HobieWorld’s 2004 – A Sailor’s Perspective By Sean McQuilken   My primary objective was to compete in the Youth class. But, since I was to be in Mexico I teamed up with another youth to try our luck in the Open (unlimited) class.   There were 34 teams registered for the youth portion which was to be held in conjunction with the women’s, master’s, and grandmaster’s from May 5-7 which were the three days leading up to the qualifying round which started May 8. The total amount of teams registered was 241 including all 5 events; these teams represent 32 different countries from all parts of the globe.   I went into this event knowing that the youths competing in it were very good and my crew Erin LaPorta and I probably had the least combined experience in major events than the other teams.     Author (Sean McQuilken) & Crew (Erin LaPorta) Photo courtesy of Doug McQuilken   Tuesday I arrived at the hotel at about 1:30 in the afternoon. The first thing I did after checking into the hotel and finishing up the final registration paperwork was go take a walk on the beach to see the boats and tents that were setup. Hobie Cat Company graciously supplied 64 (60 for racing and 4 spares) brand new boats for the event. The boats had custom sail colors and hull graphics designed just for this event.  Dinner and the opening ceremonies for the event were the next things. Attending the opening ceremonies made me realize that this would be an event that would stand out in my mind for years to come.   It turned out to be tougher than we expected, not due to very high winds, but due to large, steep seas that came at the competitors from all directions during most of the event.   We took last out of the teams that competed in the youth event but had a good time and learned a lot. We also found out that the rest of the world takes Hobie sailing more seriously than the US. For example, some countries even had coaches on the water during the event! Full results are at http://www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/results/index.html   Saturday through Friday the Open class was run. In order for us to compete in the Finals, the Gold Fleet, we had to survive two rounds of elimination – a tall order for a team that had never sailed together before! I crewed for Chris Hancock from Perth Australia who was 19 years old.      Crew (Sean McQuilken) & Skipper (Chris Hancock) Photo courtesy of Jennifer McQuilken   Author (Sean McQuilken) & Skipper (Chris Hancock) Photo courtesy of Jennifer McQuilken   We made the Gold Fleet ultimately placing 60th in a total field of approximately 200 boats in this class - against some of the finest sailors in the world. The French team of Axel Silvy and Pauline Jupin won the Open World Championship by a considerable margin over the former world champion, Gavin Colby from Australia. The awards ceremony took place on the beach and the winners were showered with champagne.   Another great thing about events like this is how much you learn from racing against the top sailors in the class. I learned a lot in the 10 days that I sailed that I can’t wait to put to use in regattas back here at home in the United States. I can’t wait to sail in another World Championship to meet up with my new sailing ‘buddies’ from Guatemala, South Africa, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Australia – to name just a few.   In closing I would like to congratulate everyone who raced in and helped run this event, you all did a spectacular job. I am already looking forward to the next worlds which will be in South Africa in the fall of 2005.