ABW Dec 2019 -1

Get Set T
for the
20th Hobie
Challenge
he Philippine Hobie Challenge is a long distance
race organized by the Philippine Inter-island Sailing
Foundation, Inc. (PHINSAF),using the Hobie 16 sailing
catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company.
Sometime late 1999, a small group of international Hobie
16 catamaran sailors envisioned an extreme sailing event
that will take them to different islands in the Philippines;
six days in the open seas and camping in rustic areas. Thus,
the Philippine Hobie Challenge had its relatively modest
start in March 2001 with five (5) regional teams making
the 190 nautical-mile passage from Lucena, Quezon down
to Boracay. Michael Scantlebury, who was in the group that
conceptualized the event, eventually took the honours of
winning the first Challenge.
Dreaming the Impossible
The highly successful inaugural event proved the concept of
long distance racing in Hobie 16 catamarans to be workable
and the Challenge had its repeat in March 2001. This time,
entries had more than doubled to twelve (12), including
teams flying in from HK, Australia and Europe. Using
experience gained during the first event, the organizers
scheduled a 5-race inshore series and the Challenge
series with 5 consecutive daily passages, taking the
teams 154 nautical miles from the Batangas resort
of Maya-Maya down to Maricaban Bay in Northern
Palawan. The team from Down Under, Andrew Keag
and Naomi Angwin, bested the rest of the fleet to
win the 2nd Philippine Hobie Challenge. In 2002, the
Challenge went northwest, taking fifteen (15) teams
from Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur down to Subic Bay, Zambales.
Blood Red, the team of Chris Steilberg, Dave Harris and
Krishan George took honors in this 230 nautical mile race.
Subsequent Challenges
In 2003 the offshore Challenge series started from the whale
shark capital of the Philippines, Donsol, and ended down in
Cebu. Peter Davies, with David Harris, finished first, and with
1 win at Donsol and 2 in Alegre, Haswell and Heider made up
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