MAY 11th

Open - Semifinals - Race 4

Several million years ago, here, in this point of the planet, an asteroid shocked the earth, making one of the most important moments of change in the pre-history.

Indeed. Yucatan is one of the most investigated places of the continent. National Geographic's science experts have worked here trying to discover what happened in that fraction of time. In seconds, (The Big Booooooommmm!!!!!!!!!) all the dinosaurs disappeared from the surface of the globe. The dust covered our planet for centuries. The plants were reduced to ashes. And the oil corporations begun their kingdom from this moment.

Thanks God is the present time, is Tuesday and no meteorite predicted for today in our planetarium forecast.

Another Boooooom!!! Is heard at 10 am sharp. It is the signal of the start of the first race of the day. It is the turn for the group that yesterday couldn’t do its second race since the races were re-scheduled due to the bad weather. We have good sun now. The wind, although weak, inflates the sails with 9 knots of speed. The course is a 1G.

Maegli and Lopez from Guatemala are ahead in the upwind and downwind legs, followed by Dodds and Dodds from South Africa. In the last moment and spectacular surpass changes the positions and those of the Cape of Good Hope arrive first to the finish line.

And if hope is the last thing that goes … the saying is true.

Results are at the reach of a mouse.

Results

Open - Semifinals - Race 5

Six sails, when having an early start, get disqualified. The stress is evident when everyone is trying to qualify for the final. And win.

Winning a World Championship a board of a Hobie Cat is authentically a battle against the world and there’s no advantage for anyone. Hobie Alter Jr., son of the creator of the Hobie Cat was the last US Citizen to win the first place in this event. Since 1982, no other US Citizen has achieved that. Today, his sons and grand sons, Jeff and Cody Alter, compete in the semifinals just like anybody else.

And talking about families, David and Janine Kruyt from South Africa are ahead in the platoon of this race from the beginning. In the second weather mark is surpassed by the Australian crew formed by Andrew Keag and Naomi angwin.

The finish line is crossed by Australia, followed by South Africa and the crew formed by Detief mohr and Svenja Trautmann with the sail number 53.

The 61 competitors show up in the order described by the linked list.

Results

Open - Semifinals - Race 6

The wind has changed and the judges decide to change the course of the following races. They move the marks and try several times more before they can start.

The precision in which they handle the details is wonderful. Every mark is oriented and located with help of a GPS. This maneuver causes a delay over 2 hours.

Finally at 3:30 pm the wind reaches 8 soft knots; enough to start the “engines” of 61 Hobie Cats of 16 feet. Aaron Worral and Sean Siebold from Australia are in first position, followed by Torin Zeilmaker and Philip Du Toit from Netherlands (who is the actual world champion in the Hobie 14 category).

Minutes later, the winning couple of the bronce medal in the Panamerican Games of Dominican Republic: Juan Ignacio Maegli and Andres Lopez from Guatemala, surpass them and take the second position.

The judges decide to cut down the race after the first downwind and they send the entire fleet to the shore.

Mon Dieu! Coming from behind, manages to get into the group of Hobies leading the race.

The first five arrive in this order: 29, 02, 19, 48 and 47. See who they are in the table.

Results

Open - Semifinals - Race 7

Names like Wally Myers, Peter Manvis, David Kruyt and other favorites are not yet heard with the frequency that the predictions announced. In exchange, other less known participants start filling up the list of favorites.

This wll be the last regatta of the day. Number 8 will be for tomorrow because this one will start at 5 pm and there will not be enough time for the other one.

It will be a 2G course. At the beginning of the race, there’s 13 knots of wind. The thermometer marks 33 degrees celsius and the visibility is unlimited.

After racing the first nautical mile they arrive to the mark.the group is leaded by Worral and Siebold from Australia, which we remember winning the World Cahmpionship in Huatulco, Mexico (1995). Colby and Mattfield, the actual defeating champions are in second position. (Fortune hasn’t helped them, they took place 24 in the past race).

In the second upwind mark the positions of the two of them remain the same. Qhat is starting to change is the wind. After blowing from the NW, it is coming back to its regular position of NE, with constant winds of 13 knots.
The world champion team uses their qualities quite well and arrive to the finish line in first place. Worral and Siebold from Australia, and everybody else in the in the next list, follow.

Results

:: Side note ::

Fish eye
A lot of people has asked us to place in this page one frame of the scenes that the underwater video team has captured. In this image we can see the quick pass of a catamaran by the mark while little fish swim everywere.

This and many other innovative ideas cause great emotions among the participants of this World Championship. The mexican organization committee is doing wonderful things we’ve never seen before.

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Communication Center
Hobieworlds Mexico 2004
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