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The Philippine Hobie Challenge is a long distance race using the Hobie 16 sailing catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company. The event, organized by the Philippine Inter-island Sailing Foundation (Phinsaf), consists of two race series: Inshore and Challenge Series. The Inshore Series consists of five short races of approximately 40 minutes each, where competitors sail around course marks anchored close inshore. In the Challenge Series, competitors will spend between five to eight hours a day sailing, all depending on their respective skills, the sea conditions and the prevailing wind, over 200 nautical miles, through the course of five daily passages along a route selected by the organizers. The team with the lowest elapsed time from the origin to the destination flies home at the end of the week with the prestigious Philippine Hobie Challenge trophy. In between the race legs, the participants take part in reaching out to the communities along the coastal villages, making donations of school supplies and basic medicines. The Philippine Hobie Challenge is a unique way of gathering sailing enthusiasts and providing them an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the Philippine islands, thereby creating awareness on caring for the environment and supporting the communities that inhabit these areas. The Fossil Cup is an awards category founded by one of the most ardent supporters of the Challenge, and which uses a handicapping system that rewards sailors who improved the most during the week-long race, also had its share of the spotlight. ==History== The First Challenge 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 for their relatively poor offshore performance by garnering a first in the Inshore series. 2004 marked the 5th Hobie Challenge one of the best challenges ever, taking the sailors from the icing sugar sands of Boracay all the way across to Palawan. This marked the largest fleet of Hobies yet - 27 teams from all over the globe. This trip included a visit to Amanpulo and even an African style safari on Calauit Island. A great success Now firmly cemented into the Hobie Sailing schedules, organizers of The Philippine Hobie Challenge are pointing their sails towards new and exciting routes. Set on promoting sailing as a means to see the eco and adventure tourism destination that is the Philippines, they can only promise another superb event. Indeed, the Philippine Hobie Challenge is fast growing to be one of the most exciting and anticipated sailing events in Southeast Asia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Philippines Hobie Challenge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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