Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
Laser Masters
Competitors Report
Henley
Midmar Yacht Club Rose Bowl Series
Your Weekend Weather, according to the SA Weather
Service, doesn’t look that promising to be
honest! It should be as follows:
Durban
& Richard’s Bay:
Saturday will be 19 degrees and cloudy with a 30% chance of afternoon and
evening thunderstorms. The wind will be a moderate easterly but a fresh
northeasterly in the afternoon. Sunday will be 20 degrees and overcast with a
60% chance of showers throughout the day. The wind will be a moderate
southeasterly but a fresh easterly in the afternoon.
Midmar: Saturday will be 15 degrees and cloudy
with rain and a 50% chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms. The wind
will be a light easterly but a moderate northeasterly in the afternoon. Sunday
will be 17 degrees and cloudy with a 60% chance of occasional showers. The wind
will be a fresh easterly.
Vaal
Dam: Saturday will be 18
degrees and cloudy at times with a 60% chance of thunderstorms. The wind will
be a fresh northeasterly. Sunday will be 17 degrees and cloud with an 80%
chance of thunderstorms and a fresh northeasterly wind blowing.
Cape
Town: Saturday will be 21
degrees and fine with a strong southeasterly wind blowing. Sunday will be the
same only a bit warmer at 25 degrees.
The Sharks
take on the Lions in a vital Currie Cup encounter at the Absa Stadium in Durban
tonight. The game kicks off at 19:00 and is a must win for the Sharks if they
are to have any chance of both making the final and playing it at home. The
Lions are out of the running for a place in the final but they wont be taking
things easy this week and having beaten the Sharks once already this season
will fancy their chances. If they win that would open the door for Western
Province to have a chance of making the final, which would almost certainly be
at Loftus. So once again there is a lot of pressure on the Sharks. Lets hope
that they respond better than they did in last weeks big encounter against the
Bulls and come out on top this time. The game will be televised live on
Supersport and if you are in Durban but not at the stadium the best place to
watch it has to be at the Royal Natal Yacht Club on their big screen in the
Trafalgar Room. The bar will be open for the duration and I am pretty sure that
meals will be served too for those who feel a little peckish during the game!
On Saturday morning there is Dinghy Racing in Durban with the first round of the Point Yacht
Club’s trophy series taking place. In order to make sure that everyone who
enjoys their sailing can also enjoy the SA, England rugby match later in the
day racing will start at 11:00. Now there are a few new things to note before
you go sailing on Saturday. The first is that you need to enter. This is not so
that we can take money away from you as there is no entry fee for dinghy racing
this season, but rather so that we can gather everyone’s contact details and
also to cover a few liability issues. The entry is a one of thing and must be
done by everyone who intends sailing this season before they sail. The second
thing, and this is something that will apply every time there is racing, is
that there will be a register that needs to be signed before you go on the
water. If you don’t sign the register then you wont be included on the results,
simple as that. This system has been put in place in order to give the club
officials a better chance of getting the results correct and making sure that
the prizes go to the right people at the end of the season. Course cards will
be available when you register so don’t forget to collect on of these and see
where you are meant to be going! Now something else that you should note is
that the racing will be taking place on the harbour mark course. This means
that if there is an easterly or a westerly the start and finish will be off the
sugar terminal. Contrary to what I said on Monday, we will try and have two
races if the conditions allow so look out for the shortened course flag at the
end of the first lap. Mike Surgeson is the race officer for the day so there
are two things you can be sure of, the race will start on time, the line will
be square and racing will be over well in time for everyone to get back to the
bar and watch the rugby! See you there.
The first really big game of the Rugby World Cup takes place tomorrow when the Springboks
take on England. It’s never good to lose to the Poms but sadly its something
that we seem to have done a lot of lately, most recently in spectacular
fashion. Adding to the pressure of this encounter is that whoever loses this
game looks sure to come up against the All Blacks in the quarterfinal of the
competition, something that is altogether undesirable. Word from the team is
that they have been training hard and are focused on winning this vital
encounter. Players will be on their best behaviour and there will be no sending
offs or sin binnings like happened the last time we were up against the dreaded
Poms! Lets hope that turns out to be the case and that we can cause one of the
biggest upsets of the competition. There is no doubt that SA are the underdogs
going into this match so it really is going to be a big mountain to climb. It
can be done though. Kick-off is tomorrow, Saturday, at 14:00 so make sure you are
in front of the telly then. Its going to be epic!
