Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
Pretoria Sailing Club Annual Regatta
Dubai International Sailing Week
Cape Town Stopover For The Antarctica Cup Series
The big
event of the weekend was the Bathroom Bazaar
Round The Island Race. After several years of good winds this
year’s race was one for the light air sailors with very few boats making it to
the finish line. This was the case not only for the main race on Sunday but for
Saturday’s warm-up races as well. While the battled up front was one for the
keelers this year I was interested to see that a Finn dinghy came out on top of
the handicap results with a 505 in second and another Finn in third. Stephen
Kirker covered the race for Smooth Sailing and sent us the following blow by
blow account of the battle at the front of the fleet including comments from
some of the leading skippers:
“A cloudless sky greeted the
early rising sailors but there was hardly a breath of wind as crews readied
themselves for the 2004 Bathroom Bizarre Round The Island Race. Held at the
Vaal Dam and hosted every year by Lake Deneysville Yacht Club, the Round the
Island Race is South Africa's biggest yacht race with hundreds of yachts
entered. The fleet is made up of keelboats, catamarans, trimarans and dinghies
of all shapes and sizes. What promised to be a thrilling challenge ended up
being totally dominated by Grant Davidge Pitts on the J27 Pure Magic and Mark
Sadler on the brand new K23 Smartstone.
The start line in such a big
event is always a little hectic but the fleet were away and sailing at the
twenty past eight starting gun. Alex Schön and Rick Nankin managed to grab the
lead at one stage but it was not to be their day in the end. The J27's made the
early running after that, with On The Rampage leading from Pure Magic whose
crew had had a hectic rush just to get to the start. Their skipper, Grant
Davidge Pitts explains: "We were very late for the start. We stopped to
tow somebody and then we ran aground just after we connected to them and our
motor wouldn't start. So we were on thee wrong side of the line at the start
and we actually had to duck through the line and then come out."
Despite that Pure Magic was
on the pace: "Fortunately we had a little bit of speed so we got clear air
and then we went past Beacon Island and we actually got a thermal wind there
which we were planning on. We got this thermal wind there and it just shot us
along and we actually got ahead of everybody there." The crew sailed very
well despite having been cobbled together on the morning of the race: We
haven't actually sailed for a year. In the meantime we just put a crew
together. Anthony Tomlinson is the guy who normally sails with me and the two
of us normally sail together really well. The other guys were just friends and
Anthony's son William who sailed with us."
A puff came through and Craig
Schweiser's newly imported Mount Gay 30 Nashua North slipped into the lead.
This was not to last, Schweiser and his crew being the first to tack onto port,
heading to the right and finding themselves firmly stranded in their own
private wind-hole. Nashua North provided the chase boat that was used by Smooth
Sailing to cover the event as well for which we are most grateful.
Of particular interest was the Caltex-Texwise Sport Boat
Challenge, a race within a race between Alex Schön's Thompson 7 Wild Monkey
Dance and Mark Sadler's newly launched K23 up from Cape Town. This challenge
failed to meet expectations as the T7 struggled in the ultra light conditions
while the K23, not happy in the ultra light either appeared to make better use
of what wind there was.
The entire fleet had to
battle with sloppy water churned up by the spectator boats and this made
keeping the boats moving even more difficult. With the water level so low the
fleet had to choose which side of Beacon Island they were sail on, some
choosing the left and some the right. Wild Monkey Dance chose the left-hand
side along with another J27 Bataleur 2, a move that paid off briefly for
Bataleur 2 as they sneaked into the lead.
Grant Davidge Pitts on Pure
Magic went right and with Nashua stuck in a hole, moved back into the lead.
"The wind died again and we managed to get across the dam to the other
side to get a thermal wind on the opposite shore, which we did and so did
Smartstone as well. They were behind us and that's really where we got
ahead" said Davidge Pitts describing a very crucial part of the race.
