Wildwind to sponsor the European Class Association

Just before Christmas the International Hobie Class Association concluded a sponsorship arrangement with award winning holiday company Wildwind and the world’s most popular multihull YouTube Channel, Joyrider TV.

Many of you will already know Wildwind founder Simon Morgan from meeting him at various European and World Championships – Simon’s love affair with the 16 started almost 40 years ago and led him to drive across Europe back in 1987 with a VW campervan and his cat on a trailer to investigate the bay of Vassiliki on the island of Lefkas where evidently the winds blew Force 4-6 and often more most afternoons of the summer. After a month there Simon decided to give up his career in London and Wildwind was born – and 35 years later Simon decided to give back to the Hobie Associations some Wildwind love…

Here's what Simon has to say about the tie up with Hobie:

"I am absolutely delighted to be able to offer something back to the Hobie community which I have enjoyed so much over the past 4 decades and indeed without my love for the weird and wonderful banana shaped hulls and the 16’s ability to put up with the abuse that I have given it in seas all over the world I would never have found myself in charge of one of Europe’s top sailing centres.

It is my intention (and that of David Brookes IHCA Executive Director, Erik Olsen IHCA Vice President (appointed by EHCA)/IHCA Rules Committee Chair and Joe Bennett Joyrider TV) to increase participation in all sorts of Hobie events and specially to make membership of the various class associations throughout the world more attractive.

One of the most important ways in which we at Wildwind and Joyrider can help provide even more value to joining an association is to provide more interesting material in the IHCA newsletters, offering hits to help you maintain your boat in perfect shape, provide you with video interviews from top Hobie sailors across the planet giving you their top tips about getting to the front of the fleet as well as exciting videos from Joyrider showing our boats off at top speeds and with some worthwhile crashes and capsizes to keep you amused in your coffee breaks.

The first of the new styled IHCA newsletters was published on Feb 2nd, and, as well as a calendar of the main event in the Hobie year ahead will featuring an excellent interview from former Hobie 16 World champion William Edwards showing how he sets his boat up for performance. We are expecting in future issues to showcase tuning tips from different countries and continents including advice on the Hobie 14 from Australia and the Netherlands, and from Oz, Germany, Denmark, the USA, Brazil, and Venezuela for the 16 class.

Our goal this year which we are hoping that you will help us reach, is to increase the number of sailors in the various Hobie associations by 30% this year – quite a big target but one that we are confident we can reach if everybody pulls together.

Membership of a national (or local) fleet or association means automatic membership of your regional association (such as the EHCA) and membership of the IHCA. As you’ll know being involved in one way or another with your local association without the associations there would be no racing, certainly not at international level and, as anyone knows who has ever taken part in a Hobie Worlds there simply is no fairer one design class racing than in the Hobie 16 fleet where sailors change boats every race!"