Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
ISAF About Turn On No Discards At The Olympics
Skippers Sought For Clipper Race 2005/2006
In what amounts
to an admission that they were wrong, ISAF have done an about turn on the Olympic Regatta
Discard Issue. ISAF President Paul Henderson issued the following
statement yesterday:
“ISAF Council has reviewed and reversed the decision to do away
with a Drop Race at the Olympic Games. The Athens Olympic Regatta will be run under the
Drop Race System previously announced which means the sailor can drop 1 race.
The No Drop Debate has, in my opinion, been very productive as
many issues which previously had only been "Boat Park Rumours" were
put on the table mostly by the sailors.
The sailors have challenged ISAF to correct the issues that
concern them which made them demand that they be protected from arbitrary
decisions by Officials.
They believed that the Drop Race lessened the chance of their results being
impacted by either a discriminatory decision or a mistake by the Race
Officials.
Some of the issues which were put on the table which must be corrected are:
(Olympics Only)
·
Scoring when the Time Limit kicks in.
·
Number of races allowed in each class each day.
·
OCS and informing the sailors. With the small Olympic fleets
this should not be
difficult.
·
Perception of an unbiased Rule 42 assessment.
·
Measurement issues especially impounding of sails.
One issue which was put forward which I personally did not agree
with was the need to stop one sailor legally driving another sailor back in the
last race as happened in Sydney in the Laser.
This has always been part of sailing where you sit on your closest
competitor so as to give them "Bad Air". It is a traditional part of
Sailing. I watched the last race in Sydney where Ben Ainslie match raced Robert
Scheidt. These two top sailors in the World ended up over 1/2 a leg behind.
Scheidt finally got through Ben, all legally, and took off after the fleet. He
almost made it but Ben prevailed to win Gold with Robert the Silver.
It was one of the greatest dinghy races I have ever watched.
The major request from the sailors was that ISAF institute a program of
ensuring top qualified Race Officers, who are knowledgeable about the specific
classes, be initiated for all Grade 1 events. Most sailors clearly point out
that qualified Race Officers are the most important aspect of ensuring good
racing. ISAF must positively respond to this challenge.
Compliments of the Season to All,
Regards,
Paul Henderson”
Table Bay Week ended in Cape
Town on Wednesday after a good week of racing. Sadly Smooth Sailing didn’t make
it to the regatta as planned so we were unable to bring you all the details as
we had hoped to. Looking at the results, and some pics of the action that we
have posted on the Smooth Sailing web site, it looks like it was a good
regatta. Eight races were sailed despite there having been no racing on the
first day doe to inclement weather conditions. Ten boats contested IRC Class
One and eighteen IRC Class Two while there were a further ten boats in the
Cruising Class and six L26’s. Geoff Meek cleaned up again. Co-skippering the
Farr38 AL with J Van Rooyen they dominated the regatta, winning every race. IRC
Class Two was a bit closer fought with Peter Hill and Tony Kitchen on the J27
Hilly Billy managed to hold off Thomas Swana on the Laser 28 No Promises who in
turn had David Rae’s L34 Sensation breathing down their neck only one point
behind. The class winners were as follows:
|
IRC 1 |
Al |
Farr 38 |
G Meek/J Van Rooyen |
|
IRC 2 |
Hilly Billy |
J27 |
Peter Hill/Tony Kitchen |
|
L26 |
Escape |
L26 |
Mile Bissett |
|
Cruising |
Apricot |
Muira |
B Tromp |
The Full Results and some pictures from the regatta have been posted on
the Smooth Sailing web site.
The Hunter KZN Champs took place at Henley Midmar Yacht Club last weekend.
The following report on the regatta is by Dave Claxton:
“John
Bruckman did it again. Teaming up with a fellow J22 sailor, John sailed a
pretty faultless regatta, managing to stay one point ahead of local boy Tony
Cockerill up until the last race. These two sailed impressively, each claiming
one or two emphatic wins at one point or other, and in so doing remaining
out-of-reach of the 3rd, 4th and 5th boats who were bunched together points
wise.
