Chevrolet Hobie 16 Worlds- South Africa wins Finals

by Diana Bogaards on 5 Nov 2005 On Friday November 4th 2005, Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur (RSA) won the 2005 Hobie Cat World Championships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Tears came to his eyes, as Ferry hit the beach and heard about his third World Title. It was a rainy day in Nelson Mandela Bay, with a maximum of five knots of wind. Four final races were scheduled to determine the 2005 World Champion, but only one was was completed. Race two was cancelled after the first beat. Yesterday’s top three produced a disappointing result. However, Blaine and Roxanna Dodds could discard it and won silver, followed by the Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse.

Shaun Ferry and Michele Le Sueur were welcomed back on the beach with a bottle of Champain. Ferry also won the World Title Hobie 16 in 1993 in Guedeloupe and the ISAF Hobie 16 World Champion 1998. ‘We are releived’, said Ferry. ‘There was so much pressure’, added Le Sueur. That was about it, because Blaine Dodds and other competitors picked the winners up and threw them in the Indian Ocean. Shaun Ferry quit sailing a few years ago, but he decided to participate at the 2005 Worlds just for fun. After he won the first race of the semi-finals, the pressure was on. Ferry about his future in the Hobie 16: ‘I want to put something back into the class, in order to keep it going. I will spend time on that. The sport must continue and that is most important to me.’ He finished 16th in today’s race, one place before Shuwalow and Hooper (AUS). The Australians already had a 21 position as discard, so they fell back to a fourth position overall.

Blaine Dodds and Shaun Ferry used to sail together in the past. Dodds about their successes today: ‘Well, it is a pity that we only had one race. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’ He crossed the finish line in 35th position, which was his discard. Blaine is also a former World Champion. He won the title in 1998. The Germans Ingo Delius and Katrin Wiese-Dohse missed this year’s Hobie 16 European Title on the last day, which was different this time. They climbed for a sixth to a third place. ‘No German has ever won a bronze medal before, so we are very happy’, said Wiese-Dohse enthusiastically. ‘We did not expect this before, but everything came together right. It was also German weather today and we were lucky that we only sailed one race.’

This evening, the winners will be honoured at the prize giving at McArthur Pool. The 17th Hobie Cat 16 World Championships have experienced changeable weather conditions, which makes the World Champion a real winner.

Final Top five:
1. RSA – Ferry / Le Sueur, 21 points
2. RSA – Dodds / Dodds, 24 points
3. GER – Delius / Wiese-Dohse, 25 points
4. AUS – Shuwalow / Hooper, 28 points
5. RSA – Lagesse / Kerford, 32 points

For the complete results, please surf to www.hobieworlds.com.