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NOV – DEC 2006VOLUME 35, NUMBER 6
The Hobie Class Association HOTLINE is the offi-cial publication of the Hobie Class Association ofNorth America (HCANA). Contents © 2006 HCANA.All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or in partwithout permission is prohibited. It is distributed sixtimes a year to HCANA Members. Its goal is to keepthe North American Region informed of the businessof the Class Association. Questions and suggestionsshould be directed to the address below. The HCANAis proud to be a member of the United States SailingAssociation (US SAILING).
The purpose of the Hobie Class Association of NorthAmerica is to establish and promote the higheststandards of Hobie Cat sailing/racing in its geographicboundaries in collaboration with the National andInternational sailing authorities.
HOBIE CLASS ASSOCIATION HOTLINEMatthew P. Bounds, Editor3798 Damas Dr.Commerce Township, MI [email protected]
The name Hobie Cat®, and the “flying H” logo areused by permission and are registered and li-censed trademarks of the Hobie Cat Company,P.O. Box 1008, Oceanside, CA 92051.
The Official Publication of the HobieClass Association of North America
OfficersChairBob Merrick
1st Vice ChairPhil Collins
2nd Vice ChairChris Wessels
Youth Program Dir.Mimi Appel
Membership ChairTara Ames
SecretaryKathy Ward
TreasurerSteve Reese
Race DirectorPaul Ulibarri
HOTLINE StaffEditorMatt Bounds
CoverPhoto byOnne van der Wal
Review CommitteeLaurie BoundsTheresa WhiteLiza ClevelandCindy PhippsMatt Miller
ContributorsPhil CollinsTed JaggerTom KorzeniewskiBob MerrickLori MohneyJohn MorkBarb PermutterMike RennoChris Wessels
seeyouonthewater
Thanks For Another Great Year
Another year of sailing has just about come to a close. Thanks to all of you, for making it so much fun! I’d like to especially thank a few of our outgoing HCA
volunteers who have put so much effort into the success of ourone-design class association.
Ed Muns and Rob Jerry will both be stepping down afterserving two years as HCA Chair and Vice Chair respectively.
Thank you for leading the HCANA through a difficult transition period that resultedin a stronger and more focused Class Association. Phil Collins and Chris Wessels willbe picking up where Ed and Rob left off as our new HCA Vice-Chairs.
Heather Morrison, who has served as the HCA Women’s Rep for at least as long asI’ve been in the class, will be handing over the reigns to Danielle Burns. Anyone whoparticipated in a WOW clinic certainly owes Heather a special thank you.
Diane Bisesi has turned over the Membership Chair responsibilities to Tara Ames.For those of you who don’t have a first hand perspective on how the HCA member-ship data base is maintained, you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that this has beenone of the most tedious volunteer positions in the class, and it’s also one of the mostimportant. Thank you so much, Diane! One of the first projects we’re working on thiswinter is making this position more manageable. We hope to have an on-line mem-bership renewal up and running for next year. It’s our hope that most of you will usethis option, relieving our Membership Chair from hours of data entry.
For years, Kathleen Tracy has made sure that the HCA is fiscally responsible asHCA Treasurer. She will be handing off a balanced book to Steve Reese this year.Thanks for keeping us out of trouble, Kathleen.
I’d also like to thank all of the fleets who hosted our championship events this year.Thank you to Fleet 250 for hosting the Women and Youth 16 NAs, and my own Fleet448 for the Open 16 NAs. Thank you, Fleet 10, for the thirty-five boat 14 Nationals!How long has it been since that happened? Thanks also to Division 14 for hosting the18 and 20 Nationals. I have also extended a thank you letter to the St. Francis YachtClub for the 17 Nationals as well as an apology for the cancellation of the Tigerchampionship. These are big events and you’ve all kept the standard extremely high.
As you can see, there are lots of people out there to thank and I’ve only scratchedthe surface. So, once again I’d like to thank all of you, from the Division Chairs rightdown to the people who volunteer to flip hot dogs on Sunday afternoon at their localpoints regatta. As I start this term as HCA Chair, it’s clear to me that no one personruns this Class Association — and that’s exactly the way it should be.
See you on the water,Bob MerrickHCA Chair
2 NOV / DEC 2006
features Little Boats with Lots of AttitudeThe H-14 North American Championships
That’s Not Something You See Everyday!The H-16 North American Championships
Don’t Mess With Hobie!The H-18 and H-20 North American Championships
The Virtues of the Apostle (Islands)Another Jagger Family Adventure
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16
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nov / dec 2006
contents
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photo / illustrationcredits Cover – Onne van der Wal www.vanderwal.com
See You on the Water – Stuart CrabbeContents – Slim Johnson, Onne van der Wal, Mark Benge, Ted JaggerHobie History – Hobie Cat USA / Hobie HOTLINEJust in off the Wire – Pierrick Contin, Tony KraussHCA People – Steve Oad, Chris Ray, Dorine Taha, Tom Korz, Mike RennoHobie 14 NAC – Slim Johnson, Dorine TahaHobie 16 NAC – Onne van der Wal, Steve OadHobie 18 / 20 NAC – J. H. Peterson, Mark Benge, Guy LawyerCruising the Apostles – Ted Jagger
HOBIE CLASS
www.hca-na.org 3
resources
Hobie History15, 25 and 35 Years Ago
Just In Off the WireLate Breaking News and Notes
HCA PeopleMeet the New HCA Officers
columns6
8
10
4
29
31
2006 / 2007 Regatta Schedule
HCANA Officers and Council Members
2007 HCA / US Sailing Membership Applications
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on the cover Hobie 16 North Americans – North American Champions Enrique
Figueroa and Carla Malatrasi charge upwind on the first day of racing.
ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA
4 NOV / DEC 2006
HCA Sanctioned Division RegattasDivision13—Mexico/Carribean/Central AmericaContact: Alfredo Figueroa–[email protected]
World Championships www.hobieworlds.com
Hobie 16 Oct 9–19, 2007 Fiji
Hobie Tiger/Dragoon Mar 3–8, 2008 Langebaan, South Africa
North American Championships www.hca-na.org
H-14, H-6 Women / Youth July 20–22 Geneva, NYHobie 17 / Hobie 18 July 23–27 Geneva, NYHobie 16 / Hobie 20 Jul 30 –Aug 3 Alameda, CA
Area ChampionshipsMidwinter’s West Mar 2–4, 2007 San Felipe, MEX www.hca-na.org
Other EventsISAF Youth Worlds July 12-2 Kingston, CANPan Am Games Hobie16 July 13-29 Rio de Janerio, BRA
2006/2007regattaschedule
Attention Regatta Scorers!Remember to send your results to:
www.hca-na.org 5
6 NOV / DEC 2006
15, 25 & 35 Years Agohobiehistory
1971
1981
We continue our visit to the beginnings of the Hobie Catphenomenon. In 1971, the first Hobie Cats were shipped to Europeand distributed by a new company – Hobie Cat France. Hobies wouldnot be produced in Europe for another four years.
Coast Catamaran Company (predecessor of Hobie Cat USA) wentpublic and begins trading on the OTC stock market. In retrospect,Hobie Alter sees that as "one of the biggest mistakes. We should havestayed at making what we were good at.”
The 1981 Hobie 16 Nationals were loaded with talent, including the future president of
Hobie Cat, Doug Skidmore, blasting through the big waves off Ocean City, MD. Doug and hisunidentified crew finished in 36th place.
