The Worlds Boat Building Has Wind In Its Sails
This morning boat building got underway in earnest as the Hobie® 16 World Championship Factory Team began removing boats from the storage area at the event resort where they had been shipped to from Australia.
The team loaded the disassembled cats onto trucks, which transported them to the build area at the world’s site, where they were unloaded and unpackaged. The new hulls, metal work, masts and rigging were grouped and organized. Pylons were greased and the team began the process of beaming and squaring the hulls and lacing their impressive red tramps. Team members were excited to see the boats begin to be lined up, as were interested bystanders, who mingled and watched in amazement as the colourful fleet began to come together.
Conditions today were perfect for a hard day of boat building, but were also perfect for sailing. Throughout the day a consistent 12 to 15 knot wind blew onshore from the ENE under a light cover of scattered cloud. No ground swell rolled in from outside but small wind waves capped in white covered the bay. Conditions have remained consistent over the past 5 days with wind building up in the early morning and blowing on into the warm sub tropical nights.
In and around the area the focus is moving more towards the world championships. Huge billboards greet you along the main highway into Dapeng from Shenzhen, local bus shelters are covered in worlds signage, flags decorate the streets and a huge multi-story building at the event site is being dressed with massive photos of Hobie Cats and Chinese characters promoting the event.
All indications are that the 21st Hobie 16 Worlds Championships will be more than an excellent sailing regatta, it will be a spectacular for competitors and for the Dapeng, Shenzhen community alike.