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News By A Sailor For Sailors!
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The
Cape To Rio saga which first appeared in Nose Week earlier this month
resurfaced yesterday on the front page of the Business Day. There was nothing
new in the article but once again it is not the kind of publicity that the
sport needs. As always though journalists don’t get it completely right and
there is an interesting letter clearing up some points raised in the article on
the Smooth
Sailing Letters to the Editor web page. Read it and if you
have anything to add feel free to e-mail you thoughts to me at hethcot@iafrica.com.
Manex
Marine Western Province Champs
Flying
Fifteen New Boats Fund Raiser
Hyeres Olympic Classes Regatta
MACS 24-Hour Race On Television
This coming weekend sees the HMYC 9-Hour Endurance Race taking place at Midmar. With upwards of
80 entries expected it looks to be a fantastic event again. I am hearing word
on the ground of a few late campaigns coming together with some talented
sailors involved. Being a handicap event there could also be some serious
thought going into who is sailing what as the fast guys try their best to make
sure that they come out on top. Its not all about that though and I am sure
that there will once again be some very festive and social boats making their
way around the course on Saturday. It’s not just about the race though, on
Saturday evening there will be a huge party in the SAB tent with 500ml draughts
on sale for only R6-00 and a wide range of quality meals on sale too. For those
who have entered and signed in there will be a free breakfast on Sunday
morning, served from the beer tent. One wonders if this isn’t because the
organisers expect that some sailors wont have left there from the night before
yet! The race itself starts at 10:00 on Saturday morning and finishes and hour
or so after dark at 19:00. the prizegiving will take place a little after that
and the beer tent will once again be in full swing. It should all be loads of
fun and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces there. For more detailed
information on the event visit www.geocities.com/hmyc_racing.
It is sometime away but not as far as we may think. The Sailing KZN AGM is set to take place on the 6th
of June. Under the new SAS constitution Sailing KZN now has a lot more control
over your yachting activities than previously and it is important that you, the
sailor, are happy with the way it is being run. It is also important that you
know what is going on within the structures that govern your sport. If you are
presently not happy with the way something is going on within Sailing KZN then
perhaps it is time for you to put up your hand and get onto one of the committees,
lend a hand and do something positive for your sport. So, diarise the date of
the AGM and get thinking. If you are going to put up your hand now is the time
to do so. Committees that are selected on the night from people press ganged
into doing jobs are seldom effective. I am sure that there are committed
sailors out there who want to do something positive for their sport. Should you
want to get involved with any of the Sailing KZN Committees then contact the
Sailing KZN secretary, Sandy, at sailsa@hit.co.za.
The Sharks came close but ultimately failed against
the Auckland Blues on Saturday going down 25 points to 16. Once again they
fought hard but just didn’t have the firepower to stay ahead on top of the
Blues who scored all the points in the second half. The Sharks now have on game
left on their tour, this weekend’s match against the Queensland Reds. This will
be a game that the Sharks will want to win. After all when they come home it
will only be to face a rampant Bulls side at Loftus. A win in their final tour
game will make them the most successful of the South African teams on their
Super 12 tours this season, in fact winning two games on Super 12 tours is something
that has only been done twice before by SA teams, once by the Sharks and once
by the Cats.
Today, Wednesday, is the final PYC Wednesday Evening Fun Race of the season and leaves only one more
Wednesday of sailing to be hosted by RNYC in a weeks time. Racing starts as
usual at 17:30 and will be followed by an after party at PYC. Including today
you have only two more chances to go sailing in the middle of the week until
October, make use of the chance and get out onto the water tonight.
I received the following report on last weekend’s Manex Marine Western Province Dinghy &
Multihull Champs from
Roger Bartholomew:
Once
in a while there is a truly traditional Championship that has that something
extra and has most of the Competitors excited and wanting to come back again.
It
was big, 211 boats in the SAS Western Cape Dinghy and Multihull recognised
Classes including for the first time the Flying Fifteen Class who took part in
their first ever Western Cape Championship. Two courses were used one for the
Multihulls and the other for the Dinghies with an inner one for the Optimists,
and there were 35 of them buzzing all over. The arrangement worked well
although it was a little crowded at times.
The
weather was the only one that did not co-operate all that well as it was a bit
light most of the time and a little foggy early in the mornings, but racing
usually got away at 1130 or so.
The
initiative of South African Sailing, Western Cape in bringing the Multihulls
and the Dinghies together was a real success, there was much inter action off
the water. This can only be good for sailing in the long run and the idea must
be pursued to keep the momentum going.