Alan Keen took the time to write the following overview of the Laser Masters Worlds, which took place recently in Cadiz,
Spain. It sounds like it was an excellent regatta and with so many Laser
sailors in South Africa of eligible age perhaps we will see a bigger SA
contingent at next years worlds?
“Just back
from another memorable Laser masters Worlds and I thought I should share a few
quick thoughts about the event and sailing in South Africa.
Nearly 250
entries spread across the 4 age categories (35-45-55-65+) and with the Radials
(ladies and all male age groups) starting with the great Grand Masters who also
sail Radials. Not the biggest fleet ever but still a good entry and a very
large number by our standards. The Radials were the biggest single fleet with
about 80 boats and it raises the question of whether the Radial Masters will
continue to be held together with the full rigs or not.
The four
fleets were spread across two totally separate trapezoid courses each with
“inner” and “outer” loops such that each fleet effectively sailed without any
interference from any other fleet - great. The race organisation was generally
superb although not without some minor problems that showed that the Spaniards
are also human and can make mistakes. The reason for the excellent race
management skills are simple – every official on the water gets paid about US$
80 per day so there is competition to be a time keeper, mark layer or even an
anchor puller. On this point I was interested to note that the principal race
officer did not set the course, he merely checked the wind direction and
informed his mark layers of the compass bearing and they did the rest on their
own, something that is strange for us. The facilities were also superb although
about an hour’s downwind sail to the sailing area and a lot more beating back
in the evening. Interestingly the Masters sailed, if anything, further from the
regatta centre than the Open World sailors did the previous week. Us old men
must be even tougher than the youngsters!
There was
a good entry of 9 South Africans competing including one lady. We naturally had
a ball both on the water and off. A number of us had partners with us and apart
from the challenging sailing conditions we also had to contend with the
challenge of not letting the other half take control of our credit card whilst
we were out sailing. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of
participating in one of these events, it is an event like no other sailing
event. If you have been to one you will do your utmost to attend another one.
The comeradie, competition and organisation are superb. Next years event is in
Bodrum, Turkey in May, so make your plans now.
From a
pure sailing point of view our results were not spectacular, but then only a
few people go to these events for the sole purpose of winning. Pete Shaw won at
least one race and had some other good results and finished up with the best
overall position of the South Africans. The rest of us generally had
respectable results and most came away feeling that we had done quite well
considering our sailing backgrounds. The level of competition was as usual
extremely high and good starts counted for a huge amount. If you duck one
transom up the first beat you lose one boat length and probably 10 or 20
places, something we are not used to in local sailing. The weather was
generally mild with only one race in “fresh” conditions. Most of the winners
had some mediocre results as well, which confirmed the overall high level of
skills and the difficult conditions. Ten or even twenty-degree wind switches
occurred randomly so there seemed no right side on any leg. You just had to be
in the right place at the right time as speed differences were negligible. There
were many rule 42 (illegal propulsion) infringements noted by the jury and at
least 3 sailors were disqualified for a second rule 42 infringement. This was
noticeably different from previous years, partially as a result of stricter
rule enforcement by the jury and partially because of the conditions that we
sailed in.
Will I
attend another one – you bet.
I was also
fortunate to attend a British “qualifier” event one week after the masters,
which was also an eye opener for me. This was one of 6 events that are used to
select the British team for next years Open Worlds. My son was sailing in this
event so could give me a first hand account as well as see it with my own eyes.
