for 2 races.  Ped & Nelson traded bullets while Evenden took both of the 18s.  A couple of the boats were late for the first start and that may have contributed to the results being what they were.

After racing everyone dove into the clubhouse for some liquid refreshment before heading over to Peter’s house for a dinner party courtesy of Laura.  That was a ton of fun as well.

Sunday opened with a stronger breeze — not much stronger, but stronger.  Ped/LeBlond & Nelson/Sulliuvan continued to trade bullets while Valeske and his new crew started dialing in the 18 and making things difficult on Evenden/Isaak.  Meanwhile a nice little battle was shaping up in the 16s between Webb/Rodon, Hollinsworth, & Groesz.   Places were being traded and everything was up for grabs.  It seems a lot of the winter moss got knocked off Saturday!

Conditions for both days were light breeze with mild to choppy seas.  It was technical sailing with the strong tides and there was no sure-fire way to get around the course.  That opened up passing lanes which made for a fun and exciting time.

 

Round Mercer Island Race is coming up this Saturday, April 16.  Registration opens at 10 at Stan Sayer Pits along the west shore of Lake WA; first shape is at noon.  The perpetual trophy has been found and will be awarded!!  Fleet 95 has been running this race for at least 20-25 years, so it is exciting to bring the race back.

This will be a pursuit race with slower boats starting first, and all boats circumnavigating Mercer Island in a counter-clockwise direction.  Party at Peter’s house afterwards.

Donuts & coffee at registration.  Rum squall after the race.  $10-20 registration depending on # of boats that show.  (We need to cover gas money for chase, plus the refreshments.)

The winter thaw is upon us and things are starting to shape up nicely for the 2016 Hobie sailing season.  Be sure to check out the Calendar on this website for the latest and greatest events.

First points event will be Puget Sound Sailing Regatta (PSSR) small boat on April 9-10 out of CYC Seattle at Shilshole.  Last year the wind blew good, so hopefully we’ll get lucky again.

Next up is the following weekend for the Round Mercer Island Race.  This event has bounced around a couple of times due to calendar conflicts, so check your calendar for Saturday, April 16.  We’ll meet at Stan Sayer Pits and take a tour of Lake Washington, with a party at the end.  Out of town sailors are invited to stay with fleet members.

May really kicks in the Hobie season with something going on the first 3 weekends.  Cultus Lake (BC) is May 7-8, followed by Hobie 101 at Sail Sand Point May 14, and Kelowna Regatta May 21-22.

There’s plenty playtime.  Come join us!

The 2015 Hobie 16 North American Championships attracted 73 teams from 5 countries to Pensacola, FL.  It was the toughest competition in a looong time!  One screw up lost you 5-20 places.  The intensity on the water was just as extreme.

Except for some good double-trap wind the first day, most of the sailing was done in 6-10k.  That brought the boats/teams close together and there were some very crowded mark roundings.  Eeking out a 1-boat length lead was a BIG deal.  after 3 days of racing the fleet was split into a Gold and Silver fleet for the final two days.

Div. 4 brought 5 teams and 2 addl. crew to the event.  John & Jennifer Hoag were the top team, finishing 11th overall.  They even won one of the Gold fleet races on Thursday!  John and JJ were followed closely by Peter Nelson & Laura Sullivan in 12th, who had a tough final day and slipped 3 places.

John Ped and Alex LeBlond were the top youth team at 28th.  There were actually 4 all-youth teams at the event.  All of these kids took time off from school to compete.  Two teams made it into the Gold fleet, and two teams sailed in the Silver fleet.  John & Alex just squeaked by to edge out Tommy Butler and Mike.  J Rosenbach and Valerie Pioszak sailed a really strong regatta to make the cut.  But dogged by some poor starts, they ended up at the back end of the Gold fleet.

Todd Morrill, sailing with Sarah Isaak started off slow in the Silver fleet….very slow.  But by the end of the week they were actually putting their transoms to some boats.  Their improvement over the course of the week was easy testament to the experience gained by all teams.  Also sailing in the Silver, Tawnya Fox crewed for Karen Ann Xavier.  These guys showed continued improvement as they started clicking, and were able to move up from the back of the bus to 16th.  The joke at the end was they were ready to start the event all over!  Also in the Silver fleet, and just a few points behind Tawnya & Karen, were Ruth Branscombe & Chris Bradshaw.  They were able to finish strong in a crowded field.

