Sailing Hobies since before she was born

by Rob Kothe on 30 Mar 2005 Natalie Gray has been sailing a Hobie Cat 16 with her Dad, Mal, since before she was born.

The International Hobie 16 was designed over 35 years ago. Her father, and mother Trish, have been active Hobie sailors for nearly 30 of those years and rumour has it that Natalie was born on a trampoline.

By virtue of its simplicity and simple operation, it is the world’s most popular catamaran. Strong class rules and a well managed international class association have helped to maintain consistency across the world which is the key to its success.

Many of the top crews around the world consist of husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend or father/mother/son/daughter combinations and sailing at this year's Queensland Hobie 16 titles were father and daughter combination, Mal and 13 year old Natalie.

Weight distribution is critical aboard Hobies and for the last two years, Mal and Nat have toughed out some very windy, major regattas. At her first nationals (with Dad) at RQYS in 2003, Natalie, weighing all of 27 kilos, managed a top half of the fleet finish, despite the extremely windy conditions.

Her performance earned Nat the admiration from much more experienced crews for her tenacity and courage. Weighing in at significantly under the minimum Hobie Class crew weight means that the pair has to carry ‘corrector weight’, in the form of lead strapped to their trampoline, to comply with class rules. This corrector lead ensures that light crews do not gain an advantage in light winds, but does nothing to assist in strong winds.

Aggressive starting and consistent sailing in near-survival conditions helped the pair to a top ten finish at the recent Sail Melbourne Hobie Nationals in January.

The weather Gods finally smiled.

Over Easter, the 2005 Queensland Hobie Cat Championships were being held at Hervey Bay and looked like offering a moderate weather pattern that would not advantage the heavier crews. The 10-20 knot forecast for the weekend would give all teams a range of conditions to ensure a fair contest.

The Gray team (Sunstate Hobie) weighed in at just one kilo under the minimum weight; thanks to Mal's reliable weight gain program - and the scene was set for a tough showdown with the World ranked husband and wife teams of Rob and Jacky Branch (Speed Limit), Peter and Juliette Bates (Not too Shabby), Bob and Beth Engwirda (Cosmic) and Brad and Helen Warneke (Starving Hungry). They were joined on the Hervey Bay course by 25 other Hobie Cat 16 teams.


Races one and two were held in light conditions. The point scores were tight, with two teams tied for first (Cosmic, Not too Shabby) and two teams tied for second (Sunstate Hobie, Speed Limit).

On day two, Speed Limit won three races and scored an eight. Sunstate Hobie was consistent with two second’s, a fourth and a fifth. Not Too Shabby was also consistent with a second, third and two fourth places. Cosmic, uncharacteristically, was struggling with the shifty conditions and had a score blowout with a 14th; 10th and two top five finishes. Starving Hungry was hanging in, with a heat win and various other top 10 finishes.

Day three presented more of the same weather, with light to moderate double trapeze conditions from the offshore south-easterly, which sent puffs and holes across the course.

The scores were tight. Team Branch (Speed Limit) was in the lead over Sunstate Hobie, with a healthy five-point margin, but Not Too Shabby was only one point further back in third spot.

In the two races before lunch, Sunstate Hobie blasted out of the blocks and won both of them. Speed Limit scored a fifth and a second; Not Too Shabby had an OCS and a third, while Cosmic ran hot and cold, finishing with a 10th and a second.

With one race to go, the title was down to just two contenders. Speed Limit and Sunstate Hobie were tied on points and could not be caught; so the last race was set to be a ‘nail-biter’.

Perfect sailing conditions prevailed for the final race - beautiful blue sky, 12-15 knots of breeze and flat water; all thirty coloured Hobie sails creating quite a spectacle!

Sunstate Hobie had to beat Speed Limit across the line to win the title. A starting line rush caused Sunstate Hobie to hit the leeward end of the start line and she had to perform a 360-degree penalty turn. Speed Limit had an unspectacular but clean start and was heading with speed to the preferred side of the course, while Sunstate Hobie took off to the other side of the Bay, hoping for the best.

At the first tack, it seemed that Speed Limit would easily cross Sunstate Hobie, but the inshore wind bend helped Sunstate Hobie to round in the top five, while Speed Limit was back in the middle of the pack. This meant the Gray Team had only to cover Team Branch in the four-lap race to take the title.

Rob Branch used every trick in the book to close the gap, but the race was not long enough, leaving Sunstate Hobie to finish the final race in second place, two places ahead of Speed Limit, enough to take out the Queensland Hobie Cat 16 Championship.

Final Results Queensland Hobie Cat 16 Championship

1. Sunstate Hobie Mal and Natalie Gray 18pts

2. Speed Limit Rob and Jacky Branch 20 pts

3. Not too Shabby Peter and Juliette Bates 26pts

4. Cosmic Bob and Beth Engwirda 35pts

5. Starving Hungry Brad and Helen Warneke 55pts