Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
Today’s
newsletter is packed with news of current and upcoming events all of a local
nature. We have some particularly good news for those of you thinking of
shipping your boats to the 2003 NCS Regatta but please be aware that time is
off the essence for the planning of this event so read what we have to say and
start getting the ball rolling now!
The
Notices of Race list seems to be constantly
expanding while our relatively new policy of posting complete regatta and Race Results on the Smooth
Sailing web site is attracting more and more users to the
site with constantly increasing traffic in the last while. Now all that we need
is for more of you to make more frequent use of our Message
Board. I think that this potentially very useful facility is
terribly under-utilised and would like to see more sailors posting their
comments on it.
RNYC Ocean
Sailing Dinghy Series
PYC
Easter Regatta For Dinghies Offshore
After making the NOR available to you
earlier this week we have some more Important NCS Regatta News for you today. Those of you who have already read the NOR, and in
particular those parts pertaining to the shipping of boats to the regatta, will
have noticed that although the shipping is free the organisers were not
guaranteeing that the harbour dues and any other peripheral charges would be
covered. Well the good news this morning is that I have received confirmation
from the Chairman of the Regatta Organising Committee that both the Terminal
Handling Charge, an amount of R3 778-00 per yacht and the Coastwise Cargo Due,
an amount of R432-00 have been waived. This means that there is absolutely NO
COST in shipping your boat to Durban for the NCS Regatta! Now is that good news
or what? On a more serious not I have also been advised that MSC have
considerably fewer ships on hand for the transporting of yachts this year.
Since they will only be able to ship approximately five yachts per ship they
may need to start shipping the yachts to Durban a lot earlier than they have in
the past. This means that prospective competitors need to decide early if they
are going top take part in the regatta and get your shipping applications in.
Last minute requests for shipping may not be entertained so please avoid
disappointment and start sorting this out now. Should you have any further
queries regarding shipping in particular for the NCS Regatta please address
them to bob.campbell@liblink.co.za.
Other good NCS Regatta news is that SAS
this week ratified the formation of the South African IRC Class Association. This opens the way for the IRC Class to
hold their first ever KZN Champs, which will take place from the 14th
to the 16th of June in Richard’s Bay, and after that the inaugural
National Championships, which will take place as part of the NCS Regatta. Now
this may have come about a little late to make it into the NCS NOR but not to
worry, a separate NOR for the IRC Nationals will be issued shortly and will be
posted on the Smooth Sailing Notices of Race web page just as soon as it is available.
Since the Nationals will be part of the NCS Regatta IRC boats coming from Cape
Town or other South African ports will be eligible for all the NCS Regatta
perks so start the arrangements now to get your yacht on the ship.
For the IRC fleet the NCS Regatta is just
the first attraction, the second is the 2003 Vasco Da Gama Race this year sponsored by Orion. This years race starts in
Maputo on Sunday the 13th of July and with any luck will be even
bigger and better than last years outstanding race which attracted an excellent
fleet of 24 boats. With the race more than a week after the NCS Regatta this
gives plenty of time to get boats up to Maputo and even allows a little time
for a few relaxing days on the island of Inhaca if you get it completely right.
Crews who are sailing in the Lipton Cup Regatta that takes place in the week between
the NCS Regatta and Vasco Race will be able to take a bus up to Maputo from
Durban on Saturday the 12th of July. This is a service that is being
put on by the race organisers and more details of it will be available at a
later stage. The NOR is not yet out but I expect it shortly and will make it
available on the Smooth Sailing Notices of Race page just as soon as I get it. In the
meantime if you have any queries on Vasco Race you can address them to Dave
Claxton at function@iafrica.com.
Your Weekend
Weather according to the SA Weather Service
will be as follows:
Durban & Richard’s
Bay: Saturday will be 28
degrees and cloudy becoming partly cloudy. The wind will be a light north
westerly becoming a light northeasterly by the afternoon. Sunday will be 31
degrees, sunny and humid with a moderate northeasterly wind blowing.
Midmar: Saturday will be 24 degrees and partly cloudy after
morning fog. The wind will be a light northeasterly. Sunday will be 27 degrees
and sunny after morning mist with the wind again a light northeasterly.
Vaal Dam: Saturday will be 25 degrees and partly cloudy with a
light northeasterly wind blowing. Sunday will be 26 degrees and clear with a
light southwesterly wind blowing.
Cape Town: Saturday will be 30 degrees and clear
with coastal fog later in the day. The wind will be a moderate northwesterly.
Sunday will be 26 degrees and fine with morning fog in patches. The wind will
be a fresh southerly.
There is a fair bit of sailing on the go
in Durban this weekend. On Saturday the RNYC are running their Ocean Sailing Series for Dinghies in the bay. Racing will take place on the
deepwater course with two races scheduled. The first of these will start at
14:00. Terry Flynn is the race officer for the afternoon so you can be sure
that the races will start on time, the line will be pretty even and the courses
good.