The first of many apparel ads to appear in the HOTLINE. HobieCat teams up with Hang Ten to promote their product. (Although whowould buy merchandise today from a black and white sketch?) Hobiesoon realized that they could sell clothing under their own HobieApparel brand name.
The 1981 Hobie 18Nationals were held inSudden Valley, WA on LakeWhatcom. Dan Mangusand Miles Wood usedunconventional means toaccept their trophy.
Hobie Alter, Jr. won both theH-18 Nationals and the H-16 Nationals in 1981. Heremains the only person tohave won two major HobieClass Nationals / NorthAmericans in a single year.
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1991
1981
Back in 1981, if youowned sailing gloves,they were probablyTrophy Catamarangloves. They took awhile to break in, butthey were like an oldbaseball mitt once theydid.
That unique smell ofleather, neatsfoot oiland sunscreen wouldtake you to the beachany time of the year.
Apparel Marketing Gone Bad — “You look pretty sexy in that
neoprene suit. By the way, how much do you weigh?”
Hobie Sportswear was athriving company by 1981. Hobie’sson, Jeff Alter strikes a dubious posein this ad from the HOTLINE.
Styles (and marketing) may havechanged, but Hobie Sportswearcontinues to sell “CaliforniaLifestyle” clothing today.
Apparently, 1981 was the year of the large belt buckle.
A follow-up to last issue’s National Championshipcommemorative belt buckle, we present “The One andOnly Hobiebuckle!”
More Hobie Sportswear:
Neon Colors? Check.Formula Boats? Check.Mountain Bike? Check.A guy in pink shorts? Check.
Yep. It’s 1991.
Some things don’tchange. Rick White isstill holding catamaranweeks in the Keys andBob Curry is still achampion (2006 Hobie14 North Americans).
8 NOV / DEC 2006
justinoffthewireLate Breaking News and Notes
Tiger Rudder / GudgeonChange Proposal
Hobie Cat Europe has submit-ted a proposal to modify the headon present production rudderblades to allow for better steering.As part of the modification, anewer, improved gudgeon, whichwould cause less turbulence, isnecessary to put the rudderassembly further aft.
Often, the steering of the Tigerappears to be very “heavy”. Inspira-tion from present Tornado designsresulted in a prototype that gives amore pleasing feel to the tillerbalance. Current rudder castingswould be retained.
To retrofit older Tigers, thisupgrade would require a change ofthe rudder blades to the newerdesign, as well as changing therudder gudgeons. Hobie Europehas provided no cost estimates forthe retrofit as of press time. Carbonversions of the new style ruddersare not available – yet.
By the time you receive this, thecomment period will have expired.However, the proposed changeseems likely to be approved and isforeseen to be class legal as of April1, 2007.
Division 3 Awarded 2007H-16 North Americans
Alameda, CA will be the hostfor the 2007 Hobie 16 and 20North Americans. The dates forthe event will be July 30–August 3.Paul Hess and company will beputting on a great event. Thecombination of the H-16 and theH-20s will be a good one. Thereseems to be a lot of enthusiasm forthe resurgence of the H-20 fleets.These dates are right behind theH-14/17/18 and Women’s/Youthevent to be held in New York, butthis hopefully won’t prohibitanyone from participating! It’s atough process to accommodateeveryone for all the sailing eventsover such a short period of time.Look for the next issue of theHOTLINE to include the Noticeof Race and other pertinentinformation for what is sure to be agreat event!
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Tucson, Arizona HobieFleet 514 Hosts AnotherFantastic Piñata Regatta.Barb Perlmutter
This year we had 53 HobieCats attend the event from sixWestern states; Arizona, Califor-nia, Nevada, Colorado, Texas andNew Mexico. They all made thedrive to Rocky Point, Mexico toenjoy the breezes and 88 degreewater of the Sea of Cortez.Everyone was glad they attendedthe famous Piñata Regatta. One ofthe weekend highlights had to bewatching twenty-one Hobie 16A’swrestle for a good spot on thestarting line. Congrats to John andLinda Hauser who won that class.
Fleet 514 is so special; it’s notjust a few people doing all thework, everybody pitches in andhelps. Jeff Perlmutter was theregatta chairman. Tony Kraussdirected 8 races over two days on awell run race committee boat. Ourraffle was again awesome thanks tochairman Barb Perlmutter, whospent the summer coordinatingsponsorship funds and nice raffleprizes. Every boat had pre-registered to get their free T-Shirts,meals and drinks as well as acompetitor bag filled with goodies.Trophies were hand crafted woodbases with a genuine TECATEbottle and nice metal plaques.
Saturday evening’s party wasbigger and better than ever. It
began with our annual SalsaContest that has grown to include3 categories. Then Fleet 514provided the main course (Pazoliburritos) and regatta participantsall contributed a yummy side dish.Over 165 folks enjoyed ourDinner / Raffle party. Hundreds ofgreat prizes were raffled off whichraised a lot of money for Fleet 514to continue to host this incredibleHobie event. Following the raffle,Rex Mitchell from Las Vegas Fleet51 provided music for the crowd,which turned out to be the entirecampground. Everyone joined inon the fun. We also need tomention the generosity of manyDivision 2 Fleets who contributedover $670 to send two youth sailorsto a sailing clinic in Long Beachover Thanksgiving.
Fleet 514 also provided break-fast munchies each day as well asHot Dogs after sailing on Sunday.Redbull (another sponsor) wasgiven to all the sailors each day soeveryone was wide awake on thewater. Tecate is our main beveragesponsor. In addition to cold beer,Tecate also supplied 2 large circusstyle tents with accompanyingchairs and tables. The shade waswelcome during the 90 degree
daytimetemperatures.Saturday windswere strong,double trapezestuff andSunday taperedoff a bit with dolphins providingon-the-water entertainment.
We certainly want to thank allof our generous sponsors. Lexus ofAlbuquerque donated some greatwindbreakers. Hobie Cat, Kokatat,Stohlquist, The Cat House, JoeFlores Chevron, Murray’s Marine,Harken, Team McLube, Sailboatsof Bakersfield, Desert Divers,Davis Funds, Navigator Publishing,and others too numerous tomention, also provided some greatprizes. For a complete sponsorlisting and event photos, visit ourwebsite at www.fleet514.com.While you’re there, print out a pre-registration form and campreservation for 2007!
Mark your calendars for nextyear’s Piñata regatta on October 6and 7th. This is an event you won’twant to miss. It’s a beautiful spoton the beach to camp, sail andenjoy the Hobie life. Hope we seeyou next year! Remember . . . Keepthe Pointy End UP!
10 NOV / DEC 2006
Meet the New HCA Officers
hcapeople
Bob MerrickHCA Chair
I have been racing sailboats foralmost my entire life but it wasn'tuntil the spring of 2000 that I hadmy first experience on a Hobie Cat.I was training for the Olympics atthe time and in Lake Garda for the470 European Championship. Lizahad made the trip to help me drivethe boat down from Germany andwe planned to take a few days of
vacation before my teammateshowed up for the regatta. Downthe street from our hotel was amom and pop shop renting HobieCats off the beach and Liza wantedto go sailing. We stayed out forhours and came back the next dayto go Hobie Catting again.
The irony was that I had beensailing boats for more than adecade and had only just realizedhow much fun sailing could be. Afew months after the OlympicsLiza and I bought our first Hobie16. We had no idea that peopleeven raced them at the time. Therest is history.
Liza and I live in Connecticutand do most of our racing inDivision 11, 12 and 16. I mostlyrace in Hobie 16s but have donesome racing in the 14 as well.
