THE bay of Durban will be abuzz with brightly coloured sails over the long weekend in September, when sailors from around South Africa head offshore for the Hobie 16 Nationals hosted by Point Yacht Club.
Sailors will double up on their zippy, flying catamarans for the four-day event taking place from Friday, September 22 to Monday, September 25.
No strangers to the top step on the podium, defending champs, Blaine Dodds and his daughter, Roxanne Rein, took victory in Langebaan last year, but the father/daughter team will be missing this year as Roxanne is expecting, opening up the title for a new team.
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The Hobie 16 Nationals was launched shortly after the SA Sailing awards where seven Hobie sailors received their SA Sailing Colours. Receiving acknowledgement for their results, from representing South Africa in the Hobie 16 World Champs held in Costa Brava in Northeast Spain last year, were Blaine Dodds; Douglas, Lucinda and William Edwards; Brent Hayward; Andrew Jones and Roxanne Rein.
The small South African group competed in a massive fleet of 225 teams representing 22 countries from six continents. Nine races were held overall, where William and Lucinda Edwards fared best with an 11th place overall, including two podium finishes with a first place in Race Three and a third in Race Two.
No stranger to big events, having competed in the Hobie Multiworlds in Netherlands in 2017, Peter Hall from Westville said, “The local lads are looking forward to hosting the visiting sailors. It has been a few years since we held the nationals here. Our facilities are one of the best in the world, and we are looking forward to pushing the limits.
“Our Durban boys will be dusting off the cobwebs as we haven’t done much Hobie sailing recently, with the top guys sailing in various other big boat events or assisting at the number of events held offshore of Durban recently.
“It has been fantastic to see so many national events being held offshore in our warm waters this winter.”
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In Durban, the top three teams will be awarded medals for their overall results. Adding to the prizes for category winners are the first Youth under 21, both skipper and crew; first Women, both skipper and crew; the first Great Grand Masters’ skipper; the winner of the weather-dependant Hobie 16 Long Haul Race and a fun competition awarding the winner of the Longest Hull Flying Competition inside Vetch’s Pier.
The Hobie 16 Nationals takes place a week after the opening sail-past that opens up the 2023/2024 season, which coincides with the world’s biggest sailing event celebrating its tenth year, the global event, Bart’s Bash, on 16 September.
For more info, visit www.pyc.co.za or like the yacht club’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.
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