|
|
|
 
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
24 October 2003
Stephen Kirker It was obviously unfortunate that the PNYC Endurance Race was scheduled on the same day that the Springboks took on England at the Rugby World Cup. Unfortunate for those who missed out on some very brisk sailing conditions…not to mention having to watch the Bokke get beaten. A cold front was bringing icy Cape style weather to the Highveld but on the day of the race the temperature was bearable…as long as you stayed out of the water. With winds gusting up to 25 knots before the race there was no guarantee of this either, especially for the Flying Dutchmen fleet. That sailors would be working hard on the water was certain and spectacular sailing a given, at least at the beginning of the 6 hour race. Happily conditions did not vary much throughout the day, except for the odd lull and temporary switch that kept crews on their toes. Although the fleet that that was flagged off was not a big one, there was a very interesting variety of craft represented including Triloneum, a Twiggy trimaran (a little late to the start), a Holiday 34, 3 Formula Ones, the Flying Dutchmen and more. There was near disaster just before the start when Jessica Lenz and the crew of the Astove Dr. Ballantine suffered a crash jibe. A crewmember was trapped against the coach roof by the mainsheet and was carted off to hospital by ambulance suffering from concussion. This saw them withdraw from the race and made the battle a little bit easier for the other sailors who would have been hard pressed to hold off such an accomplished helm. The accident was a clear demonstration for everyone that take to the water that safety is not something that can be taken for granted, no matter where you are. Another boat late for the start was the Holiday 34 Moonpath, Bruce Richard's (PNYC) crew getting it all wrong with the signals and watching the fleet head away when they thought there was still 3 minutes remaining to the start! This did not have too much of a bearing at the end of the day as the 14 laps completed still gave them victory in the keelboat fleet and 4th overall in the handicap standings. Second in the keelboat fleet was the L26 Tatoosh, a very familiar sight on the Vaal Dam and this time crewed by a youth team and helmed by S. Haynes (LDYC). While others in the race spent most of the race battling with their boats, these lads even found time to braai some wors for their lunch and this saw most crews eyeing them enviously. Dirk Manten (Sealpoint) on the Formula One Joint Venture had a hairy moment when the boat broached spectacularly and showed no willingness to return to a more normal position. There was a fair amount of damage to sails in the fleet, especially spinnakers that in some cases lived up to their other name, kites. Nigel Trevarthen (Boskop) on the Flying Dutchman Genesis delivered a master class and despite losing a side stay during the last lap which he was unable to finish, comfortably won the race overall with 19 laps completed. It was an awesome display of boat control as demonstrated by others in the Flying Dutchmen fleet who spent long periods hull up. The next best performance in the FD fleet was 8 laps completed! The FD's were spectacular, especially in the off wind legs when they took off on the plane with a massive white wake streaming behind. H. Konigshofer (Stilbaai) was also very impressive on his Dart Buccaneer. Joining the fleet well after the start he proceeded to burn up the course at speed with an ease that was apparent from our vantagepoint. Not once was his bright pink sail seen in the wrong position and his 18 laps gave him 3rd overall on handicap. Unfortunately it was not enough to lead the multihull fleet home. This honour went to B. Mienie (Stilbaai) and the crew of Krokodil, who sailed their Dragonfly very well and revelled in the conditions. The PNYC Endurance Race was blessed with great sailing conditions, perhaps a little heavy for some, but was enjoyed by all that sailed. PNYC is situated in a very pretty part of the dam and the medium distance course that was laid offered safe, satisfying sailing. PNYC is hoping to increase the size of the fleet in coming years and especially eager to encourage dinghy sailors to take part in the hope that these will be able to sail for class prizes too. Results:
Overall:
Keelboats:
Dinghy:
Multihulls:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
© 2002 :::Andrew Heathcote |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