I've traveled to two Hobie 16Worlds and four North Americans
from 2003 to 2006. Although Lizaand I could not compete in the2002 North Americans we didtravel down to the “Mega” for thePan Am trials where we finishedsixth, a vast 28 points away fromqualifying.
As the top US finishers in thisyears NAs, we will finally get ourchance to compete in the Pan AmGames next year in Rio de Janeiro.We're very excited about thisopportunity.
I've been an HCA Vice chair forthe last two years and this will bemy first year as HCA Chair. It'sgreat to be involved in a class thathas so many volunteers workingtogether to keep the sailing fun andI'm happy to be a part of that. I'mlooking forward to many moreyears of racing in the Hobie Classand I hope you are too.
Phil CollinsHCA 1st Vice Chair
Phil and Beverly (his wife andcrew) live in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma, where Phil works for achemical company.
Phil started sailing on a Hobie14 over 30 years ago and within acouple of years, moved up to aHobie 16. They’ve sailed a Hobie20 since 2001. Phil’s been knownto dabble with the Hobie 17 aswell.
While they are a fixture atDivision 14 regattas, Phil and Bevalso enjoy traveling to other parts ofthe country to compete and meetnew people.
Phil has competed in most of theNationals since 1981 on a 16 andsince 2001 on a 20. He placedsecond at the 2006 Hobie 17 NAsand third at the 2006 Hobie 20North Americans.
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Chris WesselsHCA 2nd Vice Chair
Chris Wessels, recently turned40 at the Daggerless Regatta inOklahoma City (and had a reallygood time). He has been marriedto Kelly for nine years and theyhave three children, Alexander(16), Jordon (15) and Jacob (7). Allthree kids race too, Xander sailingwith the 16A fleet, Jordon crewsfor Dad on the 20 and Jacob racesan optimist, but wants a new Wave.We have been sailing for sixseasons and have been fortunate totravel to Florida, New York,California and Oklahoma tocompete.
Chris has been Division 7 Chairfor two years and a member of
In the last Hobie History, we poked fun at the“Limited Edition of 1000” 1981 Hobie 16 Nationalsbelt buckle. We challenged anybody that still had oneof these gems to let us know.
We still have yet to see a 1981 buckle, but we’vesince discovered that this was a tradition for at leastthree years! We’ve since received photos of the 1982and 1983 versions. Tom Korzeniewski from Syracuse,NY even sent us a photo of him wearing the 1982event t-shirt and the beltbuckle in 2006 (left photo)and in 1982 (he’s on the left - with sunglasses and alot more hair).
Fleet 10 for five years and serves onthe board of the Clear Lake YachtClub.
By profession, Chris is anindependent Investment Represen-tative with VSR Financial Services.
Chris says, “The best thingabout being a Hobie guy: all thereally great friends I have made.We have met some great sailingfamilies in our division who wespend time with in the off seasonas well. We've met so many othersfrom all over the country. It reallymakes it fun to be part of thiscommunity, especially when I lookat the HCA rankings and knowalot of the names on it.”
Mike Renno from Ft. Wayne, IN sent us the photobelow right of the 1983 Hobie 16 Nationals beltbuckle.
We’re still waiting for that rare 1981 buckle photo,though. If you’ve got one, send the photo [email protected].
Do you have any unusual, old regatta trophies orregatta give-aways? Send us your photos to the addressabove. You just might see your picture in the nextHOTLINE.
Korz & Renno Call Our Bluff
12 NOV / DEC 2006
feature
Little Boats with Lots of AThe 2006 Hobie 14 North American Championshipsby Chris Wessels
Right this very minute, I am looking out my bay window at Clear Lake, Iowa on a blus- tery 30 degree Sunday. My only real
thought at this moment is “thank goodness we listenedto Todd Wilson!” This was actually the weekend I wassuggesting that we hold the Hobie 14 North Ameri-cans when we first started talking about it. Todd de-manded a September date, and am I ever glad he did.It’s friggin’ cold out!
As you may now know, the 14 NAs were verysuccessful, with a total of 35 boats on the water at thesame time! We here at Fleet 10 didn’t expect much inthe way of travelers. We made it our mission to talk,beg, shame and threaten everyone we knew with a 14,and those that didn’t to get one, and commit to therace weekend. We made the format a 3 day affair and Ithink that was one of the best ideas.
This is interesting: Ryan Richards is a 16 sailor andhas only been on a 14 maybe twice prior to theannouncement that we were hosting it. He then madeit his business to find a 14 for himself and as a lot of usdo, scanned eBay for a boat. He actually found one inthe aftermath of Katrina, for a good price. He made hisplans to drive down and recover the boat and also tour
the area. What is great about this story is that Ryanbrought back four boats! He sold the others topotential racers and loaned one to his friend HannahBirkholz for the race.
From that point, people started coming out of thewood work searching for 14s everywhere. Just to put itin perspective, there were only six Hobie 14s in ourdivision prior to the event. Yet on race day, twenty-twoof the entries were from Division 7. Karl Brogger fromMinnesota drove to Billings, Montana to pick up anice ’83 Hobie 14 to race in the event. Horrible thingwas, he got the flu just before the event and ended upchartering it. At least Dave Rice from Omaha got tosail then!
We really wanted to keep costs and expectationsreasonable, so we encouraged pre-registration on ourweb site. People were really great about doing it and itmade it easier to keep on top of our small budget. Itwas great to see people from down south signing up,and then guys from New York, and when Bob Curryfrom Florida finally registered, we knew things weregoing to be awesome! In the end, we had 37 pre-registrations. Of the 37, two dropped out leaving uswith 35. Unfortunately, Marc Erickson, our division’sleading 14 sailor, had an accident on his A-cat inAugust and was in no shape to sail in September. Hedid brave the pain to assist with the race committeeand cheer on his friends.
We started weigh-ins on Thursday afternoon. Itwas raining, but everyone was there and with the helpof Charlie McKenna’s stock car scale, we weighed inall but eight boats that afternoon. Kitsy Amrhein andI had the two heaviest boats - by far - and had to laughabout it. Bobcat, Bob Elsbury’s vintage 14 was awreck! But you know what? 248 lbs. Can you believeit? My state of the art, high tech H-14 “Cinderblock”came in at 297!!
SLIM JOHNSON
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AttitudeThursday evening, everyone kind of scattered to a
few different restaurants down town and enjoyed someIowa beef and a few beers. Pat Bisesi said on theHobie forum that, “You can’t get anymore hometownthan Clear Lake.” That’s what is so great abouttraveling to different places to sail in regattas; you gosomewhere you may not otherwise visit and enjoydifferent aspects of the country.
Friday, we finished weigh-ins, had some donuts andcoffee, and Bob Curry presented his GEP clinic onhow to set up a 14. WOW! Most of us had no ideathere were so many adjustments to tweak on a 14. Bobdid a first class job with his presentation, Q & A anddemonstrations. I know everyone there learnedsomething new. My biggest regret was not videotaping it..
The air was pretty heavy on Friday, and that’s whatwe wanted. Big boy weather. Tim Olson led theskippers meeting. The racing was really incredible,with strong winds and choppy conditions, we gotreally wet. I was pretty happy going into the 5th racethat I hadn’t been upside down yet. Even Curry hadpitchpoled once. Of course, going into the last legaround B mark heading to C, I ate it. The maindifference between when Bob Curry flips and when Iflip: Bob Curry rights his boat in less than 2 minutes,gets back on, smiles, and passes most everyone with ina leg. Me, I stay in the water for 15 minutes, cussing,NOT smiling and couldn’t pass a Sunfish if my lifedepended on it.
