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News By A Sailor For Sailors!
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Something that has come to my attention recently is just how late
Notices of Race are being published. Two weeks ago I thought that an NOR I
received for a regatta in the middle of September was pretty late. Today though
I received the NOR for Keelboat Week on the Vaal Dam. It didn’t come from the
regatta organisers though but rather through a class association. That regatta
starts on the 24th of September, just 12 days away. Can anyone
really be expected to plan for an event that is so soon? In the last month or
two I have been on the host club’s web site several times in search of it
without joy. Now I probably could have tried harder to find it, e-mailed or
called the club or more, but that’s not the point. Event organisers should be
marketing their events. Getting NOR’s out as early as possible is one of the
simpler ways of making doing this. I am not having a go at a particular regatta
here but rather commenting on a problem that I think is fairly wide spread in
our sport on the whole. Providing people with information is vital, the more
people we tell what’s planned the more are likely to turn out. So, if you are
planning or involved in the planning of an event in the next while, remember to
get the NOR out as early as possible!
Durban to
Richard’s Bay Record
Hobie
14, Hobie 16 Ladies, Hobie Tiger & Tornado Nationals
Your
Weekend Weather, according to the SA Weather Service, should be as follows:
Durban
& Richard’s Bay: Saturday will
be 18 degrees and cloudy with a 50% chance of intermittent rain. The wind will
be a fresh southwesterly. Sunday will be 19 degrees and overcast with and 80%
chance of intermittent rain and a moderate northeasterly wind blowing.
Midmar: Saturday will be 12 degrees and cloudy with a 40%
chance of occasional rain. The wind will be a moderate southerly but a moderate
southeasterly in the afternoon. Sunday will be 11 degrees and overcast with an
80% chance of intermittent rain. The wind will be a moderate northerly.
Vaal
Dam: Saturday will be 22 degrees and
partly cloudy with a moderate northwesterly wind blowing. Sunday will be 20
degrees and cloudy, becoming partly cloudy, with fog patches. The wind will be
a light northerly.
Cape
Town: Saturday will be 18 degrees
and fine with cloud on the mountains. The wind will be a strong southeasterly but
gale force in places. Sunday will be 25 degrees and fine. The wind will be a
moderate easterly becoming a strong to gale force southeasterly in the
south.
It’s going to be cold, wet, windy and generally wintery in Durban
tomorrow for the second round of the UNYC Winter Series. Don’t
let this put you off though; this is just what the winter series is meant to
be. Get that wetsuit out, check out
your rig and replace any dodgy bits and look forward to some good heavy air
sailing. Two races are scheduled for the afternoon and the first of these will
definitely start at 14:00. I have been assured several times this week by
various members of the UNYC committee that everything will happen dead on time
on Saturday so don’t take a chance, be there nice and early. Sailing will be
followed by the drinking of the cheapest non-shebeen beer in Durban at the UNYC
Caprice afterwards.
The Sharks are up against the Eagles in George on Saturday
afternoon. The Eagles are stone last on the Currie Cup log at the moment and
shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the high flying Sharks who, I am sure, will
easily come away with the full 5 points from this one. The game kicks of at
14:30 and will be televised live on Supertsport but I think that going sailing
will be a better bet!
The Durban to Richard’s Bay Record came perilously close to being broken last Friday by Peter Von Breda’s
new Fast 42 Nemisis. Peter and his crew of 4 got the new boat from Durban to
Richard’s Bay in just 7 hours and 26 minutes, only 13 minutes shy of the record
held by the RCOD Sun Tonic. Only recently launched Nemisis was on her first
trip of any distance and performed extremely well reaching a top speed of 25.9
knots along the way. That’s some serious speed and just goes to show how fast
these boats really can go. The crew weren’t particularly pushing and by the
sound of things definitely weren’t gunning for the record but it makes one
realise just how attainable this record is. In fact it is surprising that with
so many Fast 42s on the water in the last year or so, not to mention the other
40 footers around, and with all the racing that has been going on up this
coastline that the record hasn’t fallen already. In fact it’s amazing that it
has taken so long for someone to come so close. With a suitable boat this really is a very attainable record, all
one needs is to pick the right time and remember to take your surfing boots
along! For details of the records as they stand at present go to www.smoothsailing.co.za/records.html.
