Round 2 of the NSW Hobie States was a great success. The members and volunteers of Palm Beach Sailing Club did a great job on and off the water. In addition to the 3 State Championship classes of the H14, H16 Youth and H16 Women, a fleet of H18s, Open 16s, Tigers and Wildcats joined in for a weekend of Hobie sailing fun and friendship.
Saturday saw the fleet enjoy a light to moderate Easterly under blue skies. It was beautiful day and provided great sailing, with lots of close racing.
The Hobie 14 fleet was hotly contested, and was ultimately taken out by Andrew McKenzie from Vincentia Sailing Club. Andrew didn’t have it all his own way, with both Palm Beach local Richard Lacey, and Wangi’s veteran Steve Watt challenging all weekend.
The 16 fleet was dominated by the Mother and Daughter team of Kerrie Waterhouse and Bridget Bolewski, taking line honours in all but one race. This dominant performance saw the Pittwater locals take out both the open and womens results.
Vincentia’s Bonnie Butler and Chilli Engel, who have been sailing together for only a year, claimed second in the womens fleet from sisters Sophie and Rachel Renouf. It was great to see Lucy Nissen and Ami Giri step off the F18s they sail with their dads, and team up for a Hobie regatta. Clair and Kerrie were unlucky to suffer a broken gudgeon which forced them out of all 4 races on Saturday. Sunday was much better for the south coast women, with a third and a second on the scorecard showing their potential.
The Youth fleet was hotly contested, with 5 teams in contention for the win. Ultimately Pat Butler and Oscar Kennedy took the win on a count back from Arbi and Liam. Palm Beach siblings Tess and Jake Sweeney were only 3 points behind in third. It was a shame two other local teams were unable to race on Sunday. Tash and Nathan Bryant were on the pace and would’ve certainly been in the mix.
In addition to the State championship events, the “sideshow” classes of Hobie 18s and spinnaker Hobies. The 18 class was dominated by John and Bronte Forbes, but the battle for second came down to a tiebreak, with John Kersh / Brad Robbo edging out Darren Schmidt and Barbara. Kieren and Destiny Sault are showing improvement at every regatta they attend, and it is great to see their confidence growing.
Two Wildcats and two Tigers competed the sideshow, and the closeness of racing saw 3 boats bow to stern around the leeward mark on 6 occasions. The highlight of the spinnaker fleet, however, was Allanah Simpson steering a Tiger around the course, with Grant Rogers as crew / mentor. This was Ally’s first regatta as a skipper, and this new team were giving the season teams a few hurry ups. If this weekend is anything to go by, Allanah will be giving her mum Kerrie some serious competition in years to come.
Without the assistance of our sponsors and supporters, we couldn’t have such great regattas. As always, our Hobie Dealers continue to support Hobie racing, and the local dealer “The Life Aquatic” have been generous in their contribution. Hobie Cat Australasia are a constant supporter of what we do. Thank you Steve and Simon.
Full results HERE