We got back to the beach kind of late, we had areally good supper (Midwestern for dinner) consistingof homemade Iowa specialties, hot chicken casserole,salad and apple crisp. Yummy.
Saturday was lighter and we all knew it would be.Nobody was really thrilled with the prospect of sailingin 5-8 knots. There was only one race that was really,really light. It ruffled a few feathers, but we’ve all beenthrough that. All in all, the racing was competitivewith the finishes all being very close.
With the lighter wind, the starts were very enter-taining. EVERYONE was cramming the line. Mylittle buddy, Bruce Fields, was not letting anyone nearhis turf at the signal boat. He was playing pretty gooddefense. At the pin end, there were ten boats so closeto each other and the end of the line, I am surprisedthere weren’t any bad bumps. What a blast! A coupleof general recalls, a few individual recalls and a bunchof shouting and laughter were the order of the daywhen the gun went off.
Saturday was barbeque night. Everyone ate untilthey couldn’t eat anymore and enjoyed the Clear LakeYacht Club outside.
Sunday was more of the same, but the wind waskind of goofy. You just couldn’t get to the A markfrom anywhere, the wind was so shifty. A couple ofwind shifts helped some, then buried others on theway up. Just before the front third of the pack made itto A, the wind shifted again, and forced another tackon them and gave enough time for the rest of everyoneto catch up.
It was pretty crowed at both A and C the wholetime on Sunday. There were some really close finishes
SLIM JOHNSON
14 NOV / DEC 2006
on Sunday. I don’t know how the RC kept it straight.There were a few instances where six or more boatsfinished within a few seconds of each other.
Hobie Fleet 10 is very proud to have hosted thisevent and feel fortunate to have had the support fromthe 14 sailors. Thirty-five boats made this a master-piece of a regatta, and a really good time. We also hadthree very talented woman sailors, Kitsy Amrhein,Sheila Holmes and Hanna Birkholz. Two youth sailorsalso participated - Jake Larson (13) and AlexanderWessels (16). We made a lot of new friends andenjoyed some really great racing. I hope this will leadto larger attendance at future 14 events. It’s great to seea resurgence of interest in a really fun boat sailed bysome awesome people!
Hobie 14 North American ChampionshipSeptember 22–24, 2006Final Results
(Clockwise from upper right)
Bruce Fields (Wrinklie) peers under the boom tosee if he was over early. He wasn’t – this time.
Bill Jeffers motors to the weather mark roundingon the first day of racing.
The starts were crowded. When was the last timeyou could say that about a H-14 major event?
Hobie 14 North American Champion, Bob Curry,shows perfect form upwind.
The goddesses of the Clear Lake Yacht Clubkitchen, who kept us all fed during the event (l tor) Ruth Clemens, Alice Twedt, Lana Wilson – allwives of 16 sailors from Fleet 10.
Todd Wilson shows off his Carlton TuckerSportsperson of the Year Award plaque.
THANK-YOU!
J&W Distributing - Miller BeerThe Rose Cottage Tea House (Friday night dinner)The Hungry Mind Deli (lunches both days) The Clear Lake Yacht ClubSignal Boat: Charlie McNiderScales: Team Charlie McKennaRace Committee: Tim Olson (PRO), Charlie Clemens,Bill Wilson, Lynn Twedt, Marc Erickson, John LundbergYacht Club Hostesses: Ruth Clemens, Alice Twedt,Lana Wilson
DORINE TAHA
www.hca-na.org 15SLIM JOHNSON
SLIM JOHNSON
SLIM JOHNSONSLIM JOHNSON
DORINE TAHA
16 NOV / DEC 2006
That’s NotSomething YouSee Everyday!
The 2006 Hobie 16North AmericansNarragansett, RI
Annie Nelson andSusan Korzeniewski
negotiate thestarboard tack
parade on the wayto the weather
mark
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Huge SwellsBroken MastsHarbor RaceFerry TrafficShaved HeadsDriving Rain
Did somebodymention “shavedheads”?
STORY BY MATT BOUNDSPHOTO BY ONNE VANDERWAL
18 NOV / DEC 2006
Clockwise, from right:
Hurricane Florence generated huge swells (John Ziolkowski and Marcy Finnas).
On Monday, the water looked like molten metal from the air. (Jason Hess and XavierCastillo show winning form upwind.)
Racing in the rain on Friday (Rich McVeigh and Diane Fisher.)
Lighter air was no less intense – especially when it rained.
The Block Island Ferry was a regular obstruction on the way to the race course.
Pedro Colon and Martin Roldan work upwind in the big stuff.
ONNE VAN DER WAL
ONNE VAN DER WALSTEVE OAD
STEVE OAD
www.hca-na.org 19
STEVE OAD
Narrow back seats make really uncomfortable beds, I was thinking as the fog slowly lifted from my consciousness. As I roused myself
from my roadside power nap, I forced my eyes to focuson the dashboard clock – 2:45 AM. Time to go! Therewas still 250 miles before I reached Canandaigua, NYthat early Saturday morning to finally race the Hobie14 that was riding on top of the double-stack.
Over the next four hours, while I drove the darkturnpikes of eastern and central New York, I reflectedupon the last six days – on what had to have been themost intense and challenging Hobie 16 NorthAmericans in a long time. Held in Galilee, RhodeIsland, south of Narragansett, the location is ideal foran ocean regatta. A man-made harbor about a mile in
diameter encloses the area and gave us a nearly surf-free launching zone from Roger Wheeler State Beach.With the exception of the 56 Hobie 16’s (and one 14!)and their crews, the beach was virtually our own thatsecond week of September.
What was most exceptional about this event wasthe extensive variety of conditions, people and happen-ings – and a lot of things rarely experienced. You hearda lot of people saying, “That’s not something you seeeveryday.” Take the practice day, for example. A nicebreeze allowed the race committee to set up inside theharbor and get a couple of races under their belt (doyou really think the practice races are for the sailors?). Iwanted to test some recent repairs to my H-14, so Itook it out to play with the 16’s. A Hobie 14 on thestarting line at a Hobie 16 North Americans? That’snot something you see everyday.
The Puerto Ricans Have ArrivedSunday evening, a reception for the sailors was held
in the atrium of the host hotel, the Lighthouse Inn. Itwas the off season, so we pretty much had the place toourselves. As the reception wound down (translation:
we ate all the food), Pedrin Colon discovered a bar offto one side that was closed for the season. Next thingyou know, rum was flowing, served by the PuertoRican Pirates. As a crowd collected, we were joined bythe Mexican and Guatemalan teams. Sailors from allover the North American region were talking, laugh-ing and telling stories - getting to know each otherbetter. That’s not something you see everyday.
The Lumpy HorizonOn Monday, September 11, Hurricane Florence
was churning up the Atlantic several hundred milessoutheast of Rhode Island. We were far enough awayso that Monday morning dawned bright and clear.When you stood on the beach, you knew that weweren’t quite far enough away from her. The “surf ” inthe harbor was typically minimal, but the horizon wasreally lumpy. In the distance, we could see hugeexplosions of spray as waves crashed against thebreakwaters. It was windy, too. Steady in the teens,gusts into the twenties – at a 90 degree angle to theswells. “That’s not something you see everyday,” I toldsomeone in passing as we suited up to go racing. “I amnot looking forward to being punished by my ownboat for sailing in these conditions.”
