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29 January 2005, 09:33 am

Australasia Leg

Philippine Hobie 16 Challenge 6

Philippines

Todays Hobie Cat Australasia Leg was the fifth and final race of the Philippine Hobie Challenge Offshore Series. A crowded start off Camiguin, then the fleet split into two around White Island, powering away with northeasterly breezes of 8-10 kts.

The leaders through the Pamalacan Gate were those who had gone high towards the southern Bohol shore, while those who sailed the rhumb or went slightly low suffered a bad wind shift and less breeze.

Jun VILLANUEVA and Nestor SORIANO of palmOne led through this gate, but second placed HKHC Commodore Nigel HARRIS and Susan MACDONALD sailed the second shorter leg with skill and won the leg (Nigel has made a special request that we tell everyone that he had the oldest boat with the oldest sails in the fleet - we disagree because the boat is only three years old and there are still a couple of 1998 Hogs Breath World Championship boats racing in this year's Challenge)

Coming in exactly one minute behind Nigel and Susan were Team Kev's Bob ENGWIRDA and Jerome BINDER, and this position secured their overall victory in the offshore series with an overall elapsed time of 21:37:41 for the five daily legs.

Second overall went to Blood Red's David HARRIS and Krishan GEORGE who did better than Team PNG, wrenching away their placing and putting the Philippine Hobie Nationals champions Andrew LOCKE and David LEVINGE in third place overall.

Event Media (As Amended by ISAF)

World Sailing TV

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.