Robbie Lovig, Saturday, 3 August 2013
Robbie Loving gives his overview of his world championship win
The Hobie Worlds was a fantastic regatta with some very fast and experienced South Africans to compete against.
We were the underdogs going into the regatta - from word on the street as there was Blaine and Peter Dodds (Former Hobie 16 world champion - 6 times Hobie world champion runner up and 17 times Hobie SA national champion) and Allan Lawrence (former Hobie 14 world champion - SA Tiger national champion and 2nd in Tiger Worlds) and the German Team which was a professional sailing team from the Extreme 40 catamarans and SAP pro team. With all this and my lack of sailing leading into the regatta, the last time I sailed a Hobie Tiger was January 2010...and the forecast for light breeze through the regatta, I didn't have the world's highest confidence about the results from the event.
However after the practice race I was beginning to feel a little more confident. The combination of Andy Dinsdale and I worked very well. We had a harmonic balance together on the boat with little practice which was strange but excellent. The last time Andy and I sailed together was 11 years ago at the same regatta!
Once we had the boat "dialled in" and I blew out the cobwebs all worked well together. We had the ability to fight back when we were down and also maintain a lead when we could grab it. This is probably one of the best regattas I've sailed in. I believe we only made about 5 mistakes throughout the regatta! I've sailed races where I've made 30!!
It just goes to show, never listen to the critics...or the echoes on the street....Just give it your best shot and cut the rest out!
So all in all, very pleased with the results! Looking forward to getting on the water again soon!!
Click here to read more about Robbie's achievement in the August 12 edition of the Frankston Leader - page 53
Last Modified on 03/08/2013 15:12