201 North American Hobie 14 Championships Photograph:Gordon
Ronald LaPorta - Hobie Division 11, Tuesday, 1 September 2015
As I first step on to the beach, after our 8 hour drive, at the 2015 Hobie 14 North American's, feeling the crisp cool water of lake Ontario on my toe's, thinking this is going to be a grand event, but little did I know it would change my perspective of sailing, on this old boat. We arrive Thursday evening with just enough time to set up the boats and pop out for a quick sail. As I sail off the beach I am reminded the importance of a smooth tack and backing up as the sheltered cove was giving off wind shifts. When I finally make it out to the lake there are four other 14's on the water splitting tacks, and checking speed with each other. We sail out a little further then down the shore. As we come up the coast we see a ship wreck so being curious Hobie sailors we sail closer to check things out and discover an old barge sunken and used as a break wall to harbor a yacht club. As we travel in to the harbor the wind is still blowing nicely, but the chop has calmed down which gave me a chance to feel the boat and hone in my tacking skills. Getting close to sunset we exit the harbor to return to the beach and see the iconic Toronto skyline as it begins to illuminate to the east and that makes me feel thankful to be a Hobie sailor.
-George Miscannon – Hobie Division 11
Skippering the original Hobie 14 catamaran was a very humbling experience. This was my first time on the 14 was at the Hobie North American Championships. The first day was very windy and I had no clue of how to tack the boat, so every tack I did a quick back wind of the sail and learned to tack very quickly that way. The second day provided much lighter wind and made the boat significantly touchier to sail. By the third day the wind was moderate and I finally began to figure it out. After being in the last place of 16 boats the first two days, I finally was able to get a 5th and 7th place in the standings, and was greatfully able to pass my father, which he was very proud of seeing. It was a great first experience to Canada at the Mississauga Sailing Club, I would love to go to a regatta there again! The Hobie 14 is my new favorite boat to sail, hopefully I will have many more chances to sail this humbling boat.
Top 3
1st Dan Borg
2nd Mark Modderman
3rd Nick Liebel
