The 2011 Hobie Cat Traveler Series kicked off with a fancy bang at Hamilo Coast, Nasugbu! The people at the newly opened Hamilo Coast facilities fell over themselves to provide everything a sailor heart craves: strong drinks, good food, and a hot shower!The colorful sails of 11 Hobie Cats in the picturesque Pico de Loro cove were a sight for sore eyes! Everything could have been so perfect... If only team Tiger Gambas didn't break its Cat's tail: the boat's rudder!
As beautiful as the cove is to look at, it's rather a challenge to launch the boats off from. Head-on wind and breaking waves near the shore made it almost impossible to push the boats into the water. Timing was everything. We waited for the waves to subside before throwing our full body weight onto the boat to withstand the oncoming forces. Our Cat rose like a wild horse trying to shake off an unwanted saddle! Both rudders speared the bottom of the sea. The impact broke one of the rudders right off the hull!
That was the end of race day number one (even before it began for us). On the positive side, we had the whole day to explore the resort, enjoy our nice room for a nap, and to beach-bum collecting shells and driftwood.
At 6am on Sunday, Dr. Boyet (the most able boat man at Taal Yacht Club!) together with Glenn, conducted open heart surgery on our tamed Cat. After 1.5 hours, the patient was still drowsy but restored to health and seaworthy.
Slightly traumatized we pushed out again into the open sea, which on day two was less rough. We joined two races but no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't advance beyond being DFL (Dead F@*%ing Last).
Well, looking at it from the bright side of life: it can only get better from here! More races in store for this year’s Traveler Series!
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