Smooth Sailing
Sailing
News By A Sailor For Sailors!
In
Association with:
NSA Champion Of Champions Regatta
Radio Sailing Keith Mackay Interprovincial Regatta
Jules Verne Record Attempts
Cheyenne Breaks Forestay But Continues
Orange II Rebuilds Bows Restarts
Geronimo Repairs Sails Restarts
Your
Weekend Weather according
to the SA
Weather Service should be as follows:
Durban & Richard’s: Saturday
will be 28 degrees and cloudy becoming partly cloudy with a 20% chance of early
morning rain. The wind will be a moderate southerly becoming a light
southeasterly in the afternoon. Sunday will be 28 degrees, partly cloudy and
humid. The wind will be a light southwesterly becoming a light southeasterly in
the afternoon.
Midmar: Saturday will be 24 degrees and
partly cloudy with a light southeasterly wind blowing. Sunday will be 26
degrees and partly cloudy with a 10% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. The
wind will be a very light southeasterly.
Vaal Dam: Saturday will be 29 degrees and
partly cloudy with a 20% chance of thunderstorms. The wind will be a light
northwesterly. Sunday will be 28 degrees and partly cloudy with a light northwesterly
wind blowing.
Cape Town: Saturday
will be 24 degrees and partly cloudy clearing later in the day. The wind will
be a moderate southwesterly. Sunday will be 24 degrees and partly cloudy
becoming fine. The wind will be a fresh southerly.
Henley Midmar Yacht Club’s annual 9-Hour
Race that took place on Saturday was certainly a memorable
and action packed race. Some 40 odd boats, crewed at various times by 148
competitors, started the race only for it to be abandoned due to a technical
hitch. The second start went off smoothly although an hour and a half was lost
in the process. Unusually the wind was from the north so the initial crew
changes were done on an upwind leg. While this definitely wasn’t as exciting as
the downwind changeovers there was still plenty of excitement as crews tried to
get on and off their boats with the minimum slowing of the boat. Later though
the breeze swung to the southeast accompanied by some severe rumblings of
thunder, a sign of things to come! Shortly thereafter the wind picked up to
around 20 knots, the rain came down, followed by hail and there was thunder and
lightening all around! Those who saw it say that it was the worst hailstorm at
HMYC in many years with the lawn in front of the club looking like it had been
snowed on. Those on the water had to duck for whatever cover they could find as
their head were pelted with fairly large hailstones. Lightening is a pretty
dangerous thing especially when one is on the water in a small boat with a
great metal pole sticking up in the air. One sailor had to be hospitalized as a
result of a lightening strike. Luckily it wasn’t serious though and he will
make a full recovery. Also during the storm two keelboats had the misfortune of
running aground while one or two of the dinghies suffered capsizes. As is often
the case though the storm didn’t last long, passing over quickly to be replaced
by a relative calm. The race was shortened after 7 and a half hours, which got
everyone ashore before sunset. The prize giving took place later that evening
with the clubhouse at HYMC said to have had more people in it than it has had
in a long time. The results were as follows:
Senior Handicap Trophy: Jof Heathcote & Maya Minkova
& Gregg Hurter & Coral Ann Ellens Sprog
Senior Line Honours: Rob Tarboton & Denmar Nel
& Andrew Tarboton & Jacky Kruger
29er
Junior Handicap: Rudi McNiel & Emma Walker
Junior Line Honours: Andrew & Ilse Mackeller Mirror
Hunter: Tony Cockerill & John Bruckman & crews
Open Class: Jof Heathcote & Maya Minkova & Gregg Hurter & Coral Ann Ellens Sprog
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Durban Marina
has at present a junior position open to assist the General Manager in
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or fax it to 031-3054514.
Malcolm Osborne sent us the following report on the NSA Champion of Champions Regatta, which was sailed recently at the Benoni
Sailing Club:
“This is
the event where the champions of classes are invited to sail against each other
in a nominated type of boat. This year, it was the turn of the Sprog class to
provide the boats. Nine Sprogs were provided to accommodate the 9 classes that
entered. All classes (including catamarans and keelboats) were invited, but it
was only the Hunter class from the non-dinghy classes that accepted. Sailed at
BSC (where most Sprogs are located these days), 9 races were sailed over a day
and a half in shifty, variable light wind. In order to even out differences in
boat quality, boats were changed after each race. These top skippers were
challenged to get the best out the boats (which included John Wright's boat,
which won the recent Sprog Nationals). Thanks to Dave Martinson and Gary Brown
of Hunters for competing - and having some reasonable results. After the first
few races, it was 505 (Graeme Willcox), Sprog (Paul Willcox) and Laser (Leon de
Raay) who were fighting it out for the title. This situation remained to the
end, with a few others trying to get a nose in. One point separated the first
three, with 2nd and third being decided on tiebreak. The outcome was that the
magnificent NSA Champion of Champions trophy was awarded to the Sprog class,
represented by Paul Willcox and Kim Lamont. The 505 class (Graeme Willcox &
Bronwen Klaas) were second, edging the Laser class (Leon de Raay & David
Daily) into 3rd place.”