Broken Masts and a ScareAfter surviving a hair-raising broad reach out to the
race course in eight to ten foot swells and a cross chop,Diane and I flipped over backwards in the first tack ofthe first race. The ass-whupin’ had begun and the boatwas winning. While we played catch-up, we saw WallyMyers and then Hobie Alter, Jr. being towed in withrigs down. Broken Hobie 16 masts? That’s somethingyou don’t . . . Anyway, we continued our struggleagainst the elements and the boat in the next threeraces, managing to flip (boat wins) in two of them.Things got serious in the last race when Diane tangledwith the jib traveler line during the pitchpole and washeld underwater for about the longest 15 seconds ofeither of our lives. That’s something you don’t seeeveryday and I really don’t mind if I never see it again.
The Hobie Power Skiff Proves ItselfTuesday morning brought more of the same
conditions. In one final act of defiance, the boat threwin another pitchpole, on the final jibe to the finish linein the first race. “OK, boat, you win,” I conceded. Then
20 NOV / DEC 2006
the wind began to slowly die. The swells would bewith us all week, but they were more manageablewithout all the wind. Wednesday brought clouds andlight winds. After an unsuccessful search outside theharbor for wind, PRO Paul Ulibarri (PU) flew the“Follow Me” flag and led us into the harbor to wait.The postponement flag was still flying from the signalboat anchored just off the beach. Everyone took theopportunity to hit the beach, even though technically,we hadn’t been sent in. Steve Oad’s Hobie Skiff wasanchored close to shore – a little too close. It didn’ttake long for it to get sideways in the “minimal” surf,rolling over and tossing out Dave Heroux. No damagewas done to the boat (or Dave), but I can’t say thesame for the motor and Steve’s camera equipment.Those boats really are as tough as the old ads said theywere. Again, not something you want to see everyday.
The Harbor RaceNot ten minutes after the skiff was righted and
hauled up on the beach, a horn blew from the commit-tee boat and the postponement flag dropped. Sixminutes until start!!! The wind had filled in a little –just enough to get a start sequence running. A madscramble to get back out on the water ensued. Wethought PU was just messing with us, but after acouple of general recalls, he let us start on a real race.Galilee, Rhode Island is the home of the Block IslandFerry and a very active commercial fishing fleet – all ofwhom were trying to use the harbor at the same timewe were racing. That made for some interestingcrossing situations and certainly was something youdon’t see in your usual regatta settings.
The Pirates’ DenThe Puerto Ricans
had rented a house thatfaced the harbor about ahalf mile from the beach.The house was easilyidentifiable from theroad by the Heineken,Don Q and “Pirates ofthe Caribbean” bannersstrung across it. Rumorwas that this was theplace to be after the
Wednesday “No-Cut” Cut Party Dinner at George’s, alocal restaurant. Little did we know that a new “CutParty” tradition was about to introduced at the Pirates’Den after the meal. I’m not sure how it started, but Isaw Rob Jerry and Julio Caceres giving each othersevere haircuts with an electric hair clipper. At onepoint, Rob sported a “Hawkmo” – a reverse Mohawk –that made him look like a victim of a terrible industrialaccident. That’s definitely something you don’t seeeveryday.
Gloomy ThursdayThis was a miserable day of little wind and rain. PU
managed to get a couple of races off, but we sat (in therain) and waited most of the afternoon for the wind tofill in enough. After what seemed like an eternity, theRC sent us on a slow parade back into the harbor andto the beach.
Racing in the RainFriday brought more rain and lots of it. The wind
had returned and was blowing a very steady 12 – 15knots. Perfect – except for the rain. I can honestly say,in over thirty years of racing, I’ve never seen it rain sohard for so long except in a hurricane. You couldn’t seethe wind on the water. You couldn’t see one end of thecourse from the other. All the tell-tales were stuckdown and useless. Even the cassette tape on the bridlewould get stuck. We pounded out five, forty-minuteraces in less than six hours. I thought I had seen it all,but this was the most intense day of sailing I can everremember. When it was all over, we went to the beachto pack up the boats, in the rain. At least everythingwas well rinsed with fresh water.
The Quick ExitIn the end, Puerto Rican Enrique Figueroa and his
wife Carla won the event, finishing first in nearly halfthe races. Guatemalan junior sailors Juani Maegli andEnrique Arathoon were a respectable second, with theBrazilian team of Yamil Saba and Gonzalo Cendra adistant third. Mexicans Armondo Noriega Jr. andRodrigo Achach were fourth; Bob Merrick and LizaCleveland were the first US team, placing fifth. Theawards banquet was held Friday night, and again,competitors from all over the North Americancontinent mingled and shared the new stories they had
Running races in the rain isn’t fun for the RC, either.
STEVE OAD
www.hca-na.org 21
accumulated throughout the week. That issomething I would like to see more often, if noteveryday.
At the awards banquet, I had my sights seton my next event – which is why I had the 14with me and why I woke up in the back of mycar in the middle of the night at a rest stop onthe Massachusetts Turnpike. I took off at 9:30PM to drive 450 miles to an event to practicefor the Hobie 14 North Americans. After all,part of the Hobie Life is to travel to new placesand experience things that you don’t seeeveryday. In that, the 2006 Hobie 16 NorthAmericans succeeded beyond the organizerswildest dreams. We had lived a part of Hobiehistory that will be remembered for years tocome. And that’s something you don’t seeeveryday.
Thanks for the Memories:
Hobie Fleet 448, HCA Division 12, SeanEsten, Lori Mohney, Steve Oad, MimiAppel, and everybody else who helped
22 NOV / DEC 2006
Eight years have passed since the NorthAmerican Championships last visited thiswindswept region of the Midwest consisting
of; or so popular opinion would appear to believe,cowboys, Indians, and the dusty plains. If memoryserves, we weren’t so windswept and that spelled trou-ble for racing, especially for the weightier teams from,as Paul Ulibarri so aptly described us, the Gravy Divi-sion. Note to self: lay off the second helping. The
1998 Hobie 14& 20 Conti-nentals, as itwas called then,was my firstexperience ofcompeting in amajor champi-onship on aHobie. Everysubsequentevent attendedbecame thestandard fromwhich our event
would be measured and we were determined to not befound lacking. It was time to once again offer as host,the hospitality which we of Division 14 are so proud.
As race week approached, the weather was forecast-ing exceptional conditions consisting of warm, sunnyweather and the hoped for winds. The organizingauthority and competitors were converging at the siteof the South Central Area Championships, commonlyknown as the Mid-Americas regatta, located onbeautiful Lake Texoma with both the eagerness forracing and the trepidation of meeting expectations.Scanning the initial list of registrants, we could foreseea close competition with many past national champi-ons, including the top three finishers of each classfrom the 2005 Championships, expected to be incontention.
Our objective was to focus ontaking care of the competitors. Thevolunteers that we assembled wereexceptionally proficient at this task.From the web site created by KimEdmonds that eased the pre-registration process, to the on-siteboat measurement efforts of TomPage, and John and Paul Eaton,and the efficient check-in processby Jamie Benge and Sue Oats, we were able to ensurethat everyone was ready to sail first thing Mondaymorning. With a final tally of 17 Hobie 18’s and 34Hobie 20’s with two late entries, including the 2000-2002 champion Ken Marshack, we were ready todetermine who would prevail as the 2006 champions.We would be remiss in not recognizing the outstand-ing contributions of the sponsors that allowed us toprovide the hoped for quality of service: NetworkEnhanced Telecom, Cadbury Schweppes, InnovativeLending, Dallas Fleet 23, Wichita Fleet 27, NorthDallas Garden Design, Aspen Catering, ArribaPerformance Products, Mariner Wind & WaterSports, Hobie Cat Co., Kokatat, Wiley-X, Harken,Murray’s Marine, Redbull, No-Add sunscreen, andCedar Mills Marina & Resort.