On Sunday PYC are running their Jonesy Memorial Sprints. This keeler racing takes place offshore
with the first of a possible three races starting at 11:00. While it is not
part of the KZN Lipton Selection Series I still hope to see a good turnout of
L26’s on the water, time is short until Lipton and all practice is vital. In
addition this event should attract a good turnout of other racers and cruisers.
It is held in memory of the later Ian Jones, the well-known Durban sailor who
was most often seen on the Stadt 34 Auberge when she was racing in Durban. I
really hope to see a good turnout of all yachts, big and small, for this event.
The Optimist
African Champs have been
going along fairly successfully in Port Elizabeth this week. The South African
team continues to dominate and after eight races occupy seven of the top ten
positions. Those other three top ten positions are occupied by American sailors
with the first non-South African African being a Moroccan sailor in 11th
place. With yesterday, Thursday, being an off day, the last day of racing was
Wednesday when only one race was sailed in a fresh westerly that got up to 32
knots. The last report received from
the regatta was as follows:
“A total of 7
protests were heard by the jury for Tuesday's racing. Only one outcome
had an influence on the results, with Dina Mahamed of Egypt being disqualified
due for a sail measurement band infringement after being 7th across the finish
line in race 7. The day began, like
prior days, largely windless, but with the prospect of a fresh Westerly wind
later in the morning. This came through at around 12 noon at around 24
knots, West /South-West. Only one race was possible in a stiffening
wind. By the end of the race, the wind was gusting up to 32 knots making
for difficult sailing conditions. The race was won by Justin Onvlee from
Port Elizabeth, followed by Cam Cullman of the USA and then overnight leader
Aaron Larkens, who continues to top the results table at the end of the
third day on 31 points. Brett Stirk had a third place in the race
and is in second place overall on 38 points, followed by Cam Cullman just 2
points further behind. Justin Onvlee is lying fourth overall, just 2
points behind Cam. There are currently 7 South Africans in the top 10
positions, the other places being filled by competitors from the USA. Top girl is still Morgan Wilson, in 7th place overall
on 63 points. Second girl is South African Phillipa Baer is lying 13th overall
on 91 points. Racing is scheduled to start again today, Friday, at 10:00.
You can find
the full results on the Smooth Sailing Racing Reports page, in the meantime the top three
positions are as follows:
1st Aaron
Larkens RSA 31 Points
2nd Brett Stirk RSA 38
3rd Cam Cullman USA 40
This
week’s Wednesday Evening
Fun Racing, hosted by the
PYC and sponsored by SAB, saw a good turnout of five racers, five Fast 42’s,
and 21 cruising boats. In a really light northeaster the fleet sailed only one
lap of the course before the sun set completely leaving everyone to head home
in the dark. Sadly it is becoming more apparent by the week that the sun is
setting earlier and earlier. The chances to enjoy your midweek break are
getting fewer and fewer so make sure that you take the next opportunity to get
out on the water. The results of the evening’s race are as follows:
Racing
Fleet:
1st
Coia Bella Simonis 35 Harry Ellens
2nd
Ladybird Simonis Cat Andrew Dolloway
3rd
Flying Dragon Dragonfly
Cruising Fleet
1st
Close Again L34 Andrew Heathcote
2nd
Chatur Theta Greg Challis
3rd
Solar Cruiser Lavranos Dave Cox
Fast 42
1st
Adios
2nd
Uhambe
3rd
Kimaya
Now to the Fast 42’s, and the reason there
were so many of these boats on the water. Earlier in the day Fast Yachts held a brand launch at which they
unveiled their new logo and announced a new association with marketing partner
Enterprise IG. Enterprise IG have formulated Fast Yachts new brand image with
the aim of supporting the companies objective of building credibility in the
international market. For the evening they had five of their most recently
launched yachts on hand to take their guests sailing for the evening and enjoy
some time on the company’s product. It is good to see just how far this Durban,
well Pinetown to be exact, based company has gone in just two years. They have
now sold 25 boats boat locally and internationally and are producing a high
quality yachts built to international standards. They have also recently moved
to a new factory tailor made to their needs and as well as the Fast 42 have
recently expended their range to include the F19, the locally built Hunter, and
there is a 54 footer on the way too. Fast Yachts Fast 42’s have already had
considerable success on the racing scene with their most impressive results to
date being first and third places overall on the 2003 SAP Cape To Rio Race. For
more information on Fast Yachts visit www.fastyacht.co.za.