This challenge faded out as
the fleet approached the main island and it was Pure Magic that rounded the
first island mark in the lead 3 hours and 2 minutes after the start. Mark
Sadler had done well to bring Smartstone up to second and trailed by just over
7 minutes at this stage. A surprise in 3rd place was Chris Duff on
the Beneteau First Eight Cabriole, which had been well sailed to be there.
The boats trailing the top 3
had been able to set their spinnakers but there was not enough wind to keep
them filled and eventually it was the trimaran Magic Fly which reached the
first mark in 4th. They sailed inside the mark however!
By the third mark Smart Stone
had closed the gap on Pure Magic to just under a minute and these two were
simply showing the rest of the fleet a clean pair of transoms. Smart Stone,
able to set an asymmetric spinnaker was able to carry it for longer than the
J27 could keep her spinnaker up and this helped close the gap. Unfortunately
the crew of Pure Magic managed to get themselves into the mud and this gave
Smartstone the chance they had been waiting for and the K23 was leading by the
5th mark but the J27 was right up her transom. Grant Davidge Pitts
was somewhat bemused by that particular turn of events: "Luckily we didn't
get stuck but we were quite far from the shore and didn't expect to run
aground." It was a bittersweet moment for Sadler as he famously blew his
chances two years ago when he put the Jazz 30 firmly into the mud a bit further
back on the course.
Pure Magic tacked on to
starboard in a move which initially didn't seem to make sense, Davidge Pitts
and his crew appearing to fall back in heading for the left of the course, a
strategy which the stuck with for most of the rest of the race. Generally
accepted knowledge is to go right and this is where Mark Sadler took the K23
and it was here that fortunes changed again as Davidge Pitts explains:
"They were sticking with us at first but they were covering us like they
would in cape Town but here you keep losing because the boat behind always
catches on the wind shifts and you never get those wind shifts so that's when
they left us alone." The first 8 was still in third four hours and ten
minutes into the race but under pressure.
The leaders were having to
deal with some extreme wind shifts by this stage with the K23 looking very good
when the wind picked up a little bit. That Davidge Pitts was holding on to
second was testament to his mastery of the Vaal Dam conditions. As the dam
opened up the K23 continued to lead but this was the stage where the ultimate
fortunes of these two boats were decide, Sadler staying right and Davidge Pitts
keeping left. The two did cross tacks very briefly before tacking away from
each other and by this stage, adjacent to Beacon Island; Davidge Pitts was in
front again. He admitted that he and his crew might have been favoured with the
better of conditions: "And then I think we were lucky. We got a couple of
good gusts of wind, a couple of good lifts. Sometimes they got them, sometimes we
got them and I think we just got the advantage and we sailed really hard and we
really wanted to win again."
The breeze freshened at this
stage and the K23 was powered up with crew on the trapeze and short tacking
while Davidge Pitts took the less energetic approach. I asked Mark Sadler how
advantageous being able to deploy crewmen on the trapeze was. "I think it
makes a big difference, especially in the breeze. We got to use them a little
bit on the beat up which gave us a little advantage but if there was a bit more
breeze it's a hell of an advantage to have that weight out and holding the boat
upright going upwind."
Five and quarter hours after
the start, LDYC was back in sight and the race for line honours was still wide
open. Things got a little stressful on Pure Magic when they were faced with
first a ski boat stopped in the water and then a spectator catamaran blocking
their way. The two crossed tacks again but the J27 was still in front a
position they held on to. Crossing the finish line at 3 minutes to 2, it had
taken Davidge Pitts and the crew of Pure Magic 5 hours and 37 minutes to win
the race. Sadler on Smartstone finished 1 minute and 16 seconds later, edged
out in the final analysis by Davidge Pitts greater experience in these light
conditions, something that Davidge Pitts was particularly pleased about.
"As long as there's some wind the J27 goes well and if the wind was very
light they (Smartstone) actually seemed to slow down a bit. So they still need
some wind but they were faster once the wind picked up a little bit but once it
got stronger again I think we were faster."