The Full Results have been posted on the Smooth Sailing Racing Reports web page.
Des Fairbank sent us the following report on the Keith Mackay Interprovincial Regatta, sailing in the Radio Controlled Marblehead Class,
which was sailed at the Durban Radio Boat Club last weekend:
“Whilst many of
the MRYC members were sailing in the HMYC 9hr others joined the Durban Radio
Sailors to compete in the Radio Marblehead Inter Provincial sailed at the Blue
Lagoon. The event is known in Radio Circles as the Keith Mackey Event and the
trophy was donated by one of the founder members of the then MYASA (Model Yacht
Association of South Africa.). The first event was sailed in 1995 and is always
sailed over two days. Originally it was sailed as an individual event until
after lunch on the Sunday when the top three skippers from each Province then
sailed six races under team racing rules. Another idiosyncrasy of this event
was that it was sailed on the home waters of the previous winner. Over the
years both of these conditions have been changed and it is sailed in the
Transvaal and KZN alternately. The Cape also entered a team one year and this
year we had a team from the Orange Free State. Scoring is also slightly
different now and the event is sailed as an individual and at the end the
scores of the highest equal number of skippers from each Province is added
together to get a team score.
The
event attracted nineteen Marbleheads with four from the Northvaal, five from
the OFS and ten from KZN. Sailing got under way on time at 13h30 on Saturday
with a moderate North Easterly. Everyone had at least their B rig on although
there was the odd C1 rig for a short while. Marbleheads are allowed six rigs
three of which are the full area with different aspect ratio sails and the
other three are reduced area. A typical Marblehead wardrobe would have an “A” ,
“B” and “C1” as full area measured rigs and a “C2” and “C3” with the sixth rig
dependent on the anticipated wind strength. It might be an “A2” if
predominantly light winds are expected or a
“B2” if strong winds are expected.
The
pond is a little small for the Marblehead and so the 19 boat fleet was split
and we sailed two fleets using HMS. This seemed to cause some confusion for our
OOD Ian Scott and his assistant Beth Brockbank as Ian last sailed a radio boat
before the introduction of this system.
After
six exciting heats the wind eased quite a bit and everyone changed up to “A’
rigs. The last four heats of the day were sailed in light but almost ideal
conditions.
Sunday
was not the same and the ten o’ clock start was delayed until a direction could
be established. The first four heats were sailed in drifting conditions then
the wind shifted to the South and South West which is not an ideal situation on
the pond especially for the longer faster Marblehead. A zig zag course was set
and the last eight heats were sailed before sailing stopped at 14h15.
After
twelve races made up of twenty-four heats and four skippers from each Province
to count the results were as follows:
Teams Results
|
1st
|
RSKZN |
142
Points |
|
2nd
|
OFS |
264 |
|
3rd
|
Northvaal |
470 |
Individual Results
|
1st
|
Des
Fairbank |
RSKZN |
18
Points |
|
2nd
|
Peter
Simons |
RSKZN |
24 |
|
3rd
|
Andrew
Doyle |
OFS |
37 |
|
4th
|
Shaun
Carrol |
OFS |
38 |
|
5th |
Joe
Robbertse |
RSKZN |
47 |
Sailing
stopped at 14h00 and Sheldon and his wife Pam provided wors rolls for the
competitors, which went down extremely well for those travelling back to the
Transvaal and OFS straight after the prize giving.
One
of the most enjoyable Keith Mackey events to date.”
Gareth
Blankenburg ended the Athens Eurolymp Week
regatta in 11th place. While this wasn’t the best result imaginable
it is early in the season and Gareth will be pleased to have had several medal
contenders behind him in the final results. A second in the final race of the
series will also have done his confidence some good and the experience on the
Olympic sailing waters is of course invaluable. For Gareth it’s all about
peaking at the games. We will keep track of his progress throughout the rest of
the season. For more information visit the regatta web site at www.eio.gr.
Early this week it looked like all three of the giant
cat attempting Jules Verne Record attempts were out of the running when Cheyenne reported a broken
forestay. Initially it looked like it was all over and reports from the boat
indicated that they were heading for Cape Town. But while the giant cat turned
north for the Cape of Good Hope her crew got to work to see if they could fix
the problem, which amazingly they did. It appears that the Kevlar forestay had
parted company with the terminal that secures it to the forward crossbeam.
Somehow the crew managed to get the forestay back into the terminal and crimp
it in place, something that is generally undertaken in a factory using some
serious hydraulic equipment. Just how they got this right while at sea is still
a bit of a mystery but it is something that we will surely get more details of
when the voyage is over. Despite having to slow the boat to affect this repair
and having sailed some way off course Cheyenne still managed to keep herself
ahead of the record pace. With the forestay repaired she turned southwards
again and yesterday crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope. Her daily
runs are in the 450-mile region that means that she is averaging just over 18
knots of boat speed. From her current position she still has 15 168 miles to
sail and needs to cover these at an average speed of 13 knots in order to break
the record.