As I was on the
bridge, I was able to witness some excellent racing, not just amongst the top
5, but also further down the food chain. It was great to see the Wagners, dad
and son, doing so well and being so competitive, whilst Graham Keir with a
borrowed Wagner son, mixing it with the middle markers at times. These two
entries were the "finds of the regatta", no doubt about that.
Paradigm Shift (ex Moya) with Robin McIntosh and 13 yea rold daughter Sam on
board also featured well. Sam deserves a medal after putting up with her dad's
demands, and she was seen doing an excellent job helming the yacht on the runs
while dad pulled the strings.
Father
Gerson with Martin Stephens had a regatta from hell. A mixture of new
rags, new crew, and newly painted wetted area contributed toward a dog-slow
boat. Keith managed to maintain a sense of humour however. Fritz and
Christine Bubb, on Flicka II, have also showed an improvement in the last six
months, and did well in the shorter races. Chris Frost and Warren Ostendorf on
Prodigy II battled during the first two days of strongish conditions, with
Warren being a little underpowered for the genoa and Chris battling with a
mainsheet that is, by design, unable to be cleated. They redeemed themselves
however with two 1sts in races 9 and 10, as Odin's Eye and Guess Who tangled
with each other. Also very consistent and teed up to take a 3rd in the regatta
until Prodigy II came blasting through, was Bounty, skippered by Barry and
crewed by Julian Verbeek. This Hunter 19 is the best looking boat in the fleet
and she goes like stink. The conditions played into their hands as both these
boys are big and they needed a few knots to feature. Colin and Greg Hay did
well earlier in the regatta until Colin put his back out and sailed in agony
thereon in. Tim and Rob on board Flirt were their usual competitive selves,
with many a fellow competitor telling me that Tim is unflappable out on the
water, void of emotion, and totally focussed. I think they should
interpret this as "agressive competitiveness"..., and perhaps could
do with a dose themselves!
Conditions
were not bad, with Saturday's racing getting away dead on time, into a
West-North-West which was somewhat shifty and peaked at 14.9knots whilst dropping
to 4.5knts at times. Testing for both Bridge and Fleet! Two races were bagged
by end of sailing on Saturday, followed by a rather subdued welcome party in
the pub afterwards, with crews being pretty tired after experiencing those
conditions in addition to 34 degree C heat!
Sunday
also served up strange winds for Midmar, with upwards of 12knots out of the
ESE. Again, shifts and puffs played their part, but in the main the men
handled the conditions and the boys just survived. Four races were completed,
two Triangle,Sausage, Triangles and two Windward Leewards. As bridge officer I
was prepared to sail a 5th race much to the fleet's dismay, until I phoned Dbn
International's friendly weatherman, who advised me Monday would dish up more
wind for us. It was a thankful fleet which sailed back to moorings at the end
of a trying and tiring day at the office.
Monday
arrived with fine drizzle and mist which thankfully lifted and as predicted
another ESE blew in allowing us to get out on the water by 10.45am.
Another
four races, in far better conditions than the previous two days resulted, with
tension building toward the last race as Odin was only 1 point behind Guess
Who, and Frostie going all out to scoop a 3rd in the regatta. Two General
Recalls later, and the "i" Flag being used by the bridge, they were
off to settle the matter once and for all. Frost, as he had done so all
regatta, got a superb start, and smoked the fleet to the windward mark.
Bruckman was chasing and also looking over his shoulder for Cockerill who
seemed to get tangled up with two slower boats. Tony told me afterward
that he "went farming" after that, trying to pull something out of
the hat, but ended up too far back to wrest the lead from John.
One
protest (the only one of the regatta) later, the Prizegiving was hosted, and
the regatta over, affording the visiting boats a full days travelling time on
the Tuesday.
The
top three positions were as follows:
|
1st
|
Guess
Who |
John
Bruckman & Peter Newman |
11
Points |
|
2nd
|
Odin’s
Eye |
Tony
Cockerill & Kevin Newman |
15 |
|
3rd
|
Prodigy
II |
Chris
Frost & Warren Ostendorf |
27 |
The full results and pictures from the event can be found on the Hunter Class web site at www.hunterclass.com.