Mark Sadler was also pretty
happy with his crew's performance but was quick to admit that things hadn't
gone perfectly. "We actually made a few mistakes because we managed to
pass them and get ahead of them at from the main island to one of the smaller
islands and we made a mistake. We let them get to the left of us and more wind
came from the left-hand side of the course, which gave them an advantage. And
they sailed over us. We lost a lot by doing that and all the previous races
we've felt that the breeze came of the right hand side of the course. That's
why the decision was made to cover him and stay between him and the right hand
side which was unfortunately the wrong thing."
One consolation for Sadler
and his crew was trouncing Alex Schön and Rick Nankin on the T7: "we're
ecstatic. Our sponsors Smartstone and Caltex who got us here must be happy with
the performance and it's great to have given them a good klap."
Unfortunately this scribe had
a radio deadline to meet and hurried to catch up with the first two boats
before tearing off to Johannesburg to file a report on SAFM.”
The top five
positions on corrected time were as follows:
|
1st |
Gerd Bohnsack |
Finn |
|
2nd |
Albrecht Holm |
505 |
|
3rd |
Chris Moreton |
Finn |
|
4th |
Rob Samways |
Stadt 23 |
|
5th |
Adrian Gornall |
Dolphin |
For the full results
visit the LDYC web site at www.ldyc.co.za.
Malcolm Osborne sent us the following report on the Pretoria Sailing Club’s Annual Regatta, which took place recently. It sounds like this was a
very good, well-attended event with some close racing on the water:
PSC's annual open regatta was held on the 24 / 25
January 2004. There was a good entry of club members and visitors from other
clubs in the Northvaal area. Although the water level is down a bit, there was
plenty for the combined fleet of 119 boats, which ranged from Optimist to FDs
and a 49er. It did make for additional space on the shore for parking the
boats. One thing that was lacking as the wind! Everyone waited around on
Saturday morning, some eating the galley's stock of doughnuts. After an early
lunch, racing got underway in a breeze which faded. Two races were completed.
Sunday morning was a repeat of the breathless conditions. A race was attempted,
but it was abandoned with not much progress being made. Eventually at 14:30, a
3rd race could be held to complete the event. By this time, many had given up
waiting, however. On the Saturday evening, the entertainment was hilariously
provided by the classes. The highlight was the show put on by the ladies of the
Bridge Team, doing their version of the Calendar Girls. Our thanks go to Wendy
Geekie and her bridge team for running the racing in the difficult conditions,
to Tania Quarmby and her Galley team for doing an admirable job in feeding the
masses and to Ollie Edwards and Walter Hecht for dispensing the cold liquid
refreshments. Thanks also to our sponsors, notably Biddulphs, which helped to
finance the event. Proceeds from the regatta will go to the National Sea Rescue
Institute. The Laser class was by far the largest participating, with 32
sailing. As such, the winner of this class is awarded the Lubro Trophy as
overall winner. Leon de Raay achieved two firsts and a 3rd to win overall. John
Samuel was second with Gill Waiting third. There were quite a few youth sailors
in this (full rig) fleet, coping easily in the light winds. The Dolphin class
were holding their Provincial Championships in conjunction with this event.
However, their Notice of Regatta called for a minimum of 4 races. Hence this
event could not be completed and it is being negotiated to resail it. For the
purposes of the PSC regatta, there were 14 Dolphins sailing. This class was won
by Peter Lee and Hazel Hofmeyer. John Wright and Karen were second, with Colin
Bouwer / Andrew Tainton in third place. The Optimist class also had a good
entry of 14 boats. This class was dominated by Timothy Gibbons, who won all 3
races. Second place went to Gareth Ruttell and third to Graham Field. The GP14
had a good entry of 11 boats. As Ken Bennetts found out, a penalty (OCS) proved
to be disastrous! The event was won by Pieter and Carina Doubell. The Boskop team of Nichol Hakkesteeg and Vickie
Keys were second. The Benoni team of David Santiero and Bianca Tait were third.
