1 August 2004

It amazes me how critical many people, including you guys, are of the yearly SA oppie campagin to the worlds and the Africa champs and how it costs the parents a lot of money to send the young sailors to these events and that the money could be beter used to train a lot more of our youth on a wider scale.

What about the Americas Cup campaign and what that costs to sail ONE boat by so few of our country's sailors. Maybe we should be using that money (millions not thousands as in the oppie case) for developing sailing in our country for the masses and not the few