The event was held in Pwllehli, North Wales, which is about as far as you can
get from civilisation in the British Isles. There were nearly 200 entries of
which at least half were what we would call youth sailors and included plenty
of Radial and 4.7 rigs. Sailors arrived from all over the British Isles, which
entailed a major drive for most people. My son for example left from Newbury,
just west of London at 2.00 pm on Friday afternoon and arrived at about
10.00pm. Similarly on the return trip he left at 4.30 pm and arrived home at
1.30 the following morning – all for a single weekend event. Not many South
Africans would do that other than possibly some Optimist parents. The
facilities were basic – launch straight off the beach which at high tide meant
that you were up to your neck in 13 degree water before you could get into your
boat, and on returning at low tide there was a 200 meter trudge through muddy
silt to fetch your dolly before heaving your boat through the good and up the
beach. Changing facilities were the boat park or the car park, although there
was a very pleasant clubhouse a few hundred metres away adjacent to the
keelboat anchorages. All this makes one realise how spoilt we are in this
country with excellent facilities yet we battle to get anyone to travel to
events or even to get local sailors to participate. Are South African sailors
just too lazy? Maybe it is just easier to sit in the clubhouse and watch TV and
pretend that you are a sailor?”
The J22
Worlds, which started
yesterday and end on Sunday see more South Africans competing overseas. There
are two SA teams at this event; Dave Hudson, Roger Hudson and Charles Nankin
are one while the other is Phillip Baum, Brian Lion-Cachet and Roy Dunster. The
regatta is taking place in Triest in Italy but the bad news for competitors is
that the first two days of racing were blown out by the local wind, known as
the Bora! Now that was after practice race on Monday was abandoned because
there wasn’t enough wind! The good news is that when that happened both SA
teams were running inside the top seven places so they certainly seem to be on
the pace. On the second of the blown out days some sailors got restless and
ventured out onto the water but I am told that at least one crew needed a new
mast after that adventure. You can find the regatta web site at www.svbg.it/ but when I looked it hadn’t been updated with any results. This
was a little bit disappointing as an event like this really should have a good
site. If the site hasn’t been updated by Sunday I will get the results off one
of the guys at the event.
There is sailing at the Henley Midmar Yacht Club this weekend with
their Rose Bowl Series taking place on Sunday. Three sprint races will be sailed on the
day with these being scored on both boat and skipper handicap. Racing is set to
start at 12:00 with a briefing before hand at 11:00. There is quite a lot of
serious sailing coming up at Midmar in the next couple of months, most notably
the Hunter KZN Champs and the Sprog Nationals. Club racing of this kind at the
regatta venue offers a good opportunity to get in some practice on the regatta
waters so hopefully HMYC’s racing will be supported by some of these guys in
the next while!
The following is
a press release on the 2003 South Star One Two Race from Hout Bay
to St Helena island:
There are now only 48 days to go to the start of the
2003 South Star One Two Race that takes competitors from Hout Bay to the
South Atlantic Island of St Helena 1800 nautical miles away.
To date 14 entrants have been received. The yachts
entered range in size from 9 to 13 metres. Yachts will be crewed by either one
(single-handed division) or two (double-handed division) The event has been
organised to re-introduce and encourage short-handed sailing throughout South
Africa and to put South Africa back at the forefront of solo sailing
internationally.
There has been incredible
support from all areas of sailing in South Africa and thanks must go to the
following bodies: SAS (South Africa’s Government appointed sailing authority),
the NSRI who are overseeing scrutineering of the entries, the South African
Navy for support in communications and logistics, False Bay Yacht Club and Hout
Bay Yacht Club for their commitment and assistance in numerous and varied
areas.
The race starts from the
scenic port of Hout Bay at 15:00 with the cut-off, 12:00 on the 14th
of December off Jamestown St Helena.
The public are welcome to view the yachts and meet the competitors who
will start assembling in Hout Bay from the 8th of November 2003.
Lady Spencer, the patron of
St Lukes Hospice, will start the race from the cannon on Chapmans Peak on
Saturday the 29th November 2003.
From the start the yachts will make their way along Chapmans Peak to a
mark at the entrance to Hout Bay, turn to starboard (right) and then by any route
to the Island of St Helena. Good
vantage points to view this spectacle will be, Hout Bay harbour itself,
Chapmans Peak or of course on the water! The start area will be patrolled by
the NSRI. The boating public are asked
to give the competitors some room in and around the start due to the nature of
the event.
