Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
Much
has been made of the fact that the Lipton Cup is being sailed in Durban this
year for the first time in ages. For the last four or five years there have
been several big efforts made to get the cup back here by actually winning it.
Despite some good attempts and the best weekly L26 class racing in the country
this didn’t happen and it eventually took the generosity of the Zeekoeivlei
Yacht Club to get the regatta to Durban. A popular theory in the yacht club bars
in this end of the world has been that once the regatta and the cup got up here
it would be as hard for the Cape sailors to get it back as it has been for us
to wrest it away from them. Actually it’s been impossible but that’s not really
the point here. So now that the regatta is actually going to be sailed in
Durban one would think that there would be more enthusiasm than ever before,
more effort being put in on the water and a generally positive air about the
place. Sadly this is not the case and there seem to be less L26’s sailing than
ever before, less effort being put in and very little in the way of enthusiasm
or determination to win the trophy for ourselves. On Sunday the PYC ran the
annual Jonesy Memorial Sprints, an event that always attracts a good following,
which it again did. None of the boats on the water though were L26’s. I was
flabbergasted to see this. Sure its not part of the selection series but it is
racing and another opportunity to practice. There are now only 12 weekends left
until Lipton starts. Of those one is the KZN L26 Champs, another is the
beginning of the NCS Regatta. So that makes ten at most opportunities to get in
some race practice. What I can’t understand is why this opportunity isn’t being
taken. There is no better chance to win a regatta than when it is in your own
back yard is a well-known theory. Its more than a theory actually, its fact.
The past few years of NCS Regatta’s have shown though that the Cape L26 guys
are as easily able to win in Durban as they are in their home waters. So why
aren’t the Durban sailors making the most of this opportunity? We have the
regatta here, it’s as close as we have been in ages to actually having the cup
and more importantly the best chance we are likely to have of actually winning it.
I really hope to see a big effort coming in the next few weeks, it is vitally
important that the KZN fleet puts up a good showing in this regatta and the
biggest reality of all that needs to be faced right now is that it needs a big
effort to get it right. Anyone who is in any doubt about that should just think
back to the L26 training weekend a few weeks back. Everyone knows what needs to
be done; it is just a question of getting out there and doing it! Will it
happen though??
Now
on the subject of L26 sailing, today we have added the Notice of Race for the
2003 KZN L26 Champs to the Notices of Race web page. This regatta,
which takes place in the middle of June, should be a perfect warm-up for the
NCS Regatta and Lipton and I think that we can expect to see not only a good
local but also a strong Gauteng and Western Cape contingent taking part.
Optimist African Championships
Win A Ronstan Clearstart Watch
RNYC Ocean
Sailing Dinghy Series
The 2003 Optimist African Championships ended in Port Elizabeth on Saturday when
the final fleet races were sailed. Sunday saw the teams competing in for a
team-racing trophy. As far as the regatta goes it seems to have been very
successful with 15 races sailed during the week. Overall victory finally went
to an American sailor, Cam Cullman, after a week that saw the lead change
almost daily. Prior to the final day of racing Aaron Larkens had been the sailor
to hold onto the lead for the longest. He eventually finished in second place
with fellow South African and defending African champion Rudy McNeil taking the
final podium place. The final regatta report follows:
“Cam
Cullman of the USA has won the 2003 African Optimist Sailing Championships,
here at Algoa Bay Yacht Club. Cam put in another great performance on the last
day of fleet racing to open up the points gap at the top of the results table,
from Aaron Larkens of South Africa. Cam carded a second and two firsts on
Saturday to finish 26 points ahead of Aaron who had a disappointing day by
comparison to his results of prior days. Over the regatta as a whole, Cam had 5
firsts and was in the top five positions in 11 of the 15 races. He has not been
outside of the top 5 in any race since Tuesday.
The day's
other race winner was Brett Stirk of South Africa, who finished in fourth place
overall, 16 points behind Aaron. Rudy McNeill had another good day on the water
and moved up into third place overall, 10 points behind Larkens.