In the 9 boat 505 class, the front was once again dominated by Graeme Willcox
and Alan Haylett, with three 1sts. second place was secured by Kyle Klaas and
Charles Crosby on tiebreak over Rudolph and Dietmar Holm. The Finn class also
had 9 boats. The event was won by Jan Jansen. Second place was taken by Barney
Richardson on tiebreak over Dennis Andrews. There was a small Dabchick fleet of
5 boats. This class was won by Tamaryn Bennett of VLC. Six boats entered in the
Fireball class. However none managed to finish all the races. The Boskop team
of Ricky and Brennan Robinson fared the
best (and had a weight advantage) to get two firsts to win overall. The once
strong (as were Fireballs!) Enterprise class mustered 5 boats. The event was
won by the team of Peter and Margaret Hofmann. Four boats competed in the
Mirror class. It was won by the team of Robert Dann and Ryan Hadley. There was
an open class comprising 4 FD's, a Sprog, 2 Spearheads, 2 Laser II's and a
49er. The winner of all the races (on handicap) in this class was the Flying
Dutchman team of Nigel Trevarthen and Gavin Breckle.”
The full results
can be found at www.geocities.com/ptasail.
The two young South Africans who took part in the Dubai International Sailing Week in the Laser 4.7 class will be very happy with their
efforts having finished well in the 30 strong fleet. Justin Onvlee had an
awesome week winning all but three of the races while Aaron Larkens wasn’t
quite as consistent but still did very well to finish in third place overall.
Another South African, Stuart Purchase finished in 16th position.
Fourteen races were sailed in the regatta in which sailors from Brunei, the
UAE, Egypt, Italy and Kuwait took part. To see the full results go to http://www.dimc-uae.com/english_html/regatta2004/regatta.htm.
The first Muira
Bullsheet for 2004 has been published by the class
association and is posted on the Smooth Sailing Racing Reports web page.
Judging by what I have read in the Bullsheets published to date activity in the
Muira class is increasing not only in the Western Cape but also on the Vaal Dam
where the class association is getting more and more active. My experience has
always been that the more effective a class associations means of communication
with its members the more active that class often is. I am sure that the
Bullsheet can take a lot of credit for much of the activity by Muira sailors
around the country. I am also sure that if more class associations communicated
as regularly and effectively with their members there would be a lot more
active classes in SA. It should after all be the class associations that drive
our sport!
The Henley
Midmar Yacht Club’s 9-Hour Race takes place in only three weeks
time, on the 21st of February. The closing date for early entries is
Friday the 13th of February, which is two weeks away. Those who fail
to get their entries in before then will find themselves making a R50-00
donation to the NSRI although that is not entirely a bad thing! Word from HMYC
is that we can expect a sizeable fleet of Hunters, always strong on their home
waters, while there should be a good number of dinghies of various shapes and
sizes from around KZN. This is one of the more sociable sailing events on the
calendar and attracts a wide variety of boats all racing for the same trophy on
a handicap basis. Some sailors may be a little concerned at the water level in
Midmar Dam, which has been precariously low of late. The good news however is
that the dam is now up to 41% full and that’s at the new level. Where the water
is now would have been about 50% at the old level so while it is still by no
means full there is plenty of water to sail on. There will be some great prizes
on offer at this year’s event while the bar and canteen will be open all weekend.
Braai fires will also be available on Friday and Saturday evening on the
verandah outside the bar. For more information download the Notice
of Race from the Smooth Sailing Notices of Race web page.