After completion entrants can enjoy the sights and
history of St Helena before shipping back to Cape Town on the 22nd
of December 2003 in time to enjoy Christmas at home.”
Handicapping in sailing is a particularly hot issue
and one that has caused long, intense and often heated debate around the world
over the years. It is something that continues to this day. There are and have
been numerous handicapping systems and rules over the course of time. Many have
come and gone with varying degrees of success but the one that seems to work
best is IRC. In the relatively short time that it has
been in use IRC has grown rapidly around the world and the rule received a huge
boost this week when the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco decided that
their prestigious Big Boat Series will use IRC when it is sailed again next
September. Previously SFYC had been using the Americap Rule. They have however
acknowledged that this home grown handicapping rule doesn’t work. Americap, in
its favour, was at least a measurement rule however often the debate is between
a measurement and a performance rule. Performance handicapping has been proved
time and again not to work. We have IRC in South Africa and in fact our IRC
fleet was acknowledged at the recent IRC AGM in London as having showed some of
the most substantial growth worldwide. So its here, its accessible and a lot of
yachts are rated under it already. Why then isn’t it being used? If it’s good
enough for the big boys in San Francisco then surely IRC can be good enough for
us! For more information on IRC visit www.rorc.co.uk.
There is some Sailing on TV in the next few days although it’s mostly
this week’s edition of Watersports World. Still it is worth watching if you get
the chance, as there is often some good sailing on it. The schedule for this
week is as follows:
|
Watersports
World |
Supersport
2 |
01:30 |
Tuesday
21st |
|
Watersports World |
Supersport
1 |
15:00 |
Tuesday
21st |
|
Watersports World |
Supersport
2 |
15:45 |
Wednesday
22nd |
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 |
|
Nautical Nomads Society |
25 & 26 October |
|
|
Albert Falls Yacht Club |
Changed to 15 & 16 November |
|
|
Pennant Nine Yacht Club |
18 & 19 October |
|
|
Seal Point Yacht Club/Manten
Marina |
25 & 26 October |
|
|
Durban Radio Boat Club |
8 & 9 November |
|
|
Hout Bay Yacht Club |
15 & 16 November |
|
|
Lake Denys Yacht Club |
15 & 16 November |
|
|
FBYC & HBYC |
22 November |
|
|
Hout Bay to St Helena Island |
29 November 2003 |
|
|
Point, Royal Natal & Zululand
Yacht Clubs and Club Naval, Maputo |
December 2003 to July 2004 |
|
|
Spionkop Boating Club |
6 & 7 December |
|
|
Royal Natal Yacht Club Christmas
Regatta |
Royal Natal Yacht Club |
13 to 16 December |
|
Royal Cape Yacht Club |
13 to 17 December |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
13 to 16 December |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
27 to 30 December |
|
|
Glendee Yacht Club |
1 & 2 February 2004 |
|
|
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
On trailer with
sail box
Contact: John
Lupton-Smith
Cell: 083 301
4775
With sails
and dolly
R1 500-00
Contact:
Charles
Cell: 082 926
0046
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
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
&
(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
E-Mail: Brendan.vickers@poyry.co.za
2nd Hand in good condition
Preferably in Durban area
Contact: Trish Adams
E-Mail: vixend@iafrica.com
In reasonable condition for Club Racing.
Contact: Louwrens Toerien
Tell: (H) 021 880 1749, (W) 021 659
4867
E-Mail: louwrens.toerien@za.didata.com
Contact: Ray van Rensburg
Cell: 083 750 0944
E-Mail: ray@geotron.co.za
Phone 031-463 1572
E-Mail:
thewoods@absamail.co.za
Formula One Keelboat
E-Mail: richann@mweb.co.za
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
For a
HYDROVANE self steering unit.
Contact: Neil
Cell: 072 299
8670
E-Mail: saltygoose110@hotmail.com
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
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