IMAGE: The Hobie Tigers South African Championship was sailed in Mossel Bay last weekend. Picture: Jan Hoevers

Mossel Bay to Bid for International Dart 18 Catamarans Sailing Championship

Mossel Bay will submit its bid for the 2014 Dart 18 Catamaran world championship when members of its sailing club attend this year’s event in Weymouth, in England, later this month.

“I’ve sailed around the world, and as far as I’m concerned, Mossel Bay has some of the best sailing grounds of any I’ve ever seen – so it’s ideal for this kind of competition,” said South African Sailing’s national training manager, Mossel Bay-based Rob Holden.

“And this isn’t just something I’ve made up: I’ve heard it from various other competitive sailors, and Blaine Dodds said it when he won the Hobie Tigers National Championship here last weekend.”  (Amongst others, Plettenberg Bay-based Blaine and Roxanne Dodds won the 2007 Hobie 16 Masters International Cup in Suva, on the Fiji Islands – placing South Africa first among 11 countries, and 38 teams.)

Mr. Holden said that Mossel Bay was also ideal for the Dart 18 Worlds because of its many other attractions.

“Our preliminary bid document will show the benefits of sailing here, but it’ll also list things like our scuba diving, surfing, shark cage diving, game viewing, and so on – it’s basically a complete package,” he said.

Timing will also be crucial – the bid document will suggest holding the event in the second or third week of January, 2014, because, “Northern Hemisphere sailors will be able to ship their boats in containers during their off season, arrive here, sail, and ship them back before their next season starts,” said Mr. Holden.

Mossel Bay Tourism’s chairman, Neels Zietsman, said that Mossel Bay would receive massive media attention if the bid was successful.

“The Dart 18 is a 2-person boat, and we’re hoping we’ll see at least 160 entries – that is, more than 320 sailors – from more than 20 countries.

“If we can achieve this, the exposure on the internet alone will be invaluable,” he said, adding that Mossel Bay Tourism would put its full weight behind the bid.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Result of the Hobie Tigers South African Championship sailed in Mossel Bay on the weekend of 7-9 August 2010:

Place    Sail No.     Skipper & Crew
1    2233    Blaine Dodds / Peter Blaine-Dodds
2    2235    Shaun Ferry / Lee Hawkins
3    2291    Colin  Whitehead / Neil Malan
4    2287    A Lawrence / D Lawrence
5    2289    Paul Lagessie / Guido Verhovert
6    2451    Mark Kopel / Ewald Erasmus
7    2126    Michael Goodyear /
8    2234    Brent Gray / Kirsten Veenstra
9    2424    Andrew Walker / Stewart Walker
10    2170    William Keiser / Claire Walker
11    2422    Mark Wijtenberg / Jaapie Krynauw
12    2463    Brent Coetzee / Lilian Steyn
13    2292    Richard Goldstein / Rob Holden
14    2265    John Goldsmid /Mark Nicholls

ENDS 482 WORDS

Tags: catamarans, championships, champs, dart 18, dart 18 catamaran, hobie tigers, mossel bay, nationals, rob holden