The
organisers of The Inhaca Island Race
must be smiling. While the race is still more than two months away already they
have got confirmation that five Fast 42’s will be on the start line on the 9th
of April. Prodigy, Skitso, Adios, Zeus and Nemisis have all confirmed their
participation. Prodigy won line honors in this race in 2003 and will be out to
defend her title while the others will all be working on their strategies to
get to the finish before her. It will be interesting to see if any of the other
forty footers in KZN, or SA for that matter, will be making an attempt to upset
the Fasts in this race! Also confirmed for this year’s race are the 2003
Handicap and Cat Class winners, Money Penny and Wasabi. Good news is that past winner
Kieron Moore is getting his Stadt 34 Mean
Time ready for the race and has confirmed his entry. Mean Time
was the only casualty in the Vasco 2003 race when she lost her mast whilst
pushing hard in the race in normal Moore style. Kieron is one of the modern old
men of the Natal Coast and knows the coast well and will find those pockets of
wind or that extra knot of current and he is hungry for a win. The organisers
have also confirmed that South African offshore sailing legend John Martin will
be the guest speaker at the prize giving. It’s a pity that John won’t be at the
helm of the Fast 42 Umoya Omusha, which he campaigned last year, for this race
but it should be very interesting to hear what he has to say at the prize
giving. Martin has a wealth of ocean racing experience having done the kind of
things that most sailors only dream of in his career and will definitely have a
few interesting words to say! Should you want any further information on this
race you can either download a copy of the Notice of Race from the Smooth Sailing Notices of Race web page or e-mail Don Voysey at don@problast.co.za.
The organizers of
the proposed Antarctica Cup Ocean Race Series have
confirmed that Cape Town is their preferred Southern Hemisphere Start/ Finish
port for the second of their series of 'Nation vs Nation' yacht races
circumnavigating the Great White Continent. The second race is scheduled to
take place in 2007. The inaugural race will start/finish from Auckland. This
action follows the granting of an exclusive Country Franchise Owner License to
represent South Africa in the Antarctica Cup Ocean Race Series to Boating
Partners of South Africa Pty Ltd, a company involved in the South African
boatbuilding industry and the sport of international ocean racing. The
Antarctica Cup Race is made up of national teams competing against each other
in identical boats - the crewmembers must the same nationality as the country
being represented. David Gant, Chairman of Boating Partners, said that
Australia, New Zealand, and Britain have already indicated their intentions to
participate. Gant went on to say that participation in international ocean
racing and hosting starts, finishes and stopovers in South Africa, such as the
Volvo and Global Challenge races, had huge positive economic impacts on the
local economy and that the SA Boatbuilding Industry would be invited to compete
to build the future Antarctica Cup Class Mk 02 fleet of identical Maxi-Boats
with an estimated value of some US$3.5 million per boat. The inaugural fleet
will be built by the New Zealand and Australian boatbuilding industries. For
more information visit www.antarcticacup.com.
With
the launch of the new Seamaster Sailing Series next week there will be plenty
of Sailing On TV. The full schedule for the next week is as follows:
|
Wednesday
4 February |
04:30 |
Seamaster Sailing |
Supersport
1/CSN |
|
Wednesday
4 February |
04:00 |
Watersports World |
Supersport
2 |
|
Thursday
5 February |
19:30 |
Seamaster Sailing |
Supersport
2 |
|
Friday
6 February |
14:30 |
Seamaster Sailing |
Supersport
1 |
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 |
|
|
Club Mykonos, Langebaan |
13 & 14 February |
|
|
Sterkfontein Dam |
14 & 15 February |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
21 February |
|
|
Milnerton Aquatic Club |
28 & 29 February |
|
|
Benoni Sailing Club |
28 & 29 February |
|
|
Henley Midmar Yacht Club |
13 & 14 February |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Mossel Bay Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Island Sailing Club |
27 & 28 March |
|
|
Zululand Yacht Club |
9 April |
|
|
Point Yacht Club Easter Regatta Including Sprog, 505
& Dart kZN Champs |
Point Yacht Club |
9 to 12 April |
|
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
Complete new
paint
New sheets
genny ok spinaker ok main old
Has all
extras motor cusions etc
R20 000-00
Parked on
shore at TYC
Contact: Ken
Bishop
Cell: 083 631 3856
Fully
equipped for extensive blue water cruising
27HP Yanmar
engine.
Includes
chain mooring in Durban.
