Smooth Sailing Newsletter # 283

The KZN Junior Champs took place at Midmar this weekend with a good fleet of Optimists and Dabchicks taking part. The regatta started off cold and miserable as the tail end of the last cold front passed over. The first day of the event was seriously wintery with thick mist over the dam preventing racing at times. Saturday was better though with the morning mist clearing to make way for a nice sunny day and a steady although light breeze. Sunday was a difficult day with a fresh but shifty berg wind blowing from the north. With some gusts in the 25-knot region it was a hard but fast day and one which I am told the Dabchick sailors just loved! Sadly only 15 Dabchicks entered the regatta but it sounds like they had the most fantastic sailing. Apparently some junior Laser sailors were overawed by the performance of the Dabbies they had borrowed for the event so perhaps we might see a few new faces in the Dabbi fleet shortly. Also of interest is that the girls rained supreme in the Dabchick fleet. Brigitte Clayton won her second provincial championship in two weeks after her win last week in the Northvaal Champs while second place in this regatta went to Bronwen Klaas. That’s a result that should have the boys smarting! I am sure that there will be some serious practicing going on between now and the Nationals in December to be sure that they don’t get done in by the girls again. In the Optimist fleet, which attracted 36 boats from around the country, young Taariqu Jacobs dominated, winning 8 of the ten races sailed. His technique on the water was far superior to the rest of the fleet over whom he enjoyed a significant boat speed advantage. For Taariqu it was also his second provincial title in two weeks after he won the Eastern Cape Provincials last weekend and he certainly seems to have established himself as the dominant force in Optimist sailing in SA in a very short time. Overall it sounds like another fantastic regatta at HMYC. Midmar remains one of if not the best sailing venue in SA and seems to produce quality racing time and again. Ten races were sailed in this regatta with the top three in each class as follows:

Optimist

1^st	Taariqu Jacobs	Western Cape
2^nd	Rudi McNeil	KZN
3^rd	Tim Gibbons	Gauteng

Dabchick

1^st	Brigitte Clayton	Gauteng
2^nd	Bronwen Klaas	Gauteng
3^rd	Gordon Quarmby	Gauteng

The Sharks beat Western Province on Saturday afternoon in a messy yet satisfying encounter at the Absa Stadium in Durban. Any win over province is a good one and although this game didn’t see either team scoring anything other than penalties every Sharks fan will be satisfied with the result. The win keeps the Sharks at the top of the log with only three games left before the final. Although they sit at the top of the log they are by no means certainties for the final with an away game against the Bulls this coming Saturday being the next major hurdle. The Bulls are second on the log at the moment and in fearsome form. They will be particularly tough to beat on their home ground so there can be no resting for the Sharks at this crucial stage of the tournament. Saturday’s score was 18 to 6 with Butch James scoring all the Sharks points.

Sunday’s Keeler Fun Race in Durban Bay was well attended with 13 entries. With little wind on the bay it was a race for the patient with only one cruising class boat making the finish. The racing fleet did better in terms of finishers although in the conditions it was certainly a very laid back sail. The results were as follows:

Cruising Fleet

1^st

Xosha Moya

¼ Tonner

Racing Fleet

1^st	Cartoon Deckwork	J22	Graham Rose
2^nd	Ciao Bella	Simonis 35	Harry Ellens
3^rd	Bandit	Simonis Cat	Peter Latter

Wednesday Evening Fun Racing continues in Durban this week with the first of the Royal Natal Yacht Club hosted races taking place. Last week I got the start times for the two classes horribly wrong but luckily no one followed what I said and got onto the water too early. The Racing Class start first at 17:30 with the Cruising Class starting 5 minutes later at 17:35. While we are having a bit of a poor spell of weather at the moment it is forecasted to clear up on Wednesday. Expect a small amount of rain and cloud cover early in the day but this will have cleared by lunchtime with a light to moderate northeaster blowing all day and freshening in the afternoon. Sounds perfect for Wednesday Evening Fun Racing! See you there!

