1st National Championships for Oz Goose sponsor Hyde Sails International

We are happy to announce that the international sailmakers Hyde Sails will be sponsoring the first Oz Goose National Titles on 18th and 19th November.

(STOP PRESS – VIDEO OZ GOOSE NATIONALS – 17 Oz Goose sailors and boats came from all over the Philippines and we had great racing – See the Video).

The 14 to 20 geese will be racing on the lake with the live volcano – Taal Lake at the Taal Lake Yacht Club. A bit over an hour’s drive south of Manila.

We are working with the national sailing body (PSA) to make it an official sailing event.

The boats all will be sailed with two aboard for the event because of the number of people wanting to participate.

This gets 28 to 40 people on the water.

BTW … that’s at the same cost as importing two Laser dinghies and spared to get just 2 people sailing. Oz Goose sailing is inexpensive (click to see how) and non exclusive.

We have 14 of the building group from the Holy Name School in Davao (the most southern large city in the Philippines) coming to sail in the borrowed boats. This is them along with the instructors.

The year before the PHBYC group (volunteers that teach and help people build their own boats) did another group build in Cebu, the second largest city in the middle of the Philippine Islands. They will be sending four representatives to this inaugural Oz Goose National Championships. Including a works team from Hyde Sails the main event sponsor.

The nucleus of the local fleet was our first group build of 10 boats at Taal Lake Conservation Center, but with other builds since the local number is around 25 of the over 40 boats launched nationally. Here is a group photo of that group build. Hard to imagine it is only 3 years ago.

We are expecting participation from the Paralympic sailing squad as well. Their members regularly join our club racing. Here are Joy and Ritchie in the white boat cranking along about to do a tight round of the mark and come out ahead and Cherrie Pinpin, recently back from a 3rd place in the Asian Paralympic sailing championships in the Green boat.

Normal Club racing is quite tight. So adding teams from the other islands and double the boats of a regular club race will up the competitive ante – though there will be people sailing for fun too. Job in the brown boat has been sailing for a year and a half and is amongst the fastest sailors. He has undergone our coaching and has become a coach in his own right.

Format will be a mix of course racing and (wind willling) the final race will be a 14km out and return drag race across to the islands halfway across Taal Lake, to give the visiting teams a broader perspective on the lake which many of them are visiting for the first time.

If you are an experienced sailor in the Philippines you are welcome to contact Roy Espiritu by email. info@pinoyboats.org to see if we can slot you into a boat for the championship. Or if a learner or more experienced you can join the monthly club racing on Taal Lake.