The second briefing for the 2003 Winter Flotilla Cruise to Inhaca Island was held at the RNYC yesterday, Thursday evening. It is extremely pleasing to see that some 14 yachts and their crews, totalling over 50 people, confirmed their participation in the Winter Flotilla Cruise up the East Coast to Inhaca Island to be held during the first two weeks of May. Flotilla Organiser, Rob Upton, and Flotilla Leader, Nuno Quartin, briefed participants on the intended itinerary, dive sites to be visited, and Customs and Immigration arrangements concluded for Inhaca Island. The Final Briefing for this event will be held at the RNYC on Thursday, 24th April, at 18:00. If you would like to join this cruise up the East Coast, then contact Rob Upton on 031-305 2844 or 031-205 3178 or Nuno Quartin on 031-562 1294 or 082 749 9607.
Easter Weekend is fast approaching and there is a good deal
of sailing to be done on that weekend. The major regatta of the weekend in
Durban will be the PYC
Easter Regatta.
Traditionally this has been one of the biggest offshore dinghy regattas of the
season attracting a good entry of boats to the PYC’s Beach Site and this year
the regatta organisers are pulling out all the stops to make sure that it is a
bumper event. As well as being the KZN Champs for the Sprog, 505 and Hobie
classes the regatta will include racing for 29ers, Lasers, Flying Fifteens,
Tornados, Halcats and any other class that comes along with sufficient numbers.
For those classes too small to have their own start there will be an all in
class to sail in. This regatta provides a great opportunity to sail dinghies in
one of the best offshore venues in the world, something that we really don’t
take enough advantage of. I trust that we will see a huge turnout of dinghies
for this regatta, especially in those classes that are sailing their KZN
Champs!
Our Notices of Race page on the Smooth Sailing has all the NOR’s available to us. If you
have a regatta coming up and would like to make the NOR available online then
e-mail it to hethcot@iafrica.com and it will be posted and
listed in this newsletter. To get your copy simply click on the name of the
regatta you are interested in below:
|
Regatta |
Venue |
Dates |
|
Various
KZN Clubs |
December
2002 to July 2003 |
|
|
Royal
Natal & Point Yacht Clubs |
March to
May 2003 |
|
|
Island
Sailing Club |
5 &
6 April |
|
|
Durban
Radio Boat Club |
12 &
13 April |
|
|
Saldahana
Bay |
18 to 21
April |
|
|
Inhaca
Island to Richard’s Bay |
18 April |
|
|
PYC
Beach Site |
18 to 21
April 2003 |
|
|
Henley
Midmar Yacht Club |
26 to 28
April |
|
|
Witbank
Yacht & Aquatic Club |
26 to 28
April |
|
|
East London Yacht Club |
26 to 30 April |
|
|
Henley
Midmar Yacht Club |
3 May |
|
|
Royal Cape Yacht Club |
16 to 18 May |
|
|
Zululand
Yacht Club |
14 to 16
June |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
28 June to 4 July |
The Classifieds has been updated on the Smooth Sailing web site. Take a surf past to see what is for sale or sought after in the wanted column. To place an ad, e-mail the details to hethcot@iafrica.com.
FOR SALE
Sail No. 1997
DuToit Hull
Multiple Nationals Winner & Current
National Champion
Excellent condition
Seriously fast boat!
Contact: Jof Heathcote
Cell: 083 714 3238
E-Mail: hethcot@iafrica.com
“JACK THE
LADD”
A high
performance racing boat with a large cockpit
Boat is on
trailer in Cape Town
Lightweight
racing construction
Optimised
keel for heavy winds
Complete with
outboard 6 Hp Mariner and remote tank
No. 1, No. 2
No. 3 and storm Jib
Mainsail
Large light
wind spinnaker
Heavy weather
spinnaker
Depth and
speed instruments
Duall
compasses
Price R
125 000-00
Contact:
Peter Hill
Cell: 083 384
5924
Email: hillbilly@global.co.za
29er
2 rigs
New main and Jib
Dolly, Harness
Extra line
R27000-00
Contact: Thor Proulx
Cell: 073 278 0758
E-Mail: thor_proulx@yahoo.com
Including spinaker
On new road trailer
All in reasonable
condition
Offers on R2 500.00
Contact: Mark Spooner
Cell: 082 558 6032
E-mail: spooner@intekom.co.za
WANTED
Suitable for
L36
Contact: Jeff
Montjoie
Phone:
011-823 2402
E-mail: jmo@clearspan.co.za
Contact:
Richard Barron
E-Mail: Richard@creatinginsight.co.za
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
This newsletter is
distributed free of charge to anyone who chooses to subscribe to it. The
subject matter contained herein is entirely of a yachting orientated nature or
that which may be of interest to yachtsmen.
Please note that the views
contained in this newsletter are those of the authors concerned and in no way
reflect the view or policies of any of Smooth Sailings associate clubs,
sponsors or advertisers.
To be added to the mailing
list send a blank e-mail to sailing.join@ffs.co.za.
To be removed from the list please send a blank e-mail to sailing.remove@ffs.co.za.
All submissions are welcome. News of any club or yachting related
event should be sent to hethcot@iafrica.com
for publication.
Smooth Sailing is kindly distributed courtesy of FFS Refiners (Pty) Ltd.