Dinghy Sailing gets underway in Durban this coming Saturday afternoon, the 11^th of October, with the first round of the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Rupert Ellis Brown Series due to be sailed. Taking place in conjunction with this series is the Flying Fifteen KZN Champs. Sailing was scheduled to start at the usual time of 14:00 but since that’s pretty much the exact time that the Springboks will be kicking off their World Cup campaign, with their first game against Uruguay, something had to be done. Now the rugby couldn’t be changed but the sailing could and that’s exactly what has happened. So, dinghy racing will now start at 11:00 this coming Saturday, and the following one for that matter. Racing will take place on the deepwater course and two races are scheduled. The fleet will definitely be back in off the water in time to watch the Springboks win their first of many games in the world cup. Now to make sure that your rugby watching experience is as pleasurable as your sailing experience RNYC have hired a big screen, which will be up and running in the Foredeck Bar. So right after sailing this will definitely be the place to be. The bar will be open and there will be plenty of cold beer on hand so there cant be any reason for not being there!

The Northvaal Sailing Association will be holding their annual Colours Dinner at the Victoria Lake Club on Friday the 31^st of October. This is a formal affair with the dress code being for club uniform or suits. Tickets cost R80-00 per person and can be booked by contacting the NSA office on 011-824 2402.

The Laser Masters World Championships ended this weekend in Cadiz, Spain, with 10 races finally sailed. By all accounts it was a fantastic regatta with some great racing and equally good socialising taking place. The South African sailors taking part fared well with some achieving some very good results along the way. In the 67 Apprentice Masters Fleet Pete Shaw finished 6^th overall after winning race 4 and finishing 3^rd in the 10^th and final race of the series. In the 56 boat Masters Fleet Alan Keen ended up in 11^th place with a 4^th in race 3 and a 2^nd in race 5 as his best results. Lance Burger wasn’t far behind him in 15^th place although he never quite made it into the top ten with his best result being an 11^th in race 6. In the 23 boat Grand Grand Master fleet, sailed in Radials, Ken Holliday finished 9^th overall after winning the 5^th race of the regatta. This regatta continues to attract not only good numbers but good quality sailors from around the world year in and year out. While there are many people the world over who are not the greatest fans of the Laser this event is a testament to its widespread popularity and unique attribute of being through roughly versatile. The class has a following of tremendously loyal sailors of all ages. Being able to attend a regatta like this once a year is just on of the good reasons for sailing one! The SA team results were as follows:

Pete Shaw	Apprentice Master	67 Entries	6^th
Alan Keen	Master	56 Entries	11^th
Lance Burger	Master	56 Entries	15^th
Brian Hallock	Grand Master	44 Entries	30^th
Alan Foden	Grand Master	44 Entries	37^th
Mary-Ann Sharwood	Radial Apprentice	12 Entries	12^th
Ken Holliday	Radial Grand Grand Master	23 Entries	9^th
Geoff Myburgh	Radial Grand Grand Master	23 Entries	22^nd

For the full results, race reports and pictures from the event visit the regatta web site at http://www.laserchampionships.org/worlds03/index.htm.

The Rolex Women’s Sailing World Championships ended in Annapolis, USA this weekend with the South African Team turning in an exceptional result. Skippered by Dominique Provoyer the Team Orion SA crew sailed a great series to finish 7^th overall. Despite a difficult last race in which they finished 21^st they still managed to stay one point ahead of on of America’s favourite women sailors and regatta favourite, Betsy Allison, who finished 8^th. There were 67 entries in this regatta, which ranks as the most prestigious women’s sailing event in the world. Nine races were sailed in mixed conditions, some extremely light and some very windy. Looking through the pics on the regatta web site there are a couple of some classic J22 broaches, when those boats go down they generally do it in style! This regatta has been received a lot of coverage in the international yachting media and a top 10 results in it is certainly a worthwhile one for any yachtswoman to have on her CV. For more detailed reports on the regatta visit the event web site at http://www.race.annapolisyc.org/rolexkeelboats/.