The
most pleasing aspect, and one that will really have benefits for sailing was
the excellent attendance of the Youngsters, 35 Optimists and 27 Dabchicks. This
was no doubt due to the strong Development action of some Clubs who made
sterling efforts in this direction and the results of their efforts were very
visible. Little Taariq Jacobs won the Optimists easily and this earned him the
special sponsors prize from Manex and Power Marine of a super Suunto watch that
had a lot of bells and whistled. The expression on his face when he came up to
receive this super prize for Outstanding Performance was a picture and will
live in the minds of those who were there for a long time. It made the
Organising Committee feel real proud.
One
of the most pleasing sights at the Championships was the large Flying Fifteen
fleet. They are so graceful and took to their first Western Cape Championship
very well attracting some KZN entries, Peter Morgenrood and Hemraj Gokal and
two stalwarts from the Cape, Gerhard Koper and Charles Nankin. It looks like a
rosy future for this Class. Peter Vowles and crew Denzil Ulyate won and this
looks like a first Provincial Title for Saldanha Bay YC, the home of the Class.
Great stuff. !!!
There
were quite a few in the “O” class, some Fireballs, Enterprise, 505,
Another
pleasing feature was the number of up Entries from up country Clubs, East Rand
YC, Bonamanzi SC, Boskop YC Wits YC, RNYC, point YC, and a bit closer to home,
Knysna YC, George Lakes YC, and Redhouse YC,
If
there was a disappointment in respect of a Class it was the Lasers with 26, (15
full rigs and 11 Radials). Otherwise the other fleets were good.
The
Race Officers, Viv James on the dinghy Course and Jannie Uys on the Multihulls
did a really sterling job and made use of absolutely every bit of sailing time.
The
stars of the show were the backroom guys and girls, the Organising Committee
under Roger Bartholomew. There was a good spread from the 3 host Clubs,
Vogelvlei YC, Milnerton AC, and Imperial YC who all worked very hard for 9
months putting the event together and can be well satisfied with their efforts.
It was a superb Championship with very few hiccups.
They
had some extremely welcome help form the local Navy Base, SAS Saldanha under
Capt Shelley, who made some jetty space and rescue boat parking available. The
Saldanha Port Captain, Ravi Naicker was most co-operative, and sent out a good
April 1 challenge. He must be on his toes next year.
Saldanha
Bay we will be back.
Laser
Radial (11entries)
1st
Geoffrey Rhodes (IYC)
2nd
Warren Wilson (IYC)
3rd
Sean Heydenrych (ZVYC)
4th
Pierre Bekker (HYC)
Laser (15 entries)
1st
Peter Shaw (ZVYV)
2nd
Alan Keen (ZVYC)
3rd
Lance Burger (ZVYC)
4th
Craig Sterling (UCTYC)
5th
Rob Meek (ZVYC)
Optimists
(35)
1st
Taariq Jacobs (ZVYC)
2nd
Alexander McClarty ((ZVYC)
3rd
Daniel Moreau (IYC)
4th
Andrew Collier (Redhouse YC)
5th
Josh Saunders (Redhouse YC)
6th
James Largier (TSC)
Novice
Optimist (5)
1st
Carolyn Halvorson (ZVYC)
2nd
Nicholas Camp (ZVYC)
3rd
Scott Behrens (IYC)
Dabchick (24)
1st
William Norton (TSC)
2nd
Finn Fitzsimons (ZVYC)
3rd
Duncan Matthews (ZVYC)
4th
Nicholas Pratt (IYC)
5th
Markus Progli (IYC)
GP
14 (National Champs) (11)
1st
Richard Parker/Dave Hawkins (ERYC)
2nd
Grant Parker/Wouter Langhout (ZVYC)
3rd
Anthony Parker/Diane Parker (Wits YC)
Flying
Fifteen (10)
1st
Peter Vowles/Denzil Ulyate (Saldanha Bay YC)
2nd
Gerhard Koper/Charles Nankin (ZVYC)
3rd
Peter Morgenrood/Hemraj Gokal (Royal Natal YC)
Extra (23)
1st
Alex Runciman (UCTYC)
2nd
Stephen duToit (ZVYC)
3rd
David Rae (ZVYC)
4th
Mark Sadler (ZVYC)
5th
Ric Nankin (ZVYC)
Sprog
(6)
1st
John Eloff/Claire McClarty
2nd
Jamie Waters/Cara Wares (UCTYC)
3rd
Neil Mackellar/Leone Nowell (UCTYC)
Finn (5)
1st
Klaus Weixel-Baumer (ZVYC)
2nd
Ali Serritslev (RCYC)
3rd
Alastair Peden (HBYC)
Sonnet (13)
1st
Greg Davis/Gretta Davis (ZVYC)
2nd
Alan Everett/Susan Fraser (IYC)
3rd
Steven Rhodes/Mary Hartley (UCTYC)
Mirror (16)
1st
Waldo Zevenster/Wayne Watkins (RedhouseYC)
2nd
Fuad Jacobs/Francois Strydom (ZVYC)
3rd
Nigel Smithie/Candice Smithie (MAC)
4th
Thomas Thornton/Chris Dracos (PYC)
Mosquito
One Design (5)
1st
Danie Snyman/Gideon Snyman (VYC)
2nd
Conrad Schwindt/Claire McDonald (VYC)
3rd
Garrat Hall/Willo Hall) VYC)
Mosquito
F16 (5)
1st
Sarel v d Merwe/Charmaine v d Merwe (VYC)
2nd
