Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
It’s
been a while since the last Smooth Sailing appeared in your inbox. In fact, the
last one that we sent didn’t actually get to any of you! Technical problems
with our mail server put us out of action for a few days. They also stopped the
subscribe and remove functions from working but these are now all up and
running again. We apologise for the inconvenience. While this week will be a
one newsletter week, as last week inadvertently was, we will be back at two a week
from next week.
It’s
sad to see that Nose Week are still on the attack as far as yachting is
concerned with the May edition of their magazine publishing a fairly outright
attack on the Royal Cape Yacht Club. This months article appears as a follow on
to last months Cape to Rio Race expose. There are always several sides to every
story and this case is no different. I think that it is important that everyone
who reads or has read the Nose Week articles not only takes the content with a
pinch of salt, since it seems that more than a little poetic licence has been
used in the writing of it, but also reads the SAS Press Release in this
newsletter and the comments by RCYC’s Commodore on their web site. I also think
it is imperative that the parties involved try their utmost to ensure that any
further disputes stay out of the press. A lot has been said on this issue both
in the media and in yacht club bars around the country. As always there is too
much hearsay and presumption and not enough fact. Whatever the case, I think it
is time that the mud slinging stopped and those who are expending so much
energy on it instead concentrated on doing something constructive for our
sport.
Royal Cape Yacht Club’s Response
The final round
of the KZN Lipton Selection Series took place last Sunday in an unstable
southerly wind, which swung all over the show and varied considerably in
strength. This round of the series was sailing in conjunction with the RNYC’s
Hartley Series. In addition to the fleet of five L26’s it was good to see a
J27, Mount Gay 30 and Fast 42 out on the water racing. It has been a while
since we had a good varied fleet of big boats racing in Durban and I hope that
this is something that continues. In difficult conditions the L26 fleet once
again enjoyed good close racing. It is just a pity that it is coming so late in
the season but it has to be good for everyone concerned that it is happening.
The KZN Champs, Nationals and Lipton Cup are just around the corner so now is a
good time for everyone to be upping the pace. The final results of the Lipton
Selection Series are as follows:
1st
Harken Jerome
McLoughlin 16
Points
2nd
Orion Zephyr Craig
Millar/Alec Lanham-Love 24
3rd
Parental Guidance Harry Ellens 25
The L26’s dominated the RNYC Hartley Series on handicap too with the
J27, Mount Gay 30 and the Fast 42 failing to make an impression. Hopefully this
is a sign that the local L26 fleet is really setting a cracking pace at the
moment. Either way the results of the series after four races are as follows:
1st
Harken Jerome
McLoughlin 5
Points
2nd
Dockleveller Supplies Nigel Miln 11
3rd
Parental Guidance Harry Ellens 21
So what does it all mean?
Well the selection series was run in order to provide some good close heated
competition and also a barometer against which clubs could check the form of
the fleet and select their representative. Based on the selection series
results and some pre-arranged deals, it seems that Harken will be representing
PYC, Orion Zephyr Bluff Yacht Club and Parental Guidance the Henley Midmar
Yacht Club. That’s not the official announcement though, I am sure that the
clubs involved will make those themselves in the near future. After some good
sailing yesterday the results of the RNYC’s Hartley Series are as follows:
The latest news on the Orion Vasco Da Gama Race is that the Mumm 36
“Ballyhoo Too” will be taking part in the event. While she certainly wont have
the legs to keep ahead of the Fast 42’s this pacy 36 footer should be a hot
contender for handicap honours. She has finished near the top of the pile in a
good few IRC regattas in the Western Cape including winning Table Bay week in
2001. Ian Park-Ross who will be skippering the boat has a good track record in
offshore races and was the co-skipper of the L34 “Windrush” when she won the
race in 1990 on the old course from Durban to East London. Other Vasco news is
that for those Durban boats that do not already have IRC Certificate measuring
for these will take place this weekend. There may be some cost per boat
involved in the hiring of the crane however Sailing KZN, who are organising the
weighing and measuring, are doing their best to try and make sure that this
goes away. If you need to get your boat measured you do need to indicate in
advance that you will be coming along. Do this by contacting Sandy at sailsa@hit.co.za. For more information on the race visit the official web site at www.vascodagama.co.za.
