Hobie 16 – Open Series – Semis are in the books

Day 3 Semi-finals racing – Similar to yesterday, racing for the final day of the semi-finals got underway shortly after 11:00 AM in the offshore breeze. The early race started off in 12 knots of breeze but, it didn’t hold. As the wind got lighter during the race it became shifty. Finding the favoured side and managing the shifts became the priority. One race was completed in this session before the wind died and sailors were sent to shore.

Hobie16Worlds_Open_Semis_d3

Session two sailors were held onshore waiting for the onshore thermal that finally arrived in the late afternoon. This race was a light and lumpy one with oscillating winds of 6-10 knots. Those that picked the correct shift pattern did well but it was easy to make a mistake and lose many places.

At the front, the battle for the lead continues with incredibly consistent finishes from Darren SMITH/Claire BISGOOD (AUS) lead followed closely by Cam OWEN/Susan Ghent (AUS) in second and Yamil SABA FUENTES/Gonzolo CENDRA FALCON (VEN) in third.

With the semi-finals concluded the field will now but cut to the top 48 teams who will continue on for the final two days. The Australian teams have made a strong showing at this event, with 11 teams making the final 48 boat cut.

Hobie 16 Worlds Championships (sailingresults.net)

Jeanneau JY55
M.O.S.S Australia
raceyachts.com.au
West Systems
Jeanneau JY60
Festival of Sails 2025
MultiHull Central Corsair 880
JPK 11.80 July 2024