The Royal Natal Yacht
Club’s annual Christmas Regatta was sailed
offshore last weekend. The event was dogged by bad weather, as often seems to
happen to this regatta. This meant that some classes, the Hobies in particular,
who were sailing their KZN Champs, didn’t get very many races in, not enough to
constitute a regatta even. The Flying Fifteens, who were sailing their
nationals were out there for the entire weekend and despite sailing in some
pretty hectic conditions managed to get six races in. Despite a large number of
entries very little racing was done by most boats so only the results of the
Flying Fifteen class are really relevant. They were as follows:
|
1st |
Patrick
Harris & Jeremy Kriek |
8
Points |
|
2nd
|
Mike
Wright & Darren Hinnett |
11 |
|
3rd
|
Hemraj
Gokal & Sunil Maharaj |
16 |
The full results have been posted on the Smooth Sailing web site.
From: Willie Zevenster
Re: MIRROR CLASS and the Junior Classes
I am very
surprised by the comments and statement made by David Booth regarding the
“Junior” nationals and the Mirror Class in a letter to the editor of Smooth
Sailing on 9 December 2003.
David is
well aware of the vision of the Mirror Class as we have discussed this at a
number of occasions, where he actually agreed with this vision/strategy.
I would
like to comment on the points made:
“Junior” Nationals
The Mirror
Class has attempted, since our AGM in 1998 at Wriggleswade, to have our
Nationals with the Junior Nationals as it complements each other, or so we
thought. It was however categorically stated at every occasion we discussed the
matter, that it was NOT a Junior Nationals but the Optimist and Dabchick
National Championships. Junior sailors from other classes have always been
welcome to join and sail in an open, non championship junior regatta. We have
always encouraged the mirror sailors to support this and this year is no
exception. It was also made very clear that invitation to take part at this
event rests with the organizing authority as it was dependant on available
infrastructure, etc.
The Mirror Class and Juniors.
The
backbone of the Mirror Class are the juniors and families. Just about every
Mirror that sails competitively in South Africa has at least one junior as
crew. The strength of the Mirror is the fact that juniors sails with
experienced sailors to gain the experience and confidence required to helm
themselves.
In 1999 the
Mirror Class had a major drive to get at least 10 Junior Mirrors to the
Optimist/Dabchick Nationals at Theewaters. This drive came following our decision
at the 1998 AGM and after the Optimist and Dabchick classes turned our request
to hold our Mirror Nationals with them, down. We managed 5 entries. In 2000,
Michael Robinson and Mike Dann did a fantastic job in promoting the “Junior”
event at Midmar dam for the Mirrors, we managed 9 entries.
In 2001
Border Sailing saw the light and invited the Mirror Class to have their
nationals with the Optimists and Dabchicks at Wriggleswade. What a fantastic
event, there were 27 Mirrors. Of the 54 Mirror sailors, 29 were juniors. There
were, however, only 8 boats that qualified as juniors. 10 of the entries were
family members sailing together, Mom & Dad, Brother & Sister and Father
& Child combinations. That has been the ratio at just about all the nationals
I have been to since 1997, when I first got involved. It is not fun to sail in
and event where there is hardly any competition and it does not qualify as a
championship. Children, and for that matter, any sportsman, not only want
recognition, but also reward for their achievements.
What is the
mission and strength of the Mirror Class?
As I have
said, the Mirror is an ideal class to teach and coach young sailors to become
good helmsmen and crew. Some do not want to be helmsmen. The proof of this
success is the performance of 3 of the current Optimist sailors. Taariq Jacobs,
who won both the Eastern Cape and Western Province Provincial events, has
sailed with his Dad, Fuad, in the 1999 Mirror World Championship in Saldanha at
the age of 8. He also sailed with Sieraj at Wriggelswade in the Mirror
nationals in 2001, which they won, and he sailed with Kuba Miszewski in the
Mirror World Championship in Hobart, Australia, in January this year. We
believe this experience, together with his commitment, made the difference. The
same goes for Wayne Watkins and Andrew Collier. They sailed with Waldo and
Diether Zevenster respectively, won some of the provincial championships and
sailed in the Mirror World Championship in Hobart. Wayne and Andrew did very
well in the provincial championships they participated in by finishing in the
top 5. Wayne came 2nd at Western Cape and Andrew 2nd at
Eastern Cape, 4th at Western Cape. At the club events they also
battle it out for the top spots. That was not the case before.