Kevin Webb/Diane Webb (VYC)
3rd
Steve Mellet/Claudia Richert (VYC)
Hobie
Tiger (6)
1st
Shaun Ferry/John v d Vyver (FHBSC)
2nd
Richard Ayres/Lawrence Edwards (FHBSC)
3rd
Hylton Hale/Johnny Cullum (RCYC)
Hobie
16 (23)
1st
William Edwards/Lucinda Edwards (Knysna YC)
2nd
Blaine Dodds/Roxanne Dodds (Knysna YC)
3rd
Gordon McGillivray/Lindy McGillivray (FHBSC)
4th
John Ryall/Jackie Pierpoint (FHBSC)
5th David Kruyt/Michael-Joshua Kruyt (FHBSC)
Still in the
Western Cape but on the subject of offshore racing. The organisers of the 2003 Orion Vasco
Da Gama Race will be making a presentation on this years event to potential
competitors. This will take place at the Royal Cape Yacht Club on Friday the 9th
of May at 17:30 for 18:00. They will be giving an overview of last years race,
an outline of what is planned and expected for this years event and will be
fielding questions from potential competitors. They will also briefly be
discussing the development of the IRC Class in South Africa. As an added bonus
there will be a complimentary bar for a period of time. For more information on
this presentation contact Dave Claxton on 082 455 1071.
The Flying Fifteen Fleet has for
many years been one of the more active classes in Durban but with an ageing
fleet and no new boats being built here there was a question over how long the
class would last. A few of the Durban owners have got together and are
presently building a new boat, to the modern shape currently being built in the
UK, and are hoping to go into production later in the year. They are not just
looking to see the boats locally though and are hoping to make inroads into the
international market. With this in mind Peter Morgenrood and James Kier will be
off to the UK later in the year to compete in the 2003 British Nationals in the
first of the new boats. The boat is currently under construction and should be
completed in the next month to six weeks. While the Rand may have strengthened
considerably in the last while campaigning in the UK is still expensive and to
help with these costs James has organised a fundraiser. On the evening of the
17th of May the proceeds from the Aldo Brincat show “Defending the
Cavebrats”, which will play at the Hillcrest Highschool, will go towards their
campaign costs. Tickets for the show cost R50-00 each and with a limited number
available it is essential to get yours early. To book your ticket contact James
Kier on 083 654 0763. “Defending the Cavebrats” is a high quality comedy that
will have you in stitches. It has played at various venues around South African
and has received race revues.
The first of the
season’s major Olympic Classes Regattas is taking place this week in Hyere in
the South of France. The Semaine Olympique Francaise Regatta, more commonly
known as the Hyeres Regatta, has attracted a fleet of over 1 000 entries in
all the Olympic Classes. With only a year to go until the Olympics the pace is
going to be red hot in all the classes as competitors try to qualify both
themselves and their countries for the 2004 games. With the Volvo Race and
America’s Cup both out of the way also expect a few seriously high profile
campaigners to appear on the scene trying to crack a spot at the games. Most of
these will be found in the Star class, which seems to be the trendy fleet for
most top sailors to be in these days. At Hyere there are two South African’s taking
part. Gareth Blankenburg is back on the campaign trail and he looks to be in
good form again. After a relatively slow start he won the fourth race of the
regatta in his group and is certainly looking extremely competitive at the
front of the fleet again. Also taking part is Greg Barker who is sailing his
new 49er. Not having spent as much time on the campaign trail as Gareth and
also having to hold down a job in between sailing to pay the bills he is a
little off the pace but I am sure will improve as the regatta goes on. Day one
of the event was particularly breezy, as often happens at this regatta, and the
49er and Finn fleets seem to have born the brunt of the heavy conditions with
several breakages in both. Their positions are currently as follows:
Laser Gareth Blankenburg After 4 Heats 7th
(157 Entries)
49er Gregg Barker After
5 Heats 41st (53 Entries)
For more information on this event visit the regatta web site at http://hyeres.ffvoile.net/.
