A mix of conditions and new divisions at the 49th WA Hobie 16 Championships
by Hobie Cat Association of WA 7 Mar 09:57 UTC
1-2 March 2025
Light wind racing - 49th WA Hobie 16 State Championships © Prodrone Worx
It was an ideal weekend in Western Australia for the 2025 Pitts Design and Construction WA Hobie 16 State Championships. Eight races were held on 1 and 2 March and the event was hosted by Jervoise Bay Sailing Club.
Two new divisions were introduced for Medium Weight and Heavy Weight teams with any team placing on the Open podium ineligible. This sparked a lot of excitement from the fleet and so did the inaugural Rookie programme.
The fleet eased in to the championship event with light winds for race one on Saturday morning. Off to a clean start in the fading south easterly wind and it was a game of patience and eyes out of the boat to be alert to where the wind would come from next. Defending champions Cam Owen and Susan Ghent headed left early in good company with Gavin Colby / Mia Lovelady below and Victorian pair Fletcher and Georgia Warren-Myers above. Another top team coming in to the event was Darren Smith and Claire Bisgood who chose to lead a pack out to the other side. Looking good early with Fletch and Georgia was another helm from the east coast, Andrew Warneke from Queensland, sailing with local Lucinda Crisp. Out of the pack who tacked away early came Trevor Hughes and Elisabeth Bisgood and they led around the first mark of the first race of the series. It was a popular lead but with a changing breeze and some hot teams on their heals it was a hard position to keep.
Race Officer Paul Davis called a break ashore while the wind rotated and settled in to the afternoon seabreeze direction. Perth certainly turned it on for the three races in session two with an increasing breeze strength that challenged teams. The Victorian team commented that it was really windy but at least it was consistent in strength and direction. It's not often you see two time world champion Gav Colby take a swim but he and Mia stuck it in along the shore on a downwind leg. With a breakage in the following race and already holding a fifth it would be a challenge for the pair to get back in to the podium positions. It's tough and close racing in the WA fleet which boasts multiple Australian titles from several teams and the current World, Australian and European Champion.
The last race of the day was a test of stamina and boat handling with the wind strength and wave conditions making for some fast, exciting and fun sailing. Conditions that the Hobie Cat 16 relishes in. Fantastic to see the two all female teams getting around the course in good shape in the teens overall as the wind strength increased but in the last race of the day there were quite a few who did not finish.
A perfect scorecard for defending champions Cam and Suz after day one with consistent rivals Dazz and Claire close by as always. Phil and Caitlyn Epps from Geraldton thoroughly enjoyed the strong winds collecting two third places. Also sailing really well through the day was Jason Spencer / Colleen Lutz with places 6,11,6,5.
Rookie teams at the event were briefed ashore by Coach Stephan van Blerk and had support on the water during the racing. This new programme is to encourage teams who have not yet tried championship racing to get involved. It's a great way to introduce them to Hobie fleet racing, understand the course configurations, sail with confidence, get used to sailing a session of races and get involved in the supportive Hobie sailing community. This new initiative from the Hobie Cat Association of WA (HCAWA) was popular and the plan is for this to continue in to all WA Championship events in future.
A huge part of the regatta is the social side, teams watched the video footage from the day on the big screen, shared their salty tales from the race course and enjoyed a good feed at the championship dinner.
Day two began with a very light wind race, again with a fading morning breeze rotating to the seabreeze direction. Sisters Natalie and Jasmine Hill took the race win and were absolutely thrilled. In second place was Trevor and Elisabeth who too were delighted with their score. Very consistent through the event, Fletch and Georgia followed close behind with Cam and Suz hot on their stern breaking their string of firsts with a fourth place. It was a tough race for Dazz and Claire who would take race five as their discard.
Making a come back to the Hobie 16 was Commodore Pete West from Exmouth Yacht Club. It was great to see him getting around the race track with friend Peter and young son Maitland who was awarded a super Junior award at the event for his enthusiasm and joy for the sport. There were many youngsters making friends and having a fun time on the beach at the event and the HCAWA hopes to see them all enjoying the Hobie Cat class too in years to come. Exmouth is a recent addition to the WA Hobie 16 fleet and will be host to the 2026 State Championships. The event has been named Hobie Week in Exmouth and will incorporate the championship over the Easter weekend followed by marathon and social sailing and lots of local tourism activities.
Part of the Rookie programme, youth sailors Alex and Scotty had a good day on the water finishing all races and getting around the course well. This sets them up to get more involved in Hobie Cat racing and hopefully compete in the Australian Championships next summer hosted by WA at Geographe Bay Yacht Club in Busselton. Another youth sailor Alec Kinsey crewed for Dion Alston, the pair were new to the class for the event and looked like they had a great weekend on the Hobie 16.
The afternoon breeze was not as strong on day two, the fleet didn't spread out as much making the racing close and challenging. Three different heat winners for the session to Darren, Fletcher and Cam.
Finishing the Open event on nine points was Cam and Suz with Fletch and Georgia in second on 20 points, both teams showed consistent scores discarding a fourth place. Rounding out the podium, Dazz and Claire on 24 points and the Woodies from Geraldton were ecstatic to place in fifth ahead of Gav and Mia. Murray and Tayla Woodhead are father and daughter pair getting back on the boat together this year after Tayla had a break to become a Mum. They showed excellent consistency through the event placing in the top ten in all but one race.
Andrew Warneke and Lucinda Crisp came in sixth with Brad Quartermaine and Natalie Waddell in seventh, making the top ten in the WA fleet is a fine achievement.
Scored as stand alone series, Open WA State and Masters Champions went to Cam and Suz, Grand Masters to Dazz and Claire with Jason / Colleen in second and Muzz and Tayla third.
Kevin Inder-Smith and Michael Verrall were crowned Great Grand Masters Champions with a convincing scorecard. Second place went to Matt Faulkner and Ben Raven followed by Hobie Legend Phil Smyth and Graeme Fisher in third.
The Women's trophy was awarded to sisters Natalie and Jasmine Hill who placed a very respectable 11th overall and it was awesome to have Cara Fugill (née Lithgow) team up with Lisa Cranfield, back on the Hobie 16 after a long break from the fleet as another all female team. Both will be strong contenders at the next Australian Championship.
The real fun was had in the two new divisions for Medium and Heavy Weight teams, scoring was pulled from within the overall results. Trophies for these podium places and for the Race Place Lucky draw came from Vaikobi with some exciting goodies for the teams. The first ever WA Medium Weight State Champions were Murray and Tayla. Gav and Mia in second and Jason and Colleen in third.
Father and daughter pair, Phil and Caitlyn Epps were crowned WA Heavy Weight State Champions with a convincing win coming in eighth overall in the overall standings. Another father and daughter pair was local Perth team Andy and Anna Peryer who came in second followed by Andrew Boyd who teamed up with youth sailor Olivia.
It was a fabulous and fun weekend with Jervoise Bay Sailing Club on Woodman Point in the beautiful waters of Owen Anchorage, a great place for Hobie racing. A big thank you to Race Officer Paul, the Vaikobi HCAWA Race Management team and all volunteers who came on board to assist. With 29 entrants for the 2025 Pitts Design and Construction WA Hobie 16 State Championships, the Western Australian fleet is setting up for a big Australian National Championship in Busselton, 27 December 2025 to 5 January 2026.