Meanwhile Orange II was forced to return to her base in France over the
weekend with a broken crash box on her starboard bow broke away. The crash box
is a sacrificial part of the bow designed to take the impact in the event of a
collision. Orange II has in fact got two crash boxes on her bows and it appears
to have been the first of these that broke away. It is not clear whether this was
as a result of a collision with an object in the water or if the bow material
was just too soft. Whatever the case the boats builders were quick to make up a
new section, which was laminated onto the boat over the weekend. This was quite
an interesting process to follow on the various sailing web sites that are
following the boats activities. It involved the new section being bonded onto
the bow, and then faired in to match the hull and finally painted to match. All
this took around 48 hours to complete with the result that Orange II is likely
to make a second start on her Jules Verne record attempt sometime on Thursday.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Geronimo restarted her Jules Verne attempt as well after
having returned to France to repair her gennakers that were giving trouble on
the previous attempt. Her skipper, Olivier DeKersuasan was sounding much more
upbeat about the second start with the weather conditions looking far more
promising for a quick ride to the equator than they were the last time he started.
With Orange II set to start just a few hours after Geronimo it is a pity that
Geronimo couldn’t have hung around a bit and started at the same time. This
would have added a little more interest to what is already an interesting
contest. Ultimately though this is a race against time and one wonders if the
skippers pay much attention to what the others boats are doing.
Cheyenne’s Web Site: www.fossettchallenge.com
Geronimo’s Web Site: www.trimaran-geronimo.com
Orange II’s Web Site: www.orange.fr
World Sailing Speed Record Council: www.sailspeedrecords.com
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 |
13 & 14 March |
|
|
Witbank Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Point Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Mossel Bay Yacht Club |
20 to 22 March |
|
|
Mossel Bay 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 |
|
|
Dabchick Downham Trophy &
Optimist Interclub Challenge |
Pretoria Sailing Club |
24 & 25 April 2004 |
|
Algoa Bay Yacht Club |
24 to 30 April |
|
|
Transvaal Yacht Club |
24 to 27 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.
Fastest small
keelboat in SA
Complete with
kevlar main, No1 Jib, No3 jib and dacron storm jib.
3 x spinnaker
On trailer
with cover
3hp outboard
Carbon mast
and prod
R197 000-00
Contact: Alex
Schon
Cell: 082 806 0918
On trailer
New mesh tramp,
rigging and more.
R15 000-00
ONCO
View Durban, @
RNYC
Contact: John
Lupton-Smith
Cell: 083 301
4775
Placed: 23/02/04
R3 500-00 onco
Contact: Shane
Hone Phone: 031-708 4118
Cell: 084 403 3357
Placed: 23/02/04
Stainless steel
In Edenvale, Gauteng.
Contact: Peter Lung
Cell: 082 423 0674
Placed: 23/02/04
505
Fiberglass hull
with wood deck
Extra spinnaker
& dolly but no trailer
±35 years
Good sailing
condition, sailed 2004 Round the Island Race
Can be viewed
at Forest Sailing Club, Mpumalanga
R5 500-00
Contact: Hano
van Rooyen
Cell: 082 538
8630
Home Phone:
013-750 2917
E-Mail: hano1@ananzi.co.za
Placed: 23/02/04
Spirit 28
In any
condition
Preferably on
the Vaal.
Prepared to pay
for extras, instruments, and endearing features, but the
bare
necessities is all I want.
Must float, and
have good sails.
Diesel motor an
advantage.
Contact: Pat
Jay
Cell: 082 449
9911
E-Mail: patrick.jay@larox.com
Swing Keel
Version on very good and light trailer
Very well
built and finished
VHF radio
fitted
Depth Gauge
Speed and log
Two plate gas
stove
Lifting
rudder and custom made stainless steel rudder with fixed blade
5 HP Yamaha
outboard
4 berths x
1,95m
Outstanding
condition
R45 000-00
Contact:
Chris Storey
E-Mail: storey@501.co.za
With integral
and separate tanks.
Less than 18
months old.
R6 500-00
Contact
Brendan Boyle
Cell: 082 442
8676
E-Mail: brendan@iafrica.com
22 ft
Vagabond Motor Cruiser
With 2 x 115 hp
Yamahas in excellent condition.
Sleeps 2 with
separate toilet, fridge, fish finder, on braked high speed
trailer.
Lying Vaal Dam.
R165 000-00 or
nearest offer.
Contact: Steven
Cell: 082 321 2143
WANTED
Drop down,
lifting type.
Contact:
Andrew Mackie
Cell:082 570
5141
Placed:
23/02/04
Fairly good
condition
In Gauteng
area
Contact:
Wayne
Cell: 083 289 3098
Relatively cheap!
JHB Area
Contact: Mark Meredith
Cell: 082 771 2708
Second Hand
Hobie 16 Mast
Contact: Heinz Venter
Work Phone: 033-263
1251/2 on ext 227
Home Phone: 033-263 2237
Laser
In good condition.
Contact: John Knipe
Cell: 083 281 1399
E-Mail: jknipe@bayunion.co.za
Andrew Heathcote
Mobile: +27 (0) 83 783 8805
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