Des Fairbank submitted the following article on the 2003 Nationals for 36” Shipmate, Marblehead and IOM Class Radio Controlled Yachts which were sailed at HMYC recently:

“The 2003 Nationals for 36” Shipmate, Marblehead and IOM Class yachts took place from the 21 September 2003 until 27 September 2003 in front of the Henley Midmar Yacht Club. A total of 36 Skippers entered across the three classes with 20 sailing in the 36” Shipmates 18 in the Marblehead and 25 in the IOM Class. The International Heat Management System was used and two fleets were sailed in each Class.

36” Shipmate Class

Sailed on Sunday 21^st and Monday 22^nd. The weather was not kind with rain falling throughout Sunday. This together with the clay which was exposed as a result of the low water level produced a quagmire as the skippers walked the shore following their boats. The sponsored rain jackets proved most popular and proved to be extremely waterproof and warm.

Monday also started in light rain and winds but cleared as the day progressed. Fortunately the wind played ball and as can be seen from the scores the racing was very competitive as usual in this class.

After twelve races the top five skippers were:

1^st	Des Fairbank	21 Points
2^nd	Norrie Taylor	24
3^rd	John Mckerchar	27
4^th	Colin Bremner	29
5^th	Peter Simons	29

Marblehead Class

Sailed on Tuesday 23^rd and Wednesday 24^th. Fortunately the clay had almost dried out making it more pleasant than for the 36” Class. “A” Rigs were used for most of Tuesday and on Wednesday the wind freshened to the extent that C2 rigs were being used with the occasional boat going out on a C3 rig.

After 13 races and two discards the top five skippers were:

1^st	Des Fairbank	21 Points
2^nd	Barry Loubser	33
3^rd	John Mckerchar	33
4^th	Shaun Carroll	48
5^th	Joe Robbertse	49

IOM Class

Sailed on Thursday 25^th through to Saturday 27^th this class as expected attracted the largest entry with 25 boats. Sailing was extremely competitive in winds that varied from No 1 rig to No. 3 Rig at times. Some seven different skippers won races and after 19 races (each consisting of two heats) and three discards the top five places went to:

1^st	Des Fairbank	41 Points
2^nd	Barry Loubser	53
3^rd	Norrie Taylor	54
4^th	Shaun Carroll	63
5^th	John McKerchar	95

Our thanks to OOD Reg Beavitt and HMYC for their hospitality.

A General Committee Meeting of SARSA (South African Radio Sailing Association) took place on Thursday evening and we are pleased to announce that the Western Cape will be host for the 2004 National Championship.”

At the Maritzburg Radio Boat Club they clearly like their sailing a lot so a week after the Nationals they were back in action. The following report was also from Des Fairbank:

“After the week of Nationals it was back to normality with a 36” Shipmate League event on Saturday afternoon.

The wind was light and variable, but enough for some very enjoyable racing. Martin was still recovering from his defeat by his (ex!!) wife at the recent Nationals, opting to paint the house rather than sail. Stephen Wagner sailed extremely well sailing 97 and was well in contention with a 3rd, 1st, and a 2nd in the first three races, well done. Luke Wagner was battling with his new ex Barry Loubsher boat that the Wagner family acquired after the Nationals in the middle of the fleet. The rest of the fleet had mixed fortunes with Robin taking advantage of the fact that Des was away at the Farmers Brewery Beer Fest finishing 1st on the day.

After 10 Races the results were:

1^st	Robin McIntosh	17 Points
2^nd	Richard Randall	18
3^rd	Robert Stenner	19

The following report on the Eastern Cape Dinghy Champs was submitted by Willie Zevenster. The full results from this regatta are available on the Smooth Sailing web site off the Racing Reports page:

“The Eastern Cape Championship saw a good entry of 90 boats, considering we had to compete with the False Bay Spring regatta as well as the Laser worlds and the Northvaal Junior Championship. It was the first time that the Northvaal had their Junior Championship during this week end which traditionally is the date used by the Eastern Cape.

