Navy’s Balladares, Chavez top PalmOne Hobie Nationals

Through the storm of competition that ruffled the calm waters of Taal Lake, Ridgely Balladares and Rommel Chavez of the Philippine Navy successfully defended their title in the PalmOne Philippine Hobie National Championships at the Taal Lake Yacht Club (TLYC) last weekend.

Balladares and Chavez claimed the crown for the second straight year, while current Asian champion Tong Shing of Hong Kong, together with crewman Evergreen Lee, won in the Open category.

Other winners in the two-day regatta were Tony Stearns and Janet McCulloch in the Masters category and Jun Villanueva and Nestor Soriano in the Group B fleet.

"The race was a great success because of the large fleet and the strong competition. The younger local teams got to compete with six international teams, most of whom are veterans of the Hobie World Championships. In turn, the international teams were happily surprised at the high competitive level of the local teams," said Jun Villanueva of Microwarehouse, which sponsored the event through PalmOne.

Meanwhile, 15 international teams have so far registered for the fifth Philippine Hobie Challenge (PHC), which will be held from Jan. 31-Feb. 7. The PHC is a marathon 200 nautical mile inter-island race from Boracay to Palawan.