We started on Monday with winds recorded at thefirst start of 10-14 knots thatkept our chaseboats busyassisting aplethora ofboats overturn-ing due togusting winds.A host of minorinjuries wereattended toafter returning
feature
The 2006 Hobie 18 / Hobie 20North American Championshipsby John Mork
MARK BENGE
www.hca-na.org 23
to the beach but thankfully nonewere serious. As the days’ resultswere tallied, Ken and DebbieMarshack, by virtue of three firstplaces, stood atop the lead for theHobie 18’s followed closely bydefending champions James Sohnand Kristen King with the team ofStephen and Sabrina Cooley easilyin the hunt. John and Tiffany
Tomko led the way for the Hobie 20’s followed bydefending champions George Pedrick and GeneHarris with Phil and Bev Collins within one point ofsecond place. But with a throwout of a 20th place forteam Tomko, a poor finish could possibly result in theloss of several places. How else do you welcomehonored guests in Texas but with Margaritas andcopious amounts of food? With the Texas Taco Partyhosted by Sheila Holmes and Michelle Stacy, weofficially welcomed our competitors and volunteers.
Tuesday followed with a slight lessening of breezebut still in the 9-10 knot range and gusting. Our firstmajor incident occurred with the destruction of atransom after a collision. Due to the exceptionalefforts of the volunteer family team of Jamie, Josh, andBeckie Benge, a replacement boat was waiting as theinjured boat was towed to shore. A quick exchange of
sails and wewere back to afull comple-ment of racers.After the day’sfive races, theMarshacksmaintainedtheir hold onfirst with nochange imme-diately behind.The Tomkos
had an exceptional day of sailing with four firsts and afourth. There would be no relinquishing the lead onthis day for either class.
As the competitors readied themselves for racing onWednesday, there was an ominous calm that signaled adelay and possibly a cancellation of the days’ races.The race committee was desperately searching forsome region of the lake that would allow for fair andequitable racing and after a delay of some hours, calledthe racers to theprepared course.Alas, the windswere buttemporary andresulted in thesad sight ofHobies floatingor being towedback to shore.After sometime, thepostponementto the next daywas signaledand day three was finished. Fortunately, during one ofthe delays, after a mad scramble to obtain some fishinggear, the signal boat (aka Paul Ulibarri) caught somefish so all was not lost. Dinner this evening washosted by the Cedar Mills resort at a local establish-ment and consisted of a sailor’s dream, an all-you-can-eat pasta bar. The entertainment was provided by localHobie dealer Aris Tsamis from Mariner Wind andWater Sports and yours truly as we made the roundsimploring the diners to buy raffle tickets to raiseadditional funds.
Racing resumed on Thursday with light to moder-ate winds of 6-7 knots and for some racers the lastchance to make their move up the standings. Of theleaders in each class only Team Cooley changed theirposition from third to second. We originally did not
Cedar Mills Marina and ResortLake Texoma, Texas
J. H. PETERSON
GUY LAWYER
24 NOV / DEC 2006
plan on hosting a dinner this evening, but with thegenerosity of local sailor Dennis McCredie and hiscrew Marge Buchanan, interim chef Steve Beeson wasable to cook up hamburgers that fueled our competi-tors for the final day of racing.
At last, the final day of racing and the weather waswarm and sunny with a light breeze similar to theprevious day. The significant occurrence of this daywas the first OCS’s recorded for the regatta. Unfortu-nately this resulted in a significant change in themiddle of the Hobie 20 class and determined whowould or would not be receiving a trophy. Elsewhere,the leaders held their positions and completed anexcellent week of sailing.
The banquet was held in the Valiant Yacht facilityand catered by the Cedar Mills resort. This was amemorable meal centerpieced by a Pork Osso Buccothat satisfied both hearty appetites and the mostdiscerning diners, worthy of the 2006 champions.After completion of the meal we segued on to theawards presentation. But before we recognized the
outstanding efforts of ourvolunteers and awardedtrophies to the competi-tors, we had a specialwelcome and thank youfrom Kenny and DonnaMcIntosh of our ownTulsa Hobie Fleet 25.Kenny and Donnasuffered the tragic loss oftheir son Dylan, 23 yearsold, due to an automobile
accident on Aug 19, 2006 as they were competing atthe North Central Area Championships in Yankton,SD. As they hurriedly made their way back to Tulsa,the extended Hobie family came together to lend theirsupport and offer their heartfelt condolences. Dylanwill be remembered by everyone whose lives hetouched.
As stated on the event notice, the proceeds of thisevent were to go to the St. Jude Children’s ResearchHospital. Our preliminary income totaled approxi-mately $6,000 going directly to St. Jude, but due to thegenerous donation of Bob and Kim Edmonds of LittleRock, AR, a check was presented to St. Jude on behalfof the Hobie Class Association of North America for$250,000. The Edmonds also presented an additional
$50,000 in memory of Dylan McIntosh giving us atotal presentation of $306,000.
Event Vice-Chairperson Laurie Cronan presentedthe appreciation awards to our hard working volunteerstaff followed by a special presentation from PaulUlibarri to Guy Lawyer for his outstanding efforts inthe daily coordination of the race committee andequipment. Trophies were then presented five deep tothe Hobie 18 class which was won by Ken Marshackand Debbie Marshack from Fairview, OR, with secondplace going to Steve Cooley and Sabrina Cooley fromLakewood, CO, and third place to defending champi-ons James Sohn and Kristen King from Des Moines,
Hobie 18 North American ChampionOctober 2–6, 2006Final Results
MARK BENGE
Bob and Kim Edmonds (center) present their generous gift to St. JudeChildren’s Research Hospital.
www.hca-na.org 25
IA. The Hobie 20 class waspresented 12 deep and was won byJohn Tomko and Tiffany Tomkofrom Canyon Lake, TX, withsecond place going to defendingchampions George Pedrick andGene Harris from Alameda, CA,and third place to Phil Collins andBev Collins from Oklahoma City,OK.
As everyone started makingtheir way home Friday evening andSaturday morning, I reflected onthe events of the past year leadingto these championships andrealized how fortunate I am tobelong to such an outstandinggroup of people. I am honored andtouched by the kind comments ofeveryone and would like to thankthem on behalf of Hobie Division14 and our volunteer staff.
In Remembrance:Dylan James McIntosh
1983 – 2006
Hobie 20 North American ChampionshipOctober 2–6, 2006Final Results
ship
J. H. PETERSON
MARK BENGE
26 NOV / DEC 2006
Virtues of the Apostle (Islands)Another Jagger Family Adventureby Ted Jagger
Some call it, “the Northern Caribbean”; some just call it gorgeous. While some call it the “Superior” environment, others call it danger-
ous and worthy of respect. Lake Superior cruising is“all of the above,” plus a little bit more. In our attemptto have summer vacations that involve sailing to some-place new that isn’t just around the corner, we went tothe Apostle Islands on Lake Superior in NorthernWisconsin. One month before this trip, we sailed ourtwo 16’ catamarans down the Mississippi river for aweek. For this journey, we headed to the north. Be-fore we left, we loaded our cats with camping equip-ment and food for four days. The boats’ water lines sata lot lower than when at racing weight / form. Wehad two coolers full offood, cooking uten-sils, tents, drysuits,
wool hats and of course air mattresses. (How tough doyou think we are?!) Oh, and fortunately, we took flyswatters.
