The History of Fleet 274 
 

Hobie Racing was popularized in the Philippines in the early 80's when Hobie 14s were produced here. Around 100 boats were produced. The height of Hobie racing has to be in 1984 when the World Hobie 14 Championships were held at Puerto Azul.

Click To view the TLYC:  Sailing Instructions ---------------------------- Notice of Race ----------------- Safety Regulations

Unfortunately, in late 1985 a fire destroyed all the moulds, and many of the boats that had just competed in the World Championships.  Hobie Philippines collapsed financially because of the fire. 

The fleet was thrown into the doldrums after that, and only a few people bought Hobie 16's between 1985 and 1996. 

In 1996 Taal Lake Yacht Club was started and it tried to build up the Hobie 16 fleet.  The effort was successful. Today there are around 30 Hobie 16s at TLYC, and these form the core of several events that are undertaken throughout the year. 
 

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 
The first Hobie 16 National Championship was held in Early February of 1997.  Championships have been held at Taal Lake Yacht Club every First weekend in February since then.
In 2003, it changed to January to accomodate the Philippine Hobie Challenge dates.
 

ThePhilippine Hobie Challengewas started in  2000. It is a long distance race that covers around 250 miles in 5 days. Every year, the course has been different.  The focus has been good racing, but also, the race focuses on showing off the natural splendor of the Philippines. Interestingly, it is beginning to attract other Yachts who are eager to volunteer as support craft and come along just for the trip. 

March/April
The Hobie fleet has had a strong showing in past years as a class in thePresidents Cup Regatta. The PCR is generally considered the Philippines largest International regatta, with up to a hundred boats participating. The PCR has traditionally been held Easter week, but sometimes it is held a week earlier, or later.

This is a prime month for special events and in 2002 we held the Suunto Regatta in Boracay.

 April
A special addition to our calendar of "special events" was the "Smart Clubman" event.  We would like to resurect this.

May- October
The TLYC Club Championship is a compilation of the races from May to September or October. It was first started in 2005.

November
In  November, we have the Round Taal Volcano race.   So far it ranks as the "most popular" event. The uniqueness of the event (imagine sailing around a Volcano island!) is unparalleled.  The wind at that time of the year is manageable by most sailors. Add this to the ease of getting to the regatta site, low cost of accommodation in good facilities, and the camaraderie at the evening party, and we have the makings of an event that is sure to stay.  It  will only be limited by the availability of boats! 

Monthly Racing 
On the months when there are no big events, we have racing on the first Sunday of the month. Monthly Racing 
Click on the "MonthlyARCHIVES"and get a list of pages of results and pictures.
 

To find out more about how you can get into the sport, join events, provide sponsorship or avail of advertising opportunities, e-mail peter@sailing.org.ph