Remember the Cape to Rio
Controversy that surfaced last month in Nose Week and later in the Business
Day? Well, it hasn’t gone away but the good news is that our National body,
South African Sailing have released a statement clarifying their position on
the issue. The content of the release is as follows:
“PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICAN SAILING,
MR FRANK SILBERBAUER, IN RESPECT OF THE CAPE TO RIO 2003 AND VARIOUS COMMENTS
THEREON IN NOSEWEEK AND THE PRESS.
South
African Sailing (SAS) and Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) have run the Cape to Rio
Yacht Race jointly since 1971.
In terms
of a signed agreement between SAS / RCYC and the Worldsports Group/Boating
Partners, SAS/RCYC sold their rights to the Cape to Rio Race 2003 for R600 000,
which was received from Worldsport/Boating Partners in March 2002.
In terms
of this contract, Worldsport SA Pty Ltd and Boating Partners Pty Ltd were
entitled to raise money from sponsorships and entry fees to cover the costs of
the event, and should this event have been run at a profit, they would have
been entitled to charge a management fee.
Worldsport
and Boating Partners raised an amount of approximately R1, 84m from
sponsorships and entry fees of which an amount of R1 276 875-00 was received
from SAP.
Total
expenditure on the event by Worldsport/Boating Partners, excluding the amount
paid by them to purchase the rights for the event, amounted to R1.85m.
Worldsport
and Boating Partners were thus unable to fully cover their costs generated
during this Rio Race.
SA
Sailing can confirm that it has not paid any management fees, commissions or
any other remuneration to any company or individual. Furthermore SA Sailing can confirm that they are satisfied with
the manner in which Worldsport and Boating Partners fulfilled all their obligations
in terms of the 2003 Rio Race Agreement, and that Rio Race 2003 financials will
be presented to the members of South African Sailing at the SAS AGM on 21 June
2003.
President: South African
Sailing.
15 May 2003.”
And just as the SAS Press Release came out
so did the next issue of Nose
Week! It’s sad to note
that our sport once again commands an alarming amount of space the publication.
This time the spotlight is on the Royal Cape Yacht Club as opposed to the Rio
Race itself although the issues raised therein all seem to be a result of the
Rio Race saga. Once again I am not going to comment on the contents but do
suggest that you read them for yourselves.
As
it the case in any dispute is it essential to hear both sides of the story, and
there are always two sides. The Commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club has published a fairly comprehensive
report responding to the Nose Week allegations that appeared in the April issue
of that publication. His response is also backed up by comments from others
named or implicated in the original article. You can find it on the web at http://www.rcyc.co.za/newsletter.html.
The following report on Saturday’s MRYC League Regatta for 36 Shipmates was submitted by Des Fairbank:
“The
Maritzburg Radio Yacht Club held a league regatta for 36” Shipmates on Saturday
afternoon on the Duzi.
Twelve
boats arrived for the event that, considering that there were no boats from
Durban, was a great entry. The river looked like a mirror when we arrived and
there was a certain amount of reluctance to rig boats and lay a course. At about five minutes after two the
scheduled start time there was a lonely call from Martin Stevens who was out on
the river and moving at a reasonable speed to get racing under way. A course
was laid and racing started.
Anthony Metcalfe
was sailing his recently upgraded boat but was experiencing radio problems.
Hopefully nothing was disturbed by yours truly during the removal and replacement
of his old wooden fin and rudder by the latest fibre glass versions. Anthony
did say he felt that the boat was better but we will have to wait and see. A
similar modification was done a while back on Caroline Stephans boat and she
has not looked back.
The
results after seven races and one discard were:
1st
Des Fairbank 8 Points
2nd
Robin Mcintosh 16
3rd
Robert Stenner 20
Hopefully the wind will be a little more
accommodating next Sunday when the RCL Class travel to the country for their
annual picnic at the Duzi.”