On the 18th
and 19th of October this year I was invited to attend a
coaching clinic in Plymouth, UK, where they had one of the UK Olympic Sailing
Coaches, 2 world champions and 2 regional Champions coaching junior Mirror
sailors. They had 27 Mirrors (54 Sailors) on the water in Plymouth with sailors
aging between 9 and 15. On the same week-end they had Mirror coaching clinics
in the north of the UK on the East and West Coasts. Three venues in one
weekend, coaching their advanced Junior Mirror Sailors to select their Regional
and National RYA Squads. The RYA and the UK Olympic committees have realized
the value of the Mirror in the development of sailing to achieve top results at
the Youth Worlds and Olympic games. In Sydney 2000 they took 5 sailing medals.
Sailors from the Mirror Class goes on to Sail Optimists, if they chose the
single handed route, or they stay in the Mirror Class till they are 15 and then
move on to the 420 to sail in the Youth Worlds and then the 470 for the
Olympics. The UK LOTTO has put more than a million GBP a year into sailing
development classes of which the Mirror is one. Look at their results.
Other
countries do the same. The last 3 Mirror World Champions were Irish and all of
them were youth sailors, under 19 years of age.
The Mirror
Class in South Africa was criticized for not commenting/promoting the class
when the discussion regarding the 420 was circulated recently, but we do not
see that as opposition, rather as the future. Our objective is to get bums on
boats and to make juniors, and others, competent sailors by sailing with other
competent sailors. Too many prospective sailors come through sailing schools
where they have to sit on their own on an Optimist/09’r, not knowing why they
do what when. They get a scare, never to be seen on a dinghy again. My daughter
is a prime example of that and there are many others.
Conclusion.
After all
this, what am I actually saying?
We need to
open our eyes to the bigger world of sailing and work together through whatever
means to promote sailing and provide the best possible opportunity for people
to learn to sail. The Mirror Class in not a threat to any one, we are there to
develop sailors. Once we have the numbers to justify an independent Mirror
junior national championship, we will be the first to promote it.
In 1997 at
Wriggleswade, there were 83 Optimists plus 11 Novices at the Optimist National
Championship alone. On the current ranking of the optimists there are only 80
boats that took part in major regattas the whole year. Where are the new
sailors?
The motto
of the company I work for is “Through united co-operation we all will prosper”.
If this works successfully in business, why will it not work in our sport?
The Mirror
is the cheapest International Dinghy in South Africa that gives you the
opportunity to learn to sail and also to compete at international level at
world championships every two years. We have the Mirror World Championship in
South Africa in 2007; let’s do something positive towards it.
Finally, I
sincerely hope that we will eventually have people with the big picture in mind
at the helm of the different organizations and classes that look after and have
to promote sailing.
Have a
fantastic festive season and travel safely.
Willie Zevenster.
Clipper Ventures
plc has instigated a major international recruitment campaign to appoint ten
international skippers for its Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht
Race. The Clipper 05-06 event starts from Liverpool (UK) in September 2005
and will follow the longest route of all round the world races. In a bid to secure the most qualified and
proficient skippers for the race, applications are invited from men and women
from around the world and across the sailing spectrum. Clipper Chairman and
first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston,
commented, “Sailing is a sport for all, where men and women can compete largely
on level terms in the racing arena. We are seeking talented sailors, regardless
of age, sex and race, to accept the challenge of skippering their boat to
victory. Success in a sailing race is not just a matter of muscles, it also
requires a great deal of tactics and determination - a true combination of
push-ups and chess! We are really enthused by the new format for our Clipper
05-06 race and will look forward to meeting those people who believe they can
fit the bill as part of the
Clipper team.” In
addition to their RYA Yachtmaster Ocean with Commercial endorsement, applicants
will require excellent interpersonal skills and a strong
background in
instructing. The skippers’ qualifications should also include some 30,000
logged sea miles, offshore racing experience with proven time in command, as
well as practical maintenance skills and the ability to work to a set budget.
