Hobie 16 Worlds 2022! - Costa Brava Spain

As the summer was winding down, we ventured to the coast of the mediteranian near Barcelona Spain for the Hobie 16 Worlds event. My first worlds was in Captiva Island in Florida, USA back in 2019. We went for the experience and only managed to compete in the qualifiers. We didn't make the cut. For Spain there was more training involved, grilling the local experts and studying, and practicing. The event was scheduled for earlier in the year, but postponed due to covid concerns and supply chain issues. This would be the first big event after the 2020 shut down and we were gonna compete and qualify! Winning was out of the question, but a big event like this is great for learning and meeting some amazing people.
My first race was back in 2012 in the waters off of Santa Cruz, CA. The skippers' meeting included a statement from the harbor patrol that the waves were breaking a the entrance to the harbor and extreme caution was advised. After some explanation of race protocols, we ventured out into 25kt breeze and 10ft swell. The first day was a mess, but we left the event with a much better understanding of start sequence and how race pennants work. Subsequent regional and NAC events served as great opportunities to refine foul weather gybes, downhaul tuning, batten tension and other variables that can only come from one design racing. A few years later we were cruising down the coast in Mexico in light breeze. It was an easy trip 12 miles down the coast for lunch and 12 miles back. As we outpaced some of the people on the trip and pulled up to shore as the sun was setting, I realized it wasn't just about the competition, but that the one design racing helps inform a sailor about their boat and helps them in all facets of sailing.
At a worlds event, you quickly get over any issues with heavy traffic. With 50 boats on the line and world class sailors at the helm, the starts get very exciting. The best thing about a worlds event, or at least some of the few remaining worlds events, include the round robin format. This means that sailors get a schedule of boat numbers and actually get to compete on different boats. This further reinforces the one-design concept of the sailor skill winning the day instead of technical superiority. On a boat like the Hobie 16 with minimal boat tuning, this puts more emphasis on reading conditions and sailing well rather than tuning and boat modifications.
For the Hobie 16 worlds, the factory crew and event volunteers take pride in hosting a fair and fun event with one of the most popular boats ever made. Steve Fields and team provided some minor modifications to the 2022 worlds boats to improve the fairness of competition and sailor experience. The fiberglass hulls were weighed during manufacture to ensure variations were handled before the boats were completed so that the boats had matching weights. Additionally, the Steve worked with Harken to modify the lower triple block to include the Harken 1.5x grip ratchet sheave in the center. This provides better grip with a ratchamatic mechanism. They also utilized an old Murrays Sports Seaway/ Harken cleat adapter to extend the cleat position out from the block for an improved sheeting angle. The lower block screw was replaced with a longer screw, to make adjustment easier without the risk of losing the nut from the adjuster wheel. Worlds boats come standard with EPO 3 rudder blades, Jib Halyard adjustment kits, 6:1 race downhaul kits and 2:1 outhaul purchase systems. They also have tramp grommets added to the corners to ensure that the tramps don't pull out of the trampoline frames under the extreme conditions that the racers may put the boats through.