The clear blue sky calls for all sorts of outdoor activity. With the calm Taal Lake spread out in front of us, one would think a Zen fishing trip is in order. Nope, it's even better. Because other than the scenic lake, dozens of colorful Hobie Cats—small sailing catamarans made by the Hobie Cat Company—were neatly docked on the shore fronting Taal Lake Yacht Club. These sails and their respective sailing crews were gathered for the Lima Park Hotel 2016 Philippine Hobie National Championships.
Lima Park Hotel Presents 2016 Philippine Hobie National Championships
Opening the Championships
Before the participants set off for the race, Peter Capotosto, founder of Taal Lake Yacht Club and an avid sailor, opened the race with a brief talk congratulating each participant for yet another successful event.
During our talk with Capotosto, we learned that other than the Philippine National Hobie Championship, there is also another prestigious race: The Philippine Hobie Challenge.
“That one is a long-distance Hobie race consisting of the Inshore and Challenge Series,” Capotosto tells us. “The Inshore consists of five short races, while the Challenge Series takes almost 7 to 8 hours of sailing covering 200 nautical miles. Last year, that race started in Laiya, Batangas and finished at Canyon Cove in Nasugbu,” he adds.
Cruising Taal Lake
As the race started, us media members boarded a yacht and sailed to the middle part of the lake to get a front-row view of the action. From our position, I could clearly see the smooth movements of each catamaran boat as it knifed through the waters of Taal Lake effortlessly.
Manned by a two-person crew, each Hobie Cat measures almost twelve feet in length. The longer models can be manned by up to four people.
After witnessing the race, we circled Taal Lake, passing by an island inhabited by a variety of birds and fish. From afar, I could only recognize flocks of Little Egrets, but our boatman told us that if we used binoculars, we could also spot other bird species such as the Barn Swallow, Little Heron, White-Collared Kingfisher, Yellow-Vented Bulbul, and more.
Tournament Winners
We finished our cruise just in time for the awarding ceremonies. The tandem of Philippine Sailing Association Team members Richly Magsanay and Ridgley Balladares successfully defended the title they won the previous year.
Other winners included Michael Ngu and Boyet Magsanay for the Master’s category, and Maria Vidoeira-Hagedorn and Joe Hagedorn taking third place overall.
About the Philippine Hobie National Championships
Spearheaded by the host Taal Lake Yacht Club, in cooperation with the Philippine Sailing Association and PHINSAF, the national regatta is part of the Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Foundation (PHINSAF) – Potato Corner National Traveller’s Series.
Taal Lake Yacht Club held the Lima Park Hotel 2016 Philippine Hobie National Championships as part of their schedule of regular competitive events held here and at other premier sailing locations across the country.
