12:53 AM Wed 3 Mar 2010 GMT
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'Gavin Colby / Sasha Marks sailing upwind - 2010 Western Australian Hobie 16 Championship'
John Hooper
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2010 Western Australian State Champions, Gavin Colby - skipper and Sasha Marks - crew, were delighted with the great event and wonderful venue. The 2010 Western Australian Hobie 16 State Championships were held Saturday 27 February and Sunday 28 February at Jervoise Bay Sailing Club located several kilometers south of Fremantle, Western Australia.
30 boats participated in the combined Open, Womens, Youth, Masters and Grand Masters races. 10 races were held in a gusty easterly breeze with some gusts reaching above 25 kts. This wasn't the easiest regatta to race due to heavy, shifty winds coming off the land. However, given the strong conditions, the Jervoise Bay course was still less shifty than the Swan River in Perth during those same race days.
Despite the athletic and demanding conditions the many teams had great fun camping and socializing on the beach after races. There were good stories being shared from the front of the fleet to the back of the fleet and the friendly banter carried on to the water each day.
Gavin said his most exciting moments were at the starts when he would tack onto port and thread the fleet. He 'sorted out the problems' and ducked boats (gave way to) as he went. Sasha and Gavin agreed that the theme song for their boat should be 'The Gambler' given the crowd of starboard boats.
By the second day, Gavin and Sasha were fighting to maintain consistency. For their team, the state championships followed a busy, long work week and late evening parties at the beach. 'The wind was howling and I had to pull my head into the boat to be consistent,' commented Gavin.
Gavin's advice to teams building their skill is, 'Make your own decisions and commit to your decisions. Do what you need to do to make your line and don't be influenced by what other boats are doing ...' After a pause Gavin recalled, '... even the best make mistakes,' as he referred to capsizing in the last race on Sunday.
Congratulations to the Western Australian Hobie 16 Open winners - Gavin Colby / Sasha Marks, Cam Owen / Susan Ferris and Darren Smith / Jasmine Hill. Look for the elite Western Australian teams at the 2010 Hobie 16 World Championships in Weihai, Shangdon, CHINA from 15 to 30 August 2010.
ABOUT The 2010 Western Australian Hobie 16 Championship
The 2010 Western Australian Hobie 16 State Championships were held Saturday 27 February and Sunday 28 February at Jervoise Bay Sailing Club located several kilometers south of Fremantle. Gill Australia, Sail Power Marine and Jervoise Bay Sailing Club sponsored the two day championship event.
www.gillaustralia.com/
www.sailpower.com.au/
ABOUT Hobie Catamarans
The Hobie 16 is a 16 foot / 4.9 m catamaran with two sailors and has been a popular racing catamaran for 40 years. Hobie Cats were born in a surfboard shop in Southern California in 1969 and are named after the designer, Hobie Alter. Numerous Hobie catamarans have been designed over the years with the most popular racing boats ranging from 14 feet to 20 feet in length. The boats are easy to launch from sandy beaches, physically rewarding to sail and popular all over the world.
by Shauna McGee Kinney
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Sailing