Thomas
Fink from the USA is fifth overall. He, like Aaron, had a less successful day
by his own standards, still finishing all three races in the top ten, but none
the less dropping back two positions from his overall third position at the end
of Friday.
The
wind overnight had swung towards the East and came through strongly. Upon
arriving at the yacht club, the wind was blowing at 28 knots with rough seas.
Sailing was postponed for a decision by 11am. By this stage the wind had begun
to subside and a decision was made to go out. All three of the remaining races
were sailed in a moderate to fresh Easterly wind and with a large swell running
with the occasional breaking wave. Racing started in around 18 knots of wind,
which built steadily into the mid twenties during the course of the three
races.
Morgan
Wilson of the USA finished in 6th place overall and is first girl in the
Championships. Saturday's performances edged a fourth American into the top 10,
the other 6 all being South Africans. America's Eliza Richartz took over 10th
position overall and is second girl, followed by Phillipa Baer of South Africa.
The
best performing sailor outside of the USA and South African fleets is Hamza
Lboukili of Morocco who finished in 11th place overall. Next best were Islam
Benhadj of Algeria in 16th position and Dina Ramadan of Egypt in 17th.
Th
conditions over the course of the week have certainly not been easy, with
vastly different sailing conditions on almost every day. This has certainly
tested the skills of each of the 54 competitors. Kenya and Uganda in particular
have relatively young and less experienced sailors, and the regatta provded an
excellent chance for these sailors to get some big regatta experience. Although
strong winds and high seas sometimes took their toll, it was really encouraging
to see the spirit and determination of these newer sailors and which was
rewarded on occasion with a good result. Christopher Childs of Kenya had a 7th
in the second last race, while Lars Garvey also had a 7th on the second day.
On Sunday, the
focus changes to international team racing with two teams of four boats each
sailing against each other at a time, on a round-robin basis. The closing
ceremony and prize giving takes place thereafter, at 18h00 at the club. “
The
top five positions were as follows:
1st
Cam Cullman USA 38 Points
2nd
Aaron Larkens RSA 64
3rd
Rudy McNeill RSA 74
4th
Brett Stirk RSA 80
5th
Thomas Fink USA 86
There has been some hurried behind the scenes work to officially
incorporate the inaugural IRC
National Championships
into the 2003 NCS Regatta with the results that a new NOR has now
been released. This document is of course posted on our Notices of Race page
and differs from the original only in that it includes the IRC class and
details pertaining to it so if you have already got a copy of the NOR but are
sailing a one design don’t worry about downloading the new notice. Still, with
the regatta a relatively short time away and a lot to do, especially if you are
shipping your boat to the event, get cracking now and make sure that it all
happens. Should you have any queries regarding anything to do with the 2003 NCS
Regatta please address them to bob.campbell@liblink.co.za.
The South African Hunter Class Association is running and interesting
competition that is open to all members of the yachting fraternity. With the
building of the new Hunters by Fast Yachts in Durban came the need to rename
the boats, the name Hunter is trademarked so they came up with F19. The boats
are still Hunters though, exactly the same design as those previously built,
its just the name that is different. With the need to use a new name came also
the need to use a new logo. This is where it gets interesting. A Ronstan Clearstart watch, valued at just under R1 000-00 is on
offer to the creator of the best new logo for the class. The design brief is
for an appropriate yet exciting logo that will be cost effective and durable on
a sail for many years. It should also make good use of the colours red and
black however is not limited to these. Full details of the competition
including the rules and design brief are available on the Smooth Sailing web site and at www.hunterclass.com. The competition closes on the 30th
of April so get cracking on those designs now. Once you have completed your
design e-mail it to hunter.yachts@iafrica.com.