Day 1We drove four hours to Bayfield Wisconsin,
including a very picturesque bridge ride over theDuluth/ Superior harbor on the I-535. We arrived atBayfield and found the visitor center for the NationalPark Service (NPS) Apostle Island Park. We picked upthe permit I’d reserved for camping on the islands. Itwas hard to make a reservation for somewhere I hadn’tbeen before, and hard to know whether it will besailing weather, so I just took a guess that we’d spend
four nights out. We received our black bear scaretalk and our environmental reminders to not
be human if at all possible. It seems thatthe NPS actually wishes nobodywould show up to take interest inthe natural beauty of the area. TheNPS took over the Apostle Islandsabout 15-20 years ago. There are afew private sections of the islandsgrandfathered in who are stillholding out against the big greennational friend.
We headed off to the shores oflittle Sand Point, another visitorcenter for launching small boatsand kayaks. We put our twocatamarans together, loaded ourcamping equipment and food, andset off at about 5 PM on a reach.We had a very nice hour and a halfsail that took us the miles to YorkIsland in five MPH wind. As weapproached, we saw a couplegroups of kayakers heading out and
feature
www.hca-na.org 27
a pair coming in. The people coming in had a smallPomeranian dog seated behind in a co-pilot chair.Could we presume to say it was a patient, dedicated,well trained and large-bladdered dog. Maybe the dogwas along on the trip for distracting the black bears.We set up a nice camp on the York Island sand beach,put the tents on top of our boats on the waters edge,and ate a fantastic dinner of grilled steaks, bakedpotatoes, and salad.
Day 2When we woke up, it looked like more than a
chance of rain, so we made breakfast and waded in thecold lake. The lake was uncommonly warm this year at67o F in some locations, which by the way, is stillfreezing cold for swimming. We started to put tentsaway when the sprinkles started, then the rain came.The one-hour downpour was followed by a dense fog(50’ visibility maximum). This scenario repeatedseveral times all day until sundown. At times like this,I like to remind myself to relax. It’s vacation andremember, camping is glamorous!
We did get to walk down the beach for severalmiles and around the sandstone rock point. The shoreline scenery is beautiful, whether the weather is cloudyor sunny. The real annoyance about this area is theblack flies. There is an incredible amount of them. Wetried to kill as many as possible. I carried a swatter allday and it was never idle. Seriously - I think I killed3000 to 4000 flies. Don’t believe me, eh? Figure thatwe were awake at least from 9 AM to 8 PM; that’seleven hours swatting at a conservative estimate ofevery ten seconds, which is six swings per minute.Most swings would hit and kill one or two flies. Theywere slow and stupid, so I rarely missed, but I’llestimate 1.5 flies killed per swing. Now the math: 11hours x 60 minutes per hour x 6 swings per minute x1.5 flies per swing = 5,940 flies killed per swatter. Wehad two swatters going at all times. Unbelievable, yes.But if you were there, you would know that I’m tellingthe truth. The flies were fairly thick on everything andare everywhere – except, at night, they sleep andduring the rain, they hide. Luckily for us, we hadpicked up two fly swatters at the last gas stop. This wasthe entertainment for the day: sitting in the rain andthick fog, killing flies. Yep, camping is not onlyglamorous, it is entertaining. I soon tired of swatting
the cooler lid and took to aerobic dancing betweenswatter smacks. We listened to the favorable weatherforecast for the next day, and hoped to get in a nice sailwithout the flies.
Day 3We sailed from York Island past the Devils Island
sea caves. The sea cave area is very impressive withstriking land and waterscapes. There was crystal blue-green water, a sunny sky, and gnarly coastline, all ofwhich were very beautiful. To imagine the waves thatcaused this craggy coastline is to imagine the infamousNor’Easter, the storms of songs, legend and unfortu-nately real lives.
We sailed a bit more around Rocky Island, thenlanded at about 2:30 PM at the sandy point of SouthTwin, our next camping destination. The 15 mphafternoon wind was onshore so there were no keelboats anchored out from the South Twin dock /anchorage. Actually, we were the only people at thisanchorage / camping area for the next day. We pulledup the boats and set up the tents on the boats for anafternoon snooze. Our only visitor was the veryefficient ranger supervisor who came from the adjacentisland to check our camping permit. He was extremelyintrigued (or agitated, hard to tell) by our uniquecamping / boating / tenting arrangement. He took
28 NOV / DEC 2006
many photos, some from his boat and some from theshore. It clearly troubled him. We were not a keelsailboat anchored out. We were not a motor boatcruiser. We were not a canoe / kayak pulled on shoreand tenting inland. By golly, we didn’t fit into anymatrix he knew, so we must be doing something wrong.We were a boat pulled up on the beach like the kayaksdo, but sleeping / staying on top of the boat. “No, no,no you must go!” (No green eggs, no green ham, no,no, no!) “You must, you must camp like the kayakersdo!” Well, who were we to argue with the authority ofthe region? I mean, he’s the authority; he’s beenworking here forever and in fact he helped rebuild thissandy dunes area with natural grass. That’s why weneeded to move 300 steps to an “official” camp sitewith an official fire pit and official tent pad. By theNPS own printed rules we were not doing anythingdirectly wrong. Possibly coloring outside the lines alittle, but definitely not behaving disobediently. Wewere more than 150’ from the developed landing andcamp fires are allowed on beaches away from thedeveloped landing. Yes “his intent” was for us campersto stay in the sites, but the official wording on thepermit was a little fuzzy. He said, “What if everybodystarted camping on the beach here?” We lookedaround at a 200 acre island with only 4 of us on it, andwondered about the problem. Still,it was his official turf, and heprobably couldn’t help himself. So,we obliged the authority. Weknuckled under, felt a bit silly andmoved. We left the boats on thesand point, since that was appar-ently OK. Before the ranger left, heagreed with me that a catamaran
with a tent on top was a very cool idea but it just didn’tfit the NPS manual. He took some more pictures sothey (NPS supervisors) could discuss what to do andhow to prevent this from happening again. Hummm . .. Keep this from happening again. What?! Somebodyusing the park and actually having fun?! Not allowed!