Today, Friday the 12th of September is the last day for early entries for the Hobie 14, Hobie Tiger, Tornado, and Hobie 16 Ladies Nationals. Entries received lafter today will have to give up R100 extra beer money to enter, as there is a late entry fee penalty! Don’t let that deter you as entries for the combined Hobie Nationals are already reaching good numbers. The regatta is 24-28 September at Sterkfontein Dam, Harrismith in the Drakensberg. This year's inland venue guarantees plenty of wind whilst being devoid of any of the nasties associated with previous coastal events. Accommodation is provided at the Qwantani resort with camping and chalets, as well as catering provided at the Race Village. A full entertainment programme has also been planned. Full details of the event can be obtained from Theresa, at Gauteng Hobie Class Association on 011 974 2310/083 750 4538 or you can check out the Notice of Regatta on the Smooth Sailing website. Many thanks to our sponsors, Qwantani Resort and Microtronix.
Letters are limited to 300 words each,
except in exceptional circumstances! Where edited down the full letter will be
posted on the Smooth Sailing Letters to the Editor web
page. Send your letters to andrew@smoothsailing.co.za.
From: Stephen Flesch
Re: New SAS Boat Registration Format
I was recently sent a copy of "SAS Bulletin No.8/
2003" by Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club of which I am a member. This was a
six-page document, which appeared to be issued by the SAS office. This was a
very good example of how NOT to communicate. There was no author stated - not
even the name of the sub-committee that was responsible. I also feel that every
communication from any organisation should give the address of that body: ie
street, postal, email, tel. and fax, so that if appropriate a response is
facilitated.
The circular states that boats must be registered before
they can be inspected for "a Certificate of Fitness".
In March I bought a Laser and duly sent in the
measurement certificate to SAS to have the registration changed into my name
and paid the transfer fee and the Laser class membership fee. On
April 24 I received a letter from Jayne Downing of SAS confirming my
registration as the owner of Laser 80724 in the "National Register".
Why do I now have to do this again? As far as I am
concerned I am "registered". My measurement certificate confirms that
my boat conforms to the class rules and I presume that this means that it is
"Fit" for the purpose for which it was intended. After all this is a
piece of equipment that has been deemed suitable for Olympic competition.
I am reasonably sure that given the above circumstances I
will not have to re-register at a fee of R60 but why did the circular not say
that?
It looks as if the committee, which drafted the circular, did not do their homework.
Bermuda was recently lashed by Hurricane Fabian, leaving a trail of destruction in its
wake. Luckily for us we live in a part of the world where storms like this just
don’t happen but for those who do it can be a terrible experience. Not having
had the experience I doubt whether we really appreciate just how powerful and
destructive the elements can be when the weather turns this bad. Three sets of
pictures posted on the web at http://www.blackandcoke.com/recentevents.asp?EventList=314 show the aftermath and give you an idea of the
awesome power of the storm. If you have the time take a look.
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 |
|
GBYC & FBYC |
23 & 24 August & 20, 21,
24, 27 & 28 September |
|
|
UNYC Winter Series |
Durban Bay |
6, 13 & 20 September |
|
RCYC & HBYC |
11 September |
|
|
HBYC & FBYC |
12 September |
|
|
Aeolians Club |
20 to 22 September |
|
|
False Bay Yacht Club |
20 to 28 September |
|
|
False Bay Yacht Club |
20, 21, 24, 27 & 28 September |
|
|
2003 Nationals for 36" Shipmate, IOM and RM
Class Radio Yachts |
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
20 to 27 September |
|
Sterkfontein Dam |
24 to 28 September |
|
|
Royal Natal Yacht Club |
24 to 28 September |
|
|
Saldanha Bay |
24 to 28 September |
|
|
Denysville Aquatic Club |
24 to 28 September |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
3 to 5 October |
|
|
Hout Bay Yacht Club |
4 October |
|
|
Chelmsford Boating Club |
4 & 5 October |
|
|
Various Clubs |
10 to 12 October |
|
|
Simon’sberg Naval Base,
Simonstown |
10 to 12 October |
|
|
Nautical Nomads Society |
25 & 26 October |
|
|
Albert Falls Yacht Club |
Changed to 15 & 16 November |
|
|
Seal Point Yacht Club/Manten
Marina |
25 & 26 October |
|
|
Sterkfontein Dam |
25 & 26 October |
|
|
Durban Radio Boat Club |
8 & 9 November |
|
|
Hout Bay Yacht Club |
15 & 16 November |
|
|
FBYC & HBYC |
22 November |
|
|
Hout Bay to St Helena Island |
29 November 2003 |
|
|
Spionkop Boating Club |
6 & 7 December |
|
|
Table Bay International Sailing
Week |
Royal Cape Yacht Club |
12 to 17 December |
|
Glendee Yacht Club |
1 & 2 February 2004 |
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 andrew@smoothsailing.co.za.
WANTED
Contact: Julian Verbeek
Cell: 083 410 5978
E-Mail: JVBeek@anglogold.com
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
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Please note that the views
contained in this newsletter are those of the authors concerned and in no way
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