With Lipton Cup just around the corner many of you will be
interested to note that the L26 Class has
just approved some rule changes. Under the new rules bunk cushions now become
an optional item so you don’t have to lug them around the racecourse. This also
removes the inherent problem of keeping the things dry. Also removed from the
rules is the limit on how far back in the boat the padded toe rails can be
fitted. This means that these can now go as far as the helmsman giving him
something comfortable to sit on. Neither of these rules will materially affect
the performance of the boats. The padding on the rail will simply make them a
little more comfortable to sail for the helmsman while the removal of the
cushions is a very sensible move and something that should have been done years
ago. The new rules became effective as of the 28th of March, which
means that they apply now and for the major regattas coming up in the next few
months.
Despite the poor sailing weather on Saturday the RNYC’s Ocean Sailing Series attracted a relatively good
turnout of 9 Lasers, five Flying Fifteens, two 505’s, two 29ers, two Sprogs and
a Europe. While the fleet clearly
should have been much bigger the persistent rain earlier in the day and the
lack of wind in the afternoon obviously put the less hardy sailors off. Race
officer Terry Flynn did the right thing and started the racing dead on time.
This left a good few boats still making their way to the start when the gun
went. Hopefully they will learn their lesson and be on time next time around.
What wind there was, was a light and very switchy northeasterly that made for
very trying conditions. Nonetheless it was all good fun and judging by the
atmosphere in the pub afterwards everyone seemed to have had a good time. The
full results are posted on the Smooth Sailing Racing Reports web page.
Dinghy Sailing next Saturday, the 12th of April, is in
the form of the PYC’s
Bar Anniversary Mug. This is another of the popular pursuit races that usually
attracts a very diverse entry including a good number of Hobies and a few other
out of the ordinary boats. Mike Surgeson is the race officer for this event and
will be taking care of the handicapping. Please remember that to make sure that
this event runs smoothly you need to get and entry in nice and early, before
12:00 in fact, in order that the start times can be allocated. There will be
more information about this race in Friday’s newsletter.
Sunday’s Jonesy Memorial Sprints saw a fleet of 7 keelers heading out to sea in for what can
only have been a tough day of sailing in a fresh northeasterly breeze. Terry
Flynn was again the race officer making sure that all the racing in Durban was
well run this weekend. It is good to see that of the 7 boats out on the water 5
were cruising boats. What is not good to see is that none were L26’s but you
have probably already seen my thoughts on that in the editorial section. While the full results are posted on the
Smooth Sailing Racing Reports web page the top three places were as follows:
1st Ciao Bella Simonis 35 Harry Ellens
2nd Donna Mia J27 Gavin
Smith
3rd Sundance Holiday 34 Errol Rutherford
As you will no doubt have read in Friday’s newsletter IRC Racing is going to step up a gear in KZN this
winter with the inaugural IRC Nationals and KZN Champs to be sailed as well as
the Vasco Race using that system. With all this sailing coming up there are
bound to be a good few boats that need to be measured for IRC Ratings. The
thing with measuring for IRC is that it calls for the boat to be weighed. Crane
hire is expensive so the more boats that get measured and weighed at the same
time the cheaper it is for everyone. There is a concerted effort underway in
Durban at present to arrange the combined measuring and weighing of as many
boats as possible in the next month or two. So if you have a yacht that needs
to be measured for IRC please drop James Kier a line and let him know. James is
that guy co-ordinating this exercise as well as being the official IRC Measurer
in KZN. For more information drop him a line at jimbric@ananzi.co.za.
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 |
|
|
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 |
|
|
Durban
Radio Boat Club |
11 May |
|
|
Royal Cape Yacht Club |
16 to 18 May |
|
|
Zululand
Yacht Club |
14 to 16
June |
|
|
Point
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
"L CID"
A good clean and fast boat.
Plenty of sails, 5 hp mercury motor.
Currently lying Richards Bay
Ready for Lipton in Durban
Phone before I change my mind!
R65 000-00 neg.
Cell: 083 303 9351
Office : 035-751 1416
E-Mail: wadeciv@iafrica.com
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.