Day 4Some friends had stayed overnight on a large 38’
keel boat near by, across the gap in the lee of RockyIsland. We talked by radio and decided to sail by andbriefly visit on our way back to the mainland. We weretraveling from South Twin to Little Sand Point, adistance of fifteen miles. Well, it was very windy (20-30 MPH) and very choppy (2-4 foot waves). The extrastrong wind was causing the lee hulls to burrowthrough the waves instead of traveling over them.With all the extra weight, we had become basically awater displacement cat. We stopped and chatted withour friends. Since it was the last day out for everyone,the Bergets and Smiths graciously offered to haulsome of our extra food and camping bulk back to theirmarina, where we could retrieve it later in the day. Icertainly didn’t pass on a prudent offer like that. With“frisky” light boats, we zipped upwind through theApostle Islands. What a beautiful day for sailing! Itwas quite windy so the trip was not a lark, but still veryenjoyable. It took about 2 ½ hours to beat the 15miles. We landed, took apart the rigs and headed tothe marina to pick up our other gear. We invited ourfriends out to dinner in nearby Bayfield at Maggie’sFlamingo Bar and Restaurant located on ManypennyRoad as thanks for hauling our gear back. We enjoyedfine food and cold beverages with our friends and setoff at 7 PM for an uneventful four hour drive homeagain. It was a good trip, sort of a fun “extendedpicnic” on the water. Camping on cats really is aSuperior experience!
www.hca-na.org 29
Chair
Bob Merrick
141 Short Beach Rd
Branford, CT 06405
203•488•7820
1st Vice Chair
Phil Collins
8500 North West 118th St
Oklahoma City OK 73162
2nd Vice Chair
Chris Wessels
5600 Lakeview Dr.
Clear Lake, IA 50428
641•357•4577 / 641•423•7638
electedofficers
2006hcaboardofdirectors
voting members
DIVISION 1Bobby Wythes
34 White Sands PlaceKailua, HI 96734-1966
DIVISION 2Dave Dixon
16831 Orchard Bend RoadPoway, CA 82064
DIVISION 3Adam Borcherding
522 Columbia StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95060-6511
DIVISION 4Jerry Valeski
20831 SE 213thMaple Valley, WA 98038
DIVISION 5Stephen Cooley
10952 W Hampden PlaceLakewood, CO 80227
303•619•0572 [email protected]
DIVISION 6Chris Green
2220 Brae LaneLeague City, TX 77586
DIVISION 7Chris Wessels
5600 Lakeview Dr.Clear Lake, IA 50428
641.357.4577 / [email protected]
DIVISION 8Bob Johnson
906 Woodcliff AvenueTampa, Florida 33613
DIVISION 9Loyd Graves
4709 Glen Forest DriveRaleigh, NC 27612
DIVISION 10Jeff Rabidoux
201 N. Squirrel Road #1801Auburn Hills, MI 48326
DIVISION 11Ron LaPorta
120 Netherwood DrCoatesville, PA 19320-1467
DIVISION 12Dave Heroux
27 Foster Center RdFoster, RI 02825-1326
DIVISION 13Alfredo Figueroa
921 Verdi St., Reparto SevillaSan Juan, PR 00924
(787)[email protected]
DIVISION 14Mark Benge
2341 S. Avery AvenueMidwest City, OK 73130
DIVISION 15Scott Beach
8221 Grand Bay Blvd.Panama City Beach, FL 32408
DIVISION 16Kevin Wilson
8442 Transit LaneBaldwinsville, NY 13027
on the web
International Hobie Class
Association
www.hobieclass.com
Hobie Cat Company USA
www.hobiecat.com
Hobie Product Support
www.hobiecat.com/support
Hobie Community Forums
www.hobiecat.com/community
appointedofficers
Women’sRepresentative
Danielle Burns4601 Shisler Rd
Clarence, NY 14031716.759.1908
1 HAWAII
resources
Membership Chair
Tara Ames
2825 L Jolla Dr.
Antioch, CA 94531
(T) 774•286•9586
Secretary
Kathy Ward
1331 Robertson Way
Sacramento, CA 95818
916.715.3133
Treasurer
Steve Reese
131 Skowhegan Ct.
San Jose, CA. 95139
408•362•0991
Youth Program Director
Mimi Appel
3357 Collins Road
Marcellus, NY 13108-9647
Race Director
Paul Ulibarri
3334 Fulton
Victoria, BC V9C 2T9
Canada
250.474.7580
Championships Coordinator
Lori Mohney
2812 E Shore Drive
Portage, MI 49002-6581
269.327.4565
Guest Expert Program
Coordinator
Kim Edmonds
13323 Eagle View Land
Roland, AR 72135
501.868.8801
HOTLINE Editor
Matt Bounds
3798 Damas Dr.
Commerce Twp, MI 48382
248.980.7931 (cell)
248.360.7926
Scorekeeper
Bill Jeffers
Hobie Feet 204
Syracuse, NY
585.370-9160
For Local andCountry contacts:
hca-na.org
Hobie Class Association
of North America
www.hca-na.org
Women’s Hobie Cat Racing
www.hca-na.org
Guest Expert Program
www.hc-na.org
Web Master
Rich McVeigh
14813 Fireside Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20905
301.384.3695
additional resources
30 NOV / DEC 2006
Purpose of the Youth GrantThe purpose of the Youth Grant
shall be to assist Junior and Youthsailors in attending ChampionshipHobie Cat events, including, butnot limited to:
• Youth events sanctioned by theHobie Class Association ofNorth America
• Youth events sanctioned andorganized by the InternationalHobie Class Association andheld in conjunction with otherIHCA Worlds events
These Youth Grants shall beissued without financial obligationon the part of the receiving teams,however, the Youth Grants shall besubject to the terms and conditionsas set forth in these guidelines.
Grant Request GuidelinesThe following parameters are
those that have been set forth bythe HCA Executive Council as theminimum criteria to be met byyouth teams wishing to apply for afinancial grant for attendingeligible events.• Both skippers and crews must
be HCA members.• Skippers must sail in at least
three (3) HCA-sanctionedevents during the qualifyingseason prior to petitioning for agrant. Exceptions may be madeat the Council’s discretion whenseasonal considerations justify
such action. They may sail as askipper or crew in those events.
Teams must submit the follow-ing documents to apply for anHCA Youth Grant:
1) An essay explaining why theyshould receive the Grant.
2) A resume of sailing training andexperience.
3) Planned expenses for the eventin question.
4) A list of HCA sanctionedregattas attended in the currentyear and finish positions.
5) A personal reference (parent orcoach, for example) must benamed to provide assistance inadministration, disbursementand management of the YouthGrant.
At the conclusion of the eventthe following must be submitted:
• A detailed expense reportoutlining expendituresand disbursement of theYouth Grant monies,signed by the referenceindividual.
• An article about theirexperience in the event inquestion, to subsequentlybe submitted to theHOTLINE through theHCA Youth Chairperson.
Selection ProcessAll Youth Grant requests shall
be submitted to the current HCAYouth Chairperson 60 days prior tothe event. No requests subsequentto that date will be considered forthat year.
Youth Grant requests shall bereviewed by the HCA Council andawards to qualified teams shall beannounced a minimum of 30 daysprior to the event. To be consideredfor a Youth Grant, all informationrequested must be provided by thedue date, without exception.
Youth Grants shall be awardedbased on several factors, includingbut not limited to: funds available,number of requests received, needsof the individual teams, andrequirements of established youthprograms serving a number ofYouth teams.
Questions should be directed bye-mail to the current HCA YouthChairperson: Mimi Appel,[email protected]
HCA Youth Grants
resources
MIKE WALKER
www.hca-na.org 31
32 NOV / DEC 2006
WHY JOIN US SAILING?
US SAILING is the national governing body for the sport of sailing and merits the support of you and every sailorthrough direct membership. US SAILING’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailingand racing in the United States.
You can become a member of US SAILING, or renew your membership, at a discount, while making certain the MultihullCouncil (MHC) gets credited with your membership as a Multihull sailor. This will help improve the Multihull presence inUS SAILING and save you at least $10 on your annual dues to boot. All you need to do is send your membership duesto the program administrator who collects them all, consolidates them and sends one check to US SAILING so that theMHC gets credit for them.
Will you support US SAILING with your membership?Darline Hobock, Program Administrator
Primary Racing: One Design? Portsmouth? Other? (specify)
BRIAN JODER PHOTO
