ABW Dec 2017

Words by
BARRY
DAWSON
Photographs
as credited
TBecause of the mishap at the beginning of the
year in the Hobie Challenge, where 21 Hobies
were lost at sea in typhoon weather conditions,
the usual Round Taal Volcano
Hobie races and regatta had
to be cancelled for this year,
as replacements of these craft
had not yet arrived.
One of the events on this
weekend was the Oz Goose
race, and this year it was time
for the Oz Goose to shine
in the Inaugural OZ Goose
Nationals Regatta sponsored
by Hyde Sails. The Oz Goose
is a small home built craft with
amazing sailing capabilities.
The Taal Lake Yacht Club
is probably the Philippine’s
most active sailing club and
has traditionally focussed on
the Hobies. However Hobie
16 is far too expensive for the average middle
class family. So Commodore and Founder Peter
Capotosto is looking at the Oz/ PD Goose to bring
more people into the club, increase participation
in sailing and to provide a pool of sailors, some of
whom will move into more advanced sailboat types
as their experience increases. The Oz Goose looks
odd – so how do they sail? Top recorded speed solo
sailing has crept up in the last two years. Originally
The Oz Goose is a
small home built
craft with amazing
sailing capabilities.
12 knots it was raised to 12.9 (both on a tideless
lake in Central Texas. And finally rose to 13.8 knots
on a tideless lake in the Philippines. For fleet racing
they are quite competitive
sailed two up allowing learners
or disabled sailors to take part
in racing against the singlehanders.
But how does the Oz
Goose flat bow and flat bottom
deal with rough water? For six
month of the year the wind
blows down to our lee end of
Taal Lake. They get serious
waves and chop with lots of
reflections off the rocky shore.
The goose is very powerful
because of its high stability
and able to carry full sail
happily in 20 knots even with
65kg sailors. it just smashes
any taller wave tops out of the
way, but a bit of heel gives a
smooth ride. In light winds and
leftover chop they can be quite noisy, but the 89
sq. ft. of sail gives good speed and action is smooth
with a little heel.
The weekend of November 18 & 19 saw 17 Oz
Goose craft compete on the waters of Lake Taal, in
what can only be described as a fun weekend where
the OZ Goose proudly showed the sailing world that
sailing can be fun and inexpensive as well.
Oz Goose
Nationals Regatta
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