All in all, there were 12 Div. 4 sailors, five of whom were youth.  Most of the team stayed at a rented beach house and used Jerry & Laura’s trailer as race central while on site.  There was a ton of camaraderie, and everyone was helping everyone else.  Coach Robbie Daniel helped all of the teams out one way or another.

When it was time to pack it up, it was clear that all of the teams had a great time and upped their game considerably.  The 2016 season can’t come soon enough for this group of sailors!

Next year: Puerto Pensaco, Mexico.  Don’t miss it!!

Skamokawa never fails to deliver a good time.  Even on the rare occasion where the wind is light, competitors still end up walking away with huge grins on their faces.  Maybe it is the small, informal, “let your hair down” setting of this venue.  Or maybe it is the double trap breeze.  Or maybe — just maybe — it is the long distance race that gives everyone the thrill of (relatively) uncharted waters upwind, and a rip-snortin’ slide back downwind!

Such was the case this year — the first annual running of the Todd Christensen Memorial Regatta.  This regatta was deemed a fund raiser from the get go, with all net proceeds being donated to Hobie youth sailing programs. And competitors showed up in force to honor Todd, and show their support for a program that Todd dearly loved.

The fleet was uncharacteristically blanked on wind Saturday. Despite the best efforts of PRO Jeff Janders to get off a race, the wind did not cooperate.  That prompted many of the veterans to quip if they could remember ever being shut out at Skamokawa.  Team Shrek, led by Della Hoag and her well-organized shore team, assembled a huge meal of turkey tacos that saw most sailors obviously expecting big breeze the next day judging by the size of their plates!!  Following dinner a raffle was held with many rules to the raffle flying around like bats!  But no one seemed to mind, and most teams walked away winners.

The big winners were the 10 teams who won wetsuits donated by Zhik!!  Zhik donated 5 farmer johns and 5 tops.  Other sponsors included: West Coast Sailing, Harken, McLube, Fisheries Supply, Ronstan, and Hobie Cat Co.  Thanks to these great sponsors (and the competitors buying tickets) we were able to collect $600 from the raffle!!  So be sure to take names and support these guys!  All in all, over $1,400 was raised and will be donated to HCANA’s Youth program for grants and funding to support Hobie youth sailing.  Thank you sponsors, competitors, and Todd!!  Many thanks also to the various volunteers who contributed not only their time but also money in helping us raise these funds!  (And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!)

Sunday filled in nicely.  RC got in one buoy race in a light breeze before throwing up all the class flags for the grand start of the long distance race.  A few minutes later 14 boats were off the line and headed downriver in a building breeze and the end of an ebb tide.  First around the turn mark was Lonnie Byers followed by Paul Carter in 17s.  John Ped & Alex LeBlond were close behind them, trying to hold off Peter Nelson & Laura Sullivan.

Downwind the 16s pulled ahead of the 17s and John & Alex — our heralded youth team — took both line honors and the corrected win.  Congratulations, boys.  Peter & Laura stopped for a swim on the reach into the beach while J Rosenbach & Valerie Pioszak showed both speed and consistency with seconds in both races to capture the overall in the 16 fleet.  In the 17 fleet, Paul Carter got past Lonnie for the win with Dave Wilder finishing 3rd.  The 18s went to Jerry Valeske & Lisa Ballou.  Full results are posted.

But the fleet wasn’t done!  At the awards ceremony John Hoag showed off the perpetual trophy he and Dean Christensen (Todd’s dad) and Team Shrek put together.  It is a marvelous trophy and will be awarded to the winner of the long distance race each year.  Skamokawa Vista Park eagerly agreed to display the trophy in their new office.  Fittingly, Todd Christensen was the defending champion from 2013 so his name appears first and foremost.  John and Alex’s names are now right below.

Putting icing on the cake was that Dean and Lucy — Todd’s parents — traveled from Seattle to the awards ceremony to award the trophy and see it inducted into this local Hall of Fame!