Day 1 of the warm up
The 2016 Hobie 16 & Hobie 18 North American Championships warm up regatta (aka the Pinata Regatta). Three races today in about 5 knots of wind. There were a few wind shifts and those who correctly called the shifts did well. No pressure increase with the shifts just direction changes. With some very excited sailors there where OCS in every race. Mike Montague and Blair Wallace had a great day.
There is a lot of activity on the beach here. People selling tortillas on the beach, Para gliders, ultra-liters flying around, drones, people towing inflatables. All adding to the excitement and the atmosphere.
At night the temps are comfortable and in the morning it’s actually a bit cool but once the sun comes up the temperatures raises very quickly.
There is a working port to the left of the beach with a big shrimp boat fleet. A small fleet of the shrimp boats anchor on the left side of the course and the course and they are in play if you are on that side. They all seem to go out fishing in the evening and stay out all night.
With a great pool at the main hotel everything is heading for a great time to be had by all the Hobie sailors.
Day 2
Was sailed in winds of only five knots. The racing was started earlier today. With the earlier start the wind had not fully moved into the stable wind pattern. The wind moved to the right during the race and put the Hobie fleet in the anchored shrimp boat fleet. With the wind still going right the course was moved for the second race This took the anchored shrimp boats out of the racing area.
Despite the light winds, the conditions were tactically challenging and provided very tight racing. Teams that managed the wind shifts did extremely well. Approximately 2/3 of the North American championships competitors participated in the warm-up regatta. Others were arriving and preparing their boats. After the warm regatta some more practice races were run for those interested.
The pool has been the most popular location for the Hobie sailors after a hot day out on the water. Also on the water the dolphins can be seen on the racecourse. Along with the pelicans flying low to check out the new arrivals.
In the warm up regatta, the Hobie 16 fleet was won by Mike Montague and Kathy Ward (USA) with very consistent finishes. The Hobie 18 class was won by Ken Marshack and Valerie Pioszak (USA). The North American Championships for the Hobie 16 and Hobie 18 classes start Monday with sailing October 10-14, 2016. Challenging sailing with a tight fleet is expected.
Results can be found here
Lots of toady’s photos can be found here
Event sponsors include The Hobie Cat Company, Tecate, Playa Bonita RV Park, Stohlquist WaterWare, and Murrays/Forward-WIP Products.
