A statement from the Australian National Hobie Class Association (ANHCA), New South Wales Hobie Class Hobie Association (NSWHCA) and the Vincentia Sailing Club (VSC) regarding the 50th Australian Hobie Cat National Championships.
We hope you’ve been keeping well, safe, healthy and most of all sane during the ridiculous year that we’ve been dealt with once again.
Today we are announcing what you all thought would be the eventual situation.
It is with terribly great sadness that the NSWHCA, in conjunction with the ANHCA and the Vincentia Sailing Club, has had to postpone the 2021/22 Australian Hobie Cat National Championships. Once again postponing what would be the 50th Anniversary of the Hobie Class in Australia.
However…
It has been confirmed by the ANHCA, in association with the representatives from each state and the Vincentia Sailing Club, that the 2022/23 Australian Hobie Cat National Championships will be held (third time bloody lucky) in Jervis Bay, NSW, at the Vincentia Sailing Club.
What could be debated as the home of Australian Hobie sailing, Jervis Bay the home of the 20th Hobie 16 World Championships in 2014.
This announcement has come just in time for what is looking to be one of the greatest Hobie Cat Tours of all time…
Firstly, for this year the VSC have announced that they will be holding an event regardless of what was to be the Nationals time slot, so if you can make it and have accommodation already booked, KEEP IT! But if you cannot make it, transfer that booking to next year! We guarantee you will NOT regret it.
Now, back to what’s happening over the Chrissy and New Year period…
The VSC will be hosting the first-ever ‘Round the Bay’ rally race on New Year’s Eve, which will be the challenge of a lifetime! There will be thrills, there will be spills, and most of all, there’ll be prizes to be won!
Most importantly, the NSWHCA, along with the VSC, will be hosting the NSW Hobie 14, Women & Youth State Championships from the 2nd to the 5th of January, it is confirmed!
And to all those who can make it and are not sailing in the 14, Women and Youth classes, this event will be open to ALL classes of Hobie Cat. So if you have a 16, 18, Tiger or Wildcat, come down to Jervis Bay and dust off the cobwebs! You will NOT want to miss out!
Additionally, the NSWHCA and ANHCA are proud to announce that this event will also be home to the FIRST EVER Hobie Dragoon National Championships! This is a class of Hobie Cat that has World Championships, with an enthusiastic fleet already sailing out of Somers Yacht Club in Victoria. It will be an excellent opportunity to showcase this terrific boat for the next generation of Hobie Sailors.
Now let’s have a look at what’s coming up next in 2022.
If you’re not living under a rock or a Hobie 14 that has been left out to pasture, the 23rd Hobie 16 World Championships is scheduled to take place from the 10th-24th May 2022 in Costa Brava, Spain. As such, there will be an abundance of fleet racing opportunities in the first part of the year, before May, that will get you prepared for what will be a sensational World Championships.
(NOTE: for those who are wondering how the Worlds qualification process will work due to the postponement of the Nationals, an official decision is still pending regarding this issue.)
Firstly, the NSWHCA were proud to announce yesterday that Series 2 of the NSW State Championships, consisting of the Hobie 16s, Hobie 18s, Tigers & Wildcats, will be taking place at Twofold Bay Yacht Club on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February.
Next up, the Victorian State Championships is due to take place, as always, over the Labour Day long weekend during the first week of March, so put those dates into your sailing calendars.
Not only that, the Queensland State Championships, as well as the WA State Championships, are scheduled to take place during early April. So depending on what side of the continent you are on, lock in one of those events.
Also, rumour has it there’ll be an epic event of magnificent proportions due to take place during the middle of the year, with a location to be determined soon somewhere in south-east Queensland. So keep an eye out for that one.
And to make things even more exciting, the October long weekend will more than likely see the spectacular return of what is the most glorious of catamaran regattas this side of the equator. If you know, you know.
So wherever you may be located, whatever your taste for sailing maybe, there’ll be an event for you on the coming horizon. And at long last, we will be able to gather, yarn and share an icy cold beverage with the entirety of the Hobie family.
Stay tuned for more action to come..
PB
