Cangas / Spain, July 28th 2006
On Friday July 28th, Team Mourniac/Citeau (FRA) won the Hobie Tiger Worlds 2006 convincingly. Waterhouse/Lurati (AUS) have beaten their Dragoon opponents by one point. The Tiger top 3 consisted of three French NISSAN teams. Five youth crews had made their way to the top fifteen. Last week’s conditions varied from calm and tactical racing to strong breezes and huge waves, but the sun was shining consistenly. The Hobie Tigers sailed sixteen races altogether and the Hobie Dragoons nineteen.
After the wild conditions of the last few days, the final races were rather tame, but tactical. The water was flat and the wind came in patches and with shifts. Mark Laruffa: “The last race, I just couldn’t figure out what was going on out there.”
Tiger: Mourniac/Citeau
Mourniac and Citeau won the first
Tiger race. Father and son Booth were leading at the top mark, but in the second
upwind leg, the French passed the Ozzies. Citeau: “We like to have a good
competition, so when they went left after the gate, we went right.” Overall,
Citeau thinks the racing level was very high, but especially today: “The wind
was shifty and light, those are tricky conditions.”
Booth/Booth
Mitch and Taylor Booth had a good day on the
water, they went from a sixth position overall to a fourth. Taylor Booth:
“Especially since this isn’t our kind of weather, we are very happy.” Mitch
Booth comments on the high standards of racing: “In this kind of competition,
there’s no luck or tricks to it, you just try to be a bit smoother and a bit
smarter than the others.” Although they have been quite successful as a team,
they won’t be sailing together on a regular basis. Taylor Booth: “Just once a
year, but at the next worlds, I’ll be the skipper.”
Dragoons: bronze, silver and gold
The Dragoons sailed
their final races in a bronze, silver and gold fleet. In the gold fleet, the
number one Waterhouse/Lurati (AUS) was only three places ahead of the three
teams that shared a second position. The preceding days, fun was the main goal,
but now the serious stuff started. This morning the atmosphere was tense. The
children were rigging their sails more fanatically than ever. Vincent Domand and
Eric Chaussat had a good start, and maintained their lead until the end. Number
two and three had a close finish, but Sebastien Greber and Nikki Boniface (GBR)
managed to cross the line a second earlier than the Australian team. Now Jason
Waterhouse and Chase Lurati were only one point ahead of
Domand/Chaussat.
Ozzies beat French by one point
During the second race,
the wind decreased. Domand/Chaussat profited from some shifts and made their way
to the front, whereas Waterhouse and Lurati were falling behind.
Waterhouse/Lurati lost their hopes on an overall victory: “It was just terrible
when the wind died out”, Waterhouse recalls, “We were shocked.” But they were
lucky. The wind dwindled, all the cats were just floating around and the racing
committee blew its horn. Waterhouse: “First, we didn’t know what it meant, but
when I realised the race was cancelled, I was so happy!” Waterhouse jumped into
the water, his crew just couldn’t believe they won the Worlds. Lurati: “We are
so lucky.” Waterhouse is feeling a bit sorry for the French team though: “They
must now be feeling the way I felt during the second race. They are good, quick
sailors.” Waterhouse’s next goal is to win the Hobie 16 Worlds 2007.
Tigers against Dragoons
This morning, the top five
Dragoon teams competed with the top five Tiger crews in a close-fought battle.
Though the races took place right in front of the beach, some of the Tigers were
a little late for the start; 11:30 is rather early for those who are used to the
Spanish rhythm. On the beach, friends were shouting and cheering to support the
sailors. There was little wind, only 5 knots. The first race, the French Dragoon
team Domand/Chaussat got off well and won. With two second places, Jason
Waterhouse and Chase Lurati were the overall winners of this fun race. Lurati:
“It was easy to beat the big boys. They are too heavy, their boats just
sink.”
Final results Hobie Tiger top five, with one discard
1. Mourniac/Citeau
(FRA), 41 points
2. Vaireaux/Romain (FRA), 71 points
3. Renaud de
Malet/Rossollin (FRA), 95 points
4. Booth/Booth (AUS) 119 points
5.
Thomas/Bernier (USA), 129 points
Final results Hobie Dragoon top five, with one discard
1.
Waterhouse/Lurati (AUS), 9 points
2. Domand/Chaussat (FRA), 10 points
3.
Butler/Sutcliffe (GBR), 12 points
4. Greber/Boniface (GBR), 15 points
5.
Furnaque/Furnaque (GBR), 17 points
/// End
For more information about the Hobie Tiger & Dragoon Worlds, or high resolution photographs, please contact:
Jacqueline Laumans, press contact
Mobile: +33 687 031 396
E-mail: jackielaumans@gmail.com
Images: Pierrick Contin