Cam Owen

Team Name: Gill
Helmsman: Cam Owen
Crew: Susan Ferris
Class: Hobie 16 Open
Nationality: Australian
Favourite item of Gill Kit: Hydrophobe Top and Pro Racer Buoyancy

PROFILE

I started sailing at Mc Crae YC in Victoria over 30 years ago. I sailed a variety of junior classes and found my way onto Catamarans after crewing for my old man on a mosquito. Got my first Paper Tiger when I was 13 years old and sailed them for about 10 years. In this time I won the Inter dominions, Australian Championships and numerous Victorian and NSW State Championships. After the Paper Tiger, I started sailing both the Tornado and the A class. Winning Victorian Championships in both classes and placing at National level. In the late 90's I focussed on the A Class and won some major regattas including the Australian Championships and the Victorian State Championships. Also in that period I placed 6th and 3rd at consecutive A Class World Championships.

About that time I relocated to Perth. Unfortunately for my A Class sailing, there was minimal competition for the A Class which resulted in me temporarily changing focus to sailboarding; however, during this period it became apparent to me that there were a heap of very competitive Hobie 16's in Perth, this made the decision to start to one design racing on the H16 very easy. The transition between the development class in the A Class and the 30 year old Hobie 16 took some time. Fortunately for me I had an experienced crew, Susan Ferris, to show me the ropes. Since starting on the H16 in 2006, Susan and I have won the Australian Championships, NSW State Championships and WA State Championships twice. We have also placed in many of major regattas including 3rd in the 2007 and 7th at the 2010 world championships