Daniel and Nicolaj Björnholt Christensen win the Hobie World Cat 2019 in Westerland on Sylt ahead of German Jens Goritz and the Hobie World Cat winners 2017 from Australia Cam Owen and Susan Ghent.
After nine years, Sylt has become World Cat the megapot of the Hobie catamarans. The unique surf in the western winds, but also the extremely complicated sailing conditions in offshore winds due to currents, tides and a very different wave pattern demand the sailors from all continents everything.
A good start had the team Australia. They came to Sylt as crowned European champions directly from La Rochelle in France to win the Hobie World Cat again. But the two experienced brothers in the Danish boat needed only a short time to get used to each other after almost two years break. Also arrived with a victory announcement was Jens Goritz from the island of Föhr. No one knows as well as he does the North Sea waves. Other favorites on the podium were Frenchman Nicolas and his brother Florian Hublet as well as the youngest team in the field of the best Hobie sailors Zuzanna Szadziuk 18 and Szymon Cierzan 15 years old from Poland.
13 races were sailed under different conditions before the storm made further races on the weekend impossible. Day 2 was spectacular with waves over 2 meters and wind speeds of up to 28 knots.
“As a sailor, you must have the passion, the skill and the courage to sail through the surf,” says Jens Hannemann from Prosail. “We did everything right this year. The decisions when and how long can be sailed or when we need to leave the boats on the beach, because the safety is no longer guaranteed.”
The best series at the end succeeded the two sympathetic Danes. Jens Goritz had to bury his victory dreams in the second attempt after an early start in the 8th race and even if the Australians gave everything again on the last day, it was not enough.
No Hobie regatta in the world is like the Hobie World Cat on Sylt, which was founded 9 years ago by Prosail and is now gaining worldwide acclaim. 11 teams, invited by the organizers according to strict management criteria, will have a lot to tell after their return. Everyone is hoping for a renewed invitation for next year, but they’ll all have to be back on top in their national rankings at the end of this year or must win something very big until the end of the year.
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