Which brings us to the RC Laser fleet, which next Sunday, will make their annual pilgrimage inland
to the Duzi Wier for their Picnic Regatta. This is a regatta often noted for
it’s light winds, muddy banks and great food! The sailing as always will be
serious but for some reason the catering even more so at this event. Word has
it that this years event will be devoid of mud, and a forecast of a sunny week
ahead backs this up, while the organisers promise that they have got the wind
situation in hand as well. As for the catering, there are a couple of options,
either do it yourself or you can opt for the gourmet cuisine option. The latter
is strictly by pre-booking only though. For more information on this and any
other RC Laser event visit www.rclaser.co.za.
For
real Laser sailors the annual Laser Masters Regatta is taking place at the Island Sailing Club this weekend. I
am told that the regatta organisers have already received 40 odd entries so it
looks like the fleet could be over 50 boats on the day. This has long been a
poplar event to the extent that some sailors aspire to getting older in order
that they can sail it. I am told that this year’s fleet includes several
visitors from Gauteng. I have also had several enquiries from people wanting to
borrow Lasers for the event and it is amazing to see how scarce these boats
have suddenly become! So, if you have a Laser sitting in your back yard or at
the yacht club and are not going to sail it, let me know and I will quickly put
you in touch with someone who will! The regatta takes place on Saturday and
Sunday from the Island Sailing Club down at bayhead in Durban and there will be
a ripping ISC party on Saturday night. Be warned though, this is not a party
for the faint hearted, those ISC people really do know how to party! For more
information on the regatta either download a copy of the NOR off the Smooth
Sailing Notices of Race web page or contact Villette Pretorious on 083 788
4861.
The SPA Olympic Classes Regatta started in Medemblik, Holland yesterday. The SPA Regatta is
one of the biggest in the world with some 800 odd olympic class dinghies, board
and the Yngling’s, which are small keelers, taking part. There are two South
Africans on the entry list. Gareth Blankenburg, in his Laser and Greg Barker,
sailing his 49er under as a British entrant as he explained in his recent
report to Smooth Sailing. This regatta is usually a touch on the cold wet and
windy side. The sailing can be quite hard with a short steep chop as soon as
the breeze is up. As one of the biggest regattas on the calendar it carries a
lot of importance and most of, if not all the big names in the Olympic fleets
will be there. This regatta also boasts one of the best event web sites you
will find. It is well worth a visit at www.sparegatta.org. The regattas opening day saw three races
sailed for most classes. Blankenburg will be relatively happy with his days
work which saw him record and 8th, 3rd and 9th
to be lying 13th overall. I am pretty sure though that he will be
looking to be more consistently in the top five and also win a couple of races
along the way to move himself up the table. In the 49er fleet Greg Barker started
off with a consistent 21st, 22nd and 21st to
find himself in 46th place. He will also be looking to improve on
this in the next few races however having a job and sailing in a fleet littered
with quality full time pros is not easy.
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 |
|
|
Island Sailing Club |
24 & 25 May |
|
|
Albert Falls Yacht Club |
31 May & 1 June |
|
|
Zululand Yacht Club |
14 to 16 June |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
14 to 16 June |
|
|
Albert Falls Yacht Club |
14 to 16 June |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
28 June to 4 July |
|
|
Durban Offshore Challenge Incorporation the Mirror
& Laser Youth KZN Champs |
Point Yacht Club |
28 June to 4 July |
|
Point Yacht Club |
4 to 11 July |
|
|
UCT Yacht Club, Zeekoeivlei |
2 & 3 August |
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
Designed by America's
top one design sail maker.
These sails will make
you win the Nationals.
Main & No 1 Genoa
R8 250-00
Contact: Tony Strutt
C/W rowlocks and oars.
E-Mail: anthonya@rdi.co.za
2,3metre
stingray
4 HP Suzuki
motor
R5 000-00
onco.
At Vaaldam,
Deneysville.
Contact:
Liesel
Cell:
0839629209
Sail # 3416
Du Toit Hull
1 Main, 2 Jibs
Foil Bag, Dolly and boat cover
R9 000-00
Contact: Nicholas Pratt
Cell: 082 418 4401
E-Mail: prittn@yahoo.com
WANTED
Laser
In good condition
In Gauteng or KZN
Contact: Andrew Heathcote
Cell: 083 783 8805
E-Mail: hethcot@iafrica.com
Laser
To loan for Masters Regatta
Contact: Villette Pretorius
Cell: 083 788 4861
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