Grand Masters in the 2022 Hobie® Cat 16 World Championships: Rod and Kerry Waterhouse - Waterhouse family in Spain
The very next day Rod was back on the water with daughter Bridget Bolewski, qualifying in the Opens Championship - as we went to press it was 8pm in Spain, where the 2022 Hobie Worlds are being held, with Team Waterhouse currently sitting 3rd overall after the qualifying races.
Rod and Bridget won the Open Hobie Worlds in 2016. Rod and Kerry have won the Masters and Grand Masters in 2019, won the Masters and Grand Masters in 2016 with fellow Palm Beach Sailing Club Members Anthony Duchatel and Evelyn Curtis placing second. Team Rod and Kerry won the Grand Masters Hobie 16 in 2014, in 2010 son Jason and cousin Lisa Darmanin won the Youth division while Rod and Kerry Waterhouse won the Masters and Anthony Duchatel and Evelyn Curtis won the Grand Masters, Rod and Kerry won the Masters in 2007, Jason, teamed up with Michael McCormick winning the Youth division, the 2006- 2nd Hobie Dragoon Worlds Championships Youth Cup was won by Jason Waterhouse and Chase Lurati, while the 2004 -16th Hobie 16 Masters was again won by Team Waterhouse.
Then, of course, there is a long list other sailing World Championships and Olympics representatives the PBSC.
Kerry and Rod Waterhouse met racing Hobie 14s in 1975 and have been sailing together on Hobie 16s ever since.
Their children Jason and Bridget were brought up in the midst of the amazing Hobie family. Hobie bonded them as a family and importantly instilled in their children the thirst for adventure.
Years ago, when asked what the Hobie had given to them, Rod said;
''It taught us how to meet and form great friendships. Hobie taught us how to compete. It taught us how to win and how to lose. It has been proven so strongly now that if you can do well in Hobie racing you can do well in any class. But most important Hobie taught us how to love life. Hobie sailing has been a true gift and we are extremely grateful for the life and opportunities that have come our way because of it.''
The Waterhouse family aren't the only Australians who have headed over to represent this year, although former Avalon Beach Pittwater resident and Australian Olympian Mitch Booth, who has also been have a good year, winning the IMA Trophy in 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race in January 2022 in record time, and now lives in Spain, may have a bit of a local knowledge advantage.
A 13-time World Champion, and four-time Olympian, silver and bronze medallist (he sailed in one Olympics with Bayview and PBSC's John Forbes), Mitch Booth and daughter Rita finished the qualifying rounds at 7th spot. One of his three sons, Jordi, teaming up with Ana Iacovone finished at 13th - and all the competing Booth family go into the Semis. The Booths, despite now being Spanish residents, are racing under the Australian flag.
September 21st, Day 3 of racing for the Women/Youth/Grand Masters and Great Grand Masters also saw wins for other Australians.
In the Women’s series, Caterina Degli Uberti and Diana Rogge (ITA) won the top spot, followed by Bella Zanesco and Juliet Bates(AUS) with Carmen Andrews and Haylie Andrews(AUS) picking up third.
The 2022 Hobie® Cat 16 World Championships are currently being held 15th – 29th September 2022, at Sant Pere Pescador (Catalonia – Spain), organised by the Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre in conjunction with the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation in three (3) world championships disciplines: Women’s, Youth and Open with three (3) additional disciplines Masters Cup, Grand Masters Cup and Great Grand Masters Cup.
This is the 23rd Hobie 16 Worlds.
The Open Championship Series comprises all of the races in both the Semi Finals and the Final Races. The Semi Finals will be conducted over three day 25th – 27thSeptember 2022) weather permitting.
A maximum of 12 Round Robin Races will be conducted giving each entrant a maximum total of 6 races.
In the Semi Finals, all entrants will compete in an equal number of races and, if possible, against every other entrant at least once. Entrants will change boats after each race when conditions permit.
If at the end of the Semi Finals teams have fewer than four races, the Semi Finals will continue on 28th September 2022 to determine the top 48 teams who will then race the Finals Races.
The top 48 ranked entrants will race against each other in the Finals Races on 28th and 29th September 2022.
The final total score for each entrant will be the total score of all races in the Championship Series (Semi Finals and Finals Races), excluding the discard if 4 or more races are completed. The results will be announced at the Awards Party.
There is some tough competition over the next few days - stay up to date here: hobieworlds.com
Meanwhile, around 1200 kilometres further south, Jason Waterhouse and SailGP is back in Cádiz this weekend as the European leg of Season 3 comes to a close with the Spain Sail Grand Prix. The Australia SailGP Team have done well in the first races.
The SailGP organisers state Australia put in a masterfully consistent performance amid a congested fleet to finish top of the podium after the first day of racing on the Bay of Cádiz.
In a key day for flight controllers, crews were forced to choose between speed and stability as ocean swells transformed the nine flying F50s into bucking broncos.
The Australians finished the day with a 6-1-2 racing record across the first three Fleet races, but close racing throughout means Australia and France are tied on 24 points heading into the second day of racing.
NSW-ACT 2022 Sailor of the Year Tom Slingsby’s crew struggled in the first race of the day, which was won by Peter Burling’s Kiwi team, as choppy conditions forced errors from the most experienced crews.
However, a race win in the second race and a second place finish in the third behind Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain puts Australia in pole position heading into Race Day 2.
Australia will face fierce competition however with just five points separating the top of the leaderboard from home favourites Spain in sixth place.
Speaking about Australia’s fragile position tied with France at the top of the podium, Slingsby admitted he was ‘not comfortable’ heading into the second day of racing.
“The points are so tight so for sure we’re not comfortable,” he said, “we need at least two good races out of three tomorrow to cement us in the Final. If we only have one good race, it will be up in the air and probably unlikely so we’ve just got to have a good first race and go from there.”
The nine F50s will return to the racecourse for a further three fleet races before the three-boat winner-takes-all Final on Sunday - or midnight for we here in the land of Oz.
After Spain the fleet heads to Dubai for racing over November 12-13.
SailGP will return to the iconic waters of Sydney Harbour on February 18-19 for the ninth event of SailGP Season 3. Tickets go on sale in October.
An exciting few days of sailing coming up for Pittwater, Australia and the Waterhouse family!