The ability to manage a novice team must be backed by a sound commercial
awareness, enabling each skipper to balance the requirements of the race
organisers, city sponsors and equipment suppliers with those of the crew
members. The skipper selection process is designed to ensure that applicants
are sufficiently tested both on and off the water, resulting in the appointment
of ten professionals able to effectively prepare their teams pre-start and to
race safely and competitively around the world. Initial trial sails, including
3-4 days offshore, will take place throughout March and April 2004 on board
Clipper Ventures’ existing fleet of 60-foot yachts. A further assessment period
then enables the potential skippers to have an involvement in the Clipper 05-06
crew training. With the raised global profile of round the world racing,
heightened by internet spectator opportunities, an intensive media training
programm will also form part of the skippers’ induction at Clipper
Ventures. A final shortlist of 20
skippers will be revealed in early April 2005, ahead of the grand announcement
of the Clipper 05-06 race skippers and their reserves on 1st May 2005. Previous Clipper
races have provided an exceptional springboard, both in sailing and business,
for skippers and crews alike. Alex
Thomson became the youngest winner of a crewed circumnavigation on the Clipper
’98 event and went on to score business success at the helm of Formula 1
Sailing before launching his single-handed offshore racing career. Thomson has
since become Great Britain’s most aspiring male solo talent and will be on
start line of the legendary Vendée Globe in November 2004. As recently as last week Thomson, sailing in
the Defi Atlantique, set a new record for single-handed monohull distance in 24
hours (subject to WSSRC ratification) with an impressive run of 466 nm. Skipper
applications should be addressed to Tim Hedges at Clipper Ventures on +44 (0) 23 8023 7088 or thedges@clipper-ventures.com.
The Sailing
On TV Schedule for the
next week is as follows:
|
Sunday 21 December |
Watersports World |
Supersport 1 |
18:30 |
|
Monday 22 December |
Watersports World |
Supersport 3 |
05:00 |
|
Monday 22 December |
Watersports World |
Supersport 2 |
20:00 |
|
Tuesday 23 December |
Swedish Match Bermuda
Gold Cup Match Racing |
ESPN (Channel 33) |
21:00 |
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 |
|
Point, Royal Natal & Zululand
Yacht Clubs and Club Naval, Maputo |
December 2003 to July 2004 |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
27 to 30 December |
|
|
Theewaters Sports Club |
27 to 30 December |
|
|
Theewaters Sports Club |
27 to 31 December |
|
|
Pretoria Sailing Club |
24 & 25 January |
|
|
Port Owen Yacht Club |
25 January |
|
|
Lake Denys Yacht Club |
30 January to 1 February 2004 |
|
|
Glendee Yacht Club |
1 & 2 February |
|
|
HMYC 9-Hour Endurance Race |
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
21 February |
|
Milnerton Aquatic Club |
28 & 29 February |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Hoedjiesbaai Beach, Saldahna Bay |
9 to 12 April |
|
|
Algoa Bay Yacht Club |
24 to 30 April |
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
Full inventory.
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Yamaha 15hp motor with inboard control
box.
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Contact: Leo Harford
Cell: 082 923 6126
Phone: 021-465 5548.
Hardly used
With Radial Rig
R15 000-00
Road Trailer
Price
Negotiable
Contact: John
Pilcher
Phone: 031-765
3442
E-Mail: jprdesigns@iafrica.com
R150-00
Winner
boat-complete with dolly.
All offers
considered
Contact:
Avril Sellars
Cell: 082 457
9603
E-Mail: avril.sellars@tiscali.co.za
On high-speed
galvanized trailer.
Excellent Condition
R8 000-00
Contact: Mark Reardon
Phone: 031 705 7212 or
031 702 3185
Cell: 073 306 1489
E-Mail: reardomw@hotmail.com
Sail # 186
Fully Equiped & in
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One of the newest
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Cabin fittings
include: 2 burner gas cooker with grill
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R80 000-00
Contact: Mike Denholm
Cell: 083 556 4182
Phone: 031-767 4182
E-Mail: tessmike@mweb.co.za
WANTED
Contact: Heinz Venter
Contact: Mark
Summerton
Phone: 033 3411265
Cell: 083 309 1073
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
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