R350 000-00
Contact Don
Sellars
Cell: 072 354
9724
E-Mail: donsellars@absamail.co.za
In very good
condition
Lots of
extras and one year old motor
R89 000-00
Contact: Leo
Harford
Phone:
021-465 5548
Cell: 082 923 6126.
Contact: Hennie
De Villiers
'CRACKER'
R60 000-00
Includes sails
Trailer and mooring
Contact: Andrew Murray
Phone: 031-467 8190 (a/h)
Wooden Extra
in racing trim for sale.
Condition
excellent, made by Stephen du Toit.
Kept
permanently indoors and seldom sailed in past few years.
R9 500-00
Includes
spare sails, dolly and cover.
Contact: John
Sibbald
Work 021-762
5067
Home: 021-786
3012
Cell: 082 658 2490
2 X full sets
of sails
Boat totally
recently refurbished thus in mint condition
Lying
Haartbeespoort Dam
R45 000-00
including mooring
Contact:
Geoff
Cell: 083 321
1485
Magic Box
Composite Hull
Recently refurbished
Includes licensed
trailer and dolly, sails and cover
Won 2001 Nationals
R8 000-00
Contact: Kim Davies
Cell: 082-780-8357
E-Mail: timbercuisine@wol.co.za
505
In sailing
condition.
Plenty of
sails(incl. tape drives)
On road
trailer
Kerwood Hull
PRICE: R8000
o.n.o.
Or
Swop for a
good Sonnet or Sprog.
Contact: Dale
Kushner
Cell: 082 552
4533
Ex Auberge
Foot +- 4.5m
Leech +-13m
Luff +-12.7m
Might fit an
l34 good for use as race training main or just a strong cruising main ,in fair
condition
4 fractional
battens one batten missing
north sails
R
2000
Contact:
Jimmy Kruger
Cell: 082 261
1765
Richards Bay
MOORED at
Kariba, arguably the best sailing in the world, set in a Game Reserve and
exciting fishing waters for when the wind doesn't blow.
Sandawana is
a very pretty, elegant boat, and who can ask for more than that? She is
reluctantly available due to the owner going blind. (Shingles)
Designed by
Julian Baring-Gould (grandson of Sabine, novelist, best known for writing
"Onward Christian Soldiers"), she was designed to be very easy
for one person to sail, a twelve year old could handle her. Ketch
rigged, you can put up a lot of sail, but in a blow, you do not need to reef,
just drop a few. Also, being canoe sterned, you can run comfortably with
a storn, rather than having to bash your way into it, or risk being pooped.
Vital
Statistics
Glass
Reinforced Plastic (GRP)
LOA 30 feet
Beam 8 ft 4
ins
Draft 3
ft 3 ins (1 metre)
Standing head
room
Displacement
5 tons
Licenced for
eight, sleeps five, but two couples is nice and makes up a bridge game.
Equipment
Low hours
Yanmar IGM 10 Marine Diesel Motor.
Simpson-Lawrence
Marine SL400 Toilet.
Electronic
gadgets. Garmen 12 GPS, Auto Pilot, NASA Digital Echo Sounder,
Meths stove,
builtin ice boxes, fresh water tanks, deep sink, Danforth
Anchor, Dalton Compass, Tape Deck
Sandawana has
her own four wheeled trailer, which can be legally towed on the SA National
Roads., and the original GRP moulds, from which five hulls have already been
built, at a profit.
Please
contact John Hensman, e-mail jhensman@africaonline.co.zw or phone
Harare 883461
Offers on
R100 000
WANTED
Contact: Simon Waterkyn
In
Gauteng area
Contact: Niel Ellingson
Cell:
073 224 0945
Optimist
In sailing condition.
Will pay cash.
Contact: David Untiedt
Cell: 082 8881734
To buy or hire
From DBN to JHB
Suitable to
carry 505
Contact: Graham
Elson
Cell: 082 339
0809
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 andrew@smoothsailing.co.za
for publication.
Smooth Sailing is kindly distributed courtesy of FFS Refiners (Pty) Ltd