There is a great
deal of enthusiasm in the Dart Class in KZN with these boats being in high
demand in the inland regions in particular while they are also sailed at other
clubs in the region. So, with the boats in demand the class and is desperate to
find any unused boats either to be bought or to get them and their owners onto
the water. If you have a Dart sitting in your back yard then please contact
Mark De Wet on 082 804 4415 or at mdewet@oldmutualpfa.com.
It’s not often
that local sailing gets Television Coverage but it is good
to see that it does happen sometimes. A short piece on the recent MACS Shipping
24-Hour Challenge will be screened on the sports
program "Siyadlala" at approximately 12:30 on Saturday, May 10 on the
SABC channel 2.
The HMYC Youth Regatta took place at the Henley Midmar Yacht club last
weekend and the following report on the event was submitted by Rob Walker:
“An excellent
three days racing took place at Midmar for the HMYC 2003 Youth Regatta. The
winds were light to moderate and everyday invariably shifted around 11h00 from
the North West to the South East. Temperatures were cool though it was obvious
that winter hadn't arrived!
11
Optimist sailors challenged for the prizes with Rudy McNeill scoring
an untouchable first in all 11 races. Second place went to Vincenzo De Gennaro
who showed his characteristic confidence and worked his way up the fleet as he
settled into the racing. After that the battle was on between the Walker twins
for third and fourth. They were on a tie break at the 10th race and whoever
beat the other clinched third overall in the final heat. These
honours went to a focused Claire (also 1st girl) with a determined Emma on
her heels in fourth. It wasn't all plain sailing for the top four as Sam
Hancock (5th), Paulo Marques (7th) and Shannon Gray (8th) all managed to pull
off at least one creditable third in various races, Sam did it 4
times, keeping everyone on their toes. The first novice home was Ivor
Becker who carded a personal best of a 6th in the first race. Byron Gray took
home the first Under 11 prize.
The
Lasers were less dramatic and line honours went to Daniels Larkens who never
missed a beat. Second was Aaron Larkens who held the position even though he
missed the last days racing. Third and fourth went to Zululanders, David Leigh
and Bryan Martin respectively. They were both sailing in their first
Laser Regatta and well done to them for hanging in there. Watch this
space!
The
Dabchick Class was supported by lone Gauteng sailor Brett Bennett who sailed a
shorter course than the 'handicapped' Lasers and managed to get home twice
before them.
1st
Rudy McNeill
2nd
Vincenzo De Gennaro
3rd
Claire Walker
1st
Daniel Larkens
2nd
Aaron Larens
3rd
David Leigh
1st
Brett Bennett”
The full results from this event have been posted on the Smooth Sailing Racing Reports web page.
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 |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
3 May |
|
|
Theewaters Sports Club |
1 to 4 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
With brand new
sealed mast
Hulls in very
good condition
Spares and
lifejackets included
On good trailer
with sail box
R7 000-00 neg.
Cell: 082 782
7376
In
reasonable condition
R1000
onco.
Contact:
Mark
Phone:
031-767 1909
Cell:
083 556 7212
Highly
manoeuvrable fast fun boat.
Lifting
keel
On trailer
Ready to race or cruise
R50
000-00
Contact: Trygve Roberts
Cell: 083 658 8888
E-Mail:
info@autolink.co.za
WANTED
Sprog
Good Condition
Fibreglass Hull
Preferably in Durban
Up to R6 000-00
Contact: Tim
Cell: 083 277 4763
Flying
Fifteen
Good
racing Condition
Contact: Paul Changuion
Tel: 082 773 4375
E-Mail: paul@wildweb.co.za
Sailing
Dinghy
Suitable for beginner (child age
7yrs)
Durban and surrounds.
Contact:
Pieter
Phone: 031-266 4910
Fax: 031-266 4910
Email: liz@toptots.co.za
In
good condition.
Contact
Max Ozinsky
Cell:
082 414-7147
E-Mail: maxo@anc.org.za
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
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