The weather once again played its part in making this a very successful event. On Thursday the race officer, Richard Stephenson, managed three good races. On Friday the winds came after lunch and we managed on good race but the second became a drifter and many competitors did not make the cutoff. Saturday started earlier and 2 races were had before lunch. The third race had to be shortened due to a dying wind. Sunday morning started early with a fresh wind of 15 knots and two good races were sailed to complete 10 races.

32 Optimists took to the water with some very exiting racing throughout the fleet. The top 4 places were contested by three Redhouse Yacht Club sailors and Taariq Jacobs from ZVYC.

Taariq had a fantastic event. Wayne Watkins, Josh Saunders and Andrew Collier fought it out for the next three places. It was amazing to see how the skills of these sailors have improved since the last regatta. Taariq, Wayne and Andrew all took part in the Mirror World Championship in Tasmania in January this year and you could see how strong their confidence was.

The Extra class had 12 boats on the water with a very strong contingent from ZVYC. Davey James and Stephen Du Toit fought it out for the first place and tied on 13 points each after the 10 races. Davey won it in the tiebreak. Third was David Rae followed by Andrew Ward from RYC.

16 Dabchicks took part with Finn Fitzsimons nearly making a clean sweep. Duncan Mathews and Ross Dyer followed respectively.

In the Laser class we had Rob Meek in top form. D Larkins was second. The next 3 places were closely contested till the last day between Morgan Evans, Andrew Thompson and Diether Zevenster. After the last day’s 2 races in a fresh breeze, they finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.

The Laser Radials were also closely contested between Jim Foot and Chris Seifart. They also finish on 13 points each but Jim took the honors on the tie break.

The Laser 4.7 was won by Justin Onvlee with Aaron Larkens closely on his tail.

In the Mirror Class Fuad Jacobs with Francois Strydom had a good tussle with Nigel and Sue Smithie but managed to stay ahead to win the event. Robert Dann and Ryan Hadley were third. A very good event for them as the first juniors.

Much effort was put into getting the Eastern Cape event to the stage where we have a multi class event and for the second year in a row it was a great success. Parents and friends want to take part with all their friends. This creates a great vibe and we hope to keep it going and to grow the event with more classes.”

Cannabinoids (e.g. hashish and marijuana) are to become Prohibited In Sailing. In previous years, (2003 inclusive), Cannabinoids have not been proscribed by ISAF, and have only been banned for the Olympic Regatta. Following the release of the World Anti-Doping Code - 2004 Prohibited List of Substances and Methods, due to become effective from January 1st 2004, we must announce that there is to be a significant change from the current list regarding the status of Cannabinoids in the sport of sailing. All sailors must be aware that this substance will now be tested for and that they also may face the possibility of being tested un-announced. Cannabinoids are however, classed as a "specified substance", which means that it is considered to be less likely to be successfully abused as a doping agent. This means that where an Athlete can establish that the use of such a "specified substance" was not intended to enhance sport performance, the period of ineligibility (or sanctioning) will be reduced to the following:

- First Violation: At a minimum, a warning and reprimand and no period

of ineligibility from future events, and at a maximum, one (1) year's ineligibility.

- Second Violation: Two (2) years' ineligibility

- Third Violation: Lifetime ineligibility.

For more information visit the following page on the ISAF web site:

http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5550.

Mari Cha IV, Robert Miller’s 140-foot super maxi, which is currently attempting the west to east transatlantic record, has already made its mark on the sailing world. At 07:30 UTC on Monday, Miller and his crew re-wrote sailing history by becoming the First Mono Hull ever to sail over 500 miles in one day. Mari Cha IV bettered the previous record, of 484 nm, set by John KOSTECKI’S Illbruck on 29 April 2002 during the Volvo Ocean Race, when they sailed an unofficial 505 nm (to be ratified by the World Speed Sailing Council). Mari Cha IV is now almost exactly half way through its transatlantic record attempt and looks set to complete the voyage in well under 8 days. The existing record is 8 days, 20 hours, 55 minutes and 35 seconds, set by Bernard Stamm onboard Armour – Lux. Robert Miller, speaking from Mari Cha IV this morning, said: “What an amazing feeling. We have designed and built this fantastic yacht with one aim in mind… to break records, and here we are on our first attempt and we have broken one already! I have a great team consisting of some of the best sailors in the world and together I’m pleased to say that we’re really showing what this awesome yacht can do. All of us onboard are in high spirits, but the hard work is, as always, relentless. We are well on course for the transatlantic record, but will continue to push hard until we reach England.” For more information visit the yacht’s very own web site at www.maria-cha4.com.

A quick look through the DSTV Guide shows that tomorrow, Tuesday the 7^th of October, there are two bits of good Sailing to be watched on TV. Sadly both are during the day so you will need to get someone to record them for you. The first is at 12:00 when the Danish Cup Match Racing Regatta, a leg of the Swedish Match Tour, will be screened on ESPN, Channel 33. Then at 14:45 Watersports World will be screened on Supersport 2. This weeks program includes some great 49er action and is definitely worth watching.

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
MACS Double Cape Race	Various Clubs	10 to 12 October
Central Boating Development Regatta	Simon’sberg Naval Base, Simonstown	10 to 12 October
Nautical Nomads Regatta	Nautical Nomads Society	25 & 26 October
NNYU 3-Star Challenge	Albert Falls Yacht Club	Changed to 15 & 16 November
Pick ‘n Pay Big Boat Regatta	Seal Point Yacht Club/Manten Marina	25 & 26 October
Radio Controlled Laser Nationals	Durban Radio Boat Club	8 & 9 November
Development & Open Dinghy Regatta	Hout Bay Yacht Club	15 & 16 November
Bay to Bay Race	FBYC & HBYC	22 November
South Star One/Two Short Handed Race	Hout Bay to St Helena Island	29 November 2003
NNYU Interclub Challenge Leg 3	Spionkop Boating Club	6 & 7 December
Table Bay International Sailing Week	Royal Cape Yacht Club	13 to 17 December
NNYU Interclub Challenge Leg 4	Glendee Yacht Club	1 & 2 February 2004
L26 KZN Champs	Point Yacht Club	20 to 22 March

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.

FOR SALE

Theta 26

Cruising yacht lying Vaal Dam

New set of sails

18 hp inboard Yanmar diesel motor

Full deck of instruments

Excellent condition

Ready for cruising

R70 000-00

Contact: Collin Smith

Phone: 016-422 5460/1

Cell: 083 271 9208

E-Mail: gemins@mweb.co.za

Stadt 23

“Megamagic”

Sail No. 54

Yacht R35 000-00

Trailer R10 000-00

Contact: William Heydenrych

Home Phone: 011-678 5534

Work Phone: 011-793 1031

New AMPAIR 100 Wind Generator

Unit never been used and is out of the box

See specs on www.ampair.com

R6 500-00

2 Blade Yacht Propeller and Shaft

(From 32 ft Jenneau)

D =360 mm (14"), Pitch = 200, Shaft 1260 X 22mm

With cutlass bearing, key and nut.

R1 000-00

18" MAXPROP

Two blade, variable pitch, auto feathering

Type MP2B, Nickle Alluminium Bronze

D = 457mm (18"), 1:10 taper, 30 mm shaft with 8 x 4 keyway

R6 500-00

Contact: Neil

Cell: 072 299 8670

E-Mail: saltygoose110@hotmail.com

WANTED

Hobie 18

Phone 031-463 1572

E-Mail: thewoods@absamail.co.za

Formula One Keelboat

E-Mail: richann@mweb.co.za

EPIRB

To loan or Rent for the month of December 2003

For the purposes of taking part in the South Star Race.

Contact: Dale Kushner

Cell: 082 552 4533

E-Mail: info@daewoogoodwood.co.za

"A" bracket and 2 Mountings

For a HYDROVANE self steering unit.

Contact: Neil

Cell: 072 299 8670

E-Mail: saltygoose110@hotmail.com

Andrew Heathcote

andrew@smooothsailing.co.za

www.smoothsailing.co.za

Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805

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