As the clock ticked this morning, sailors sat inside the party tent and played cards or socialized. Beach volleyball
seemed to be popular amongst the youth. Meanwhile, Laruffa and Sims were close to their first World Title ever. Mitch
Booth and Tiffany Baring-Gould, representing the Netherlands, were only one point behind, so they were very keen to go.
They got their chance in the afternoon, but patience was still needed. The wind was not stable enough, so the 62 Tigers
floated for another hour. This was followed by two general recalls. Laruffa: "That was nerve-racking, because I knew we
were running out of time. They hoisted the black flag and it was pin-end favoured, so that was tricky. It could be all over
at the start. Mitch was right at the pin and was leading at that moment." Booth and Baring-Gould came first at the top
mark, but had a problem with the spinnaker hoist. Laruffa and Sims rounded in tenth position, so at that stage the Dutch
team was winning the regatta. Booth: "Unfortunately, the spinnaker halyard got stuck behind the spreader, so we lost
three boats. Near the bottom mark, we dropped the spinnaker sheet, so that cost us another three boats. We went from
first to seventh and it was all over after this downwind." Duncan Ross and Rick Nankin (RSA) took the lead and the last
bullet.

Emotional win
According to Laruffa, they had a good first spinnaker hoist and caught two boats. Sims: "Everybody went to shore and
we were just behind Shaun Ferry. We did not want to go over him, because that would limit our options. We slowed
down and gibed away. Mischa Heemskerk did the same." Halfway the run, the Australians gibed back to cover on Mitch.
They gained another three competitors at the gate and rounded the left hand mark. Sims: "Mischa chose the other side
and Mitch followed us, which was good. We just had to keep him behind us, so we tacked when he tacked. We actually
wore different shirts today, so Mitch would not recognize us on the course." Laruffa and Sims finished third and won the
Hobie Tiger World Title 2008. Sims: "This is Mark's first win in 27 years of trying." Laruffa: "I had to be careful not to cry
at the finish. My partner at home is in tears." Although Laruffa has finally achieved his goal, he does not speak about
retiring: "It is only starting. This time I did not party during the championship." Baring-Gould, crewing for Booth, won silver
at her first multihull event ever: "I am very happy with our result and I will be definitely back in the catamarans." Robbie
Lovig and Lachlan Gibson had never sailed a Hobie Tiger World Championship before, but they go home with a bronze
medal. "We are pretty pleased, because it was really tight with close racing. Mark was exceptional this week. We have
exceeded our own targets, because we wanted to be in the top five. We have only started twelfth months ago."

Big Youth Party
"I am so nervous", said Matt Whitehead this morning. Despite his domination throughout the whole championship, he
was still thinking of the best strategy to secure the title. But in the end, he did not need it, as they run out of time.
Whitehead: "The wind was perfect, but it was already 3 pm." His dream came true, he and his crew Megan Du Plessis
became the new Hobie Dragoon World Champions. Whitehead: "I just sat there and couldn't believe it. It will sink in. This
week has been great fun with awesome sailing and it was well planned." His mother Tracy Whitehead did a wonderful job
on organizing the event. His father Colin Whitehead, Hobie 16 World Champion 1978, finished 15 th at the Tiger Worlds.
As soon as he came back to shore, he gave his son a big hug and a champion's bath in the Langebaan Lagoon. Son
Whitehead: "It will be a big party tonight. My whole family is here, which is cool. They have been a great support for me.
My dream was to win these Dragoon Worlds in my home town and it has come true." His crew Du Plessis seemed to be
overwhelmed as well: "It feels awesome. In a way I am happy, but I am also disappointed that it is over now." Ewald
Erasmus and Riccardo Suttner-Scalco won silver. Erasmus: "It is a great experience to meet all these people. I definitely
enjoyed it." Geert and Thomas Schouten won bronze in the open class and Petrus Smith and Ewie Loubser in the junior
class. Smith: "It feels quite nice. I will be probably up all night, together with Matt." Most of the South African youth
sailors will meet each other again in two weeks at the qualification for the ISAF Youth Worlds 2008 in Denmark. That
means they will switch to the Hobie 16 with spinnaker.

Tiger  Final Overall Results

1 AUS M.Laruffa/D.Sims Total pts: 43 (10,3,1,1,2,7,3,9,64,3,1,3)
2 NED M.Booth/T.Baring-Gould Total pts: 50 (11,4,2,4,5,2,6,7,4,4,3,9)
3 AUS R.Lovig/L.Gibson Total pts: 53 (3,1,3,3,4,11,64,4,3,12,4,5)
4 NED M.Heemskerk/B.Tentij Total pts: 55 (4,11,7,2,1,5,8,1,64,1,13,2)
5 RSA S.Ferry/J.Van Der Vyfer Total pts: 65 (1,2,5,10,64,6,9,3,8,8,9,4)
6 BEL C.Brouwer/D.Bundock Total pts: 72 (17,8,6,64,16,1,2,2,6,6,2,6)
7 RSA D.Ross/R.Nankin Total pts: 96 (6,7,8,14,18,4,12,17,1,64,8,1)
8 RSA A.Lawrence/I.Schabort Total pts: 99 (16,5,12,5,6,18,1,12,64,2,10,12)
9 RSA B.Dodds/P.Dodds Total pts: 103 (9,16,4,17,8,20,10,10,7,9,6,7)
10 RSA H.Hale/S.Botes Total pts: 114 (7,13,17,7,12,10,7,13,5,11,12,17)

Dragoon  Final Overall Results
1 RSA M.Whitehead/M.Du Plessis Total pts: 8 (1,1,1,1,2,1,1,1,1)
2 RSA E.Erasmus/R.Suttner -Scalco Total pts: 18 (2,1,3,6,6,1,1,1,3)
3 NED G.Schouten/T.Schouten Total pts: 23 (5,2,2,3,1,2,8,3,5)
4 RSA P.Smith/E.Loubser Total pts: 25 (4,6,2,2,1,2,2,14,6)
5 RSA D.McLean/S.Du Plessis Total pts: 27,2,8,7,3,2,4,4,3,2)
6 RSA G.Norton/C.Norton Total pts: 31,1,14,1,1,4,6,3,4,11)
7 RSA R.Hayes/D.Maidment Total pts: 35 (7,3,4,5,3,3,10,2,8)
8 NED U.Vrijburg/D.Vrijburg Total pts: 36,6,2,3,5,7,5,7,5,3)
9 RSA S.Walker/B.Hayward Total pts: 37 (6,12,4,4,8,4,5,5,1)
10 RSA A.Fourie/C.Lord Total pts: 40,5,5,6,2,6,7,6,6,4)
//

For more information about the Hobie Tiger & Hobie Dragoon Worlds 2008, please contact the following persons:

Our photographer Pierrick Contin from France captures the action and beach life. A selection of his work will be offered
for free publication. You may publish the included pictures by mentioning his name.

Rat Race Media is filming the Hobie Worlds. In case you are interested in footage, please contact Liesel Kok directly at
number +27 82 8876449 or liesel@ratracemedia.com .