Hobie 16 European Championship - Waterhouse and Darmanin finish third

by Traks Gordon on 4 Aug 2010 Hobie 16 European Championship update: Following on from their victory in the F16 Euro Challenge, Pittwater sailors Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin concluded their World Championship preparation tour finishing third in the 104 boat event.

The final outcome was a test of endurance and character as the 18-year-old cousins and 2009 ISAF World Youth Champions struggled early in the regatta coming to grips with their charter boat and the large open age fleet.

Travemunde, Germany threw everything at the sailors from light airs during the qualifying rounds to increasingly shifty and gusty winds for the finals. Fortunately the pair felt completely at home in these conditions thanks to their tricky training grounds on Pittwater.

The eventual winners of the regatta were Jerome le Gal and Marco Lazzetta (FRA) sailing a brilliant event leading the finals throughout. Runners up were Detlef Mohr and Karen Wichardt (GER). Waterhouse and Darmanin were the only Australian team to participate finishing strongly moving from seventh to third on the final day.

Commenting after the event Jason said ‘It was great to give the good guys a run for their money and let them know we plan to be up there in China'. Lisa continued,' we suffered from inconsistency early in the event however a focus on the basics and determination to improve gave us a pleasing final result.'

The pair have returned home for 12 days to fulfill Uni requirements and put the final touches on their preparation against other Australian teams participating in China.

Jason and Lisa will compete in both the Hobie 16 Youth and Open Championships, Weihai, Shandon, China Aug 15-30. Australia will be strongly represented in the Youth, Women's, Masters and Open series including current world champion Mick Butler.

You can follow the event by clicking http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2010/!here.

In March, Jason and Lisa became the inaugural scholarship sailors of the recently founded Acuity talent identification and athlete nurturing program. The Acuity program was established to provide Pittwater junior and youth sailors with high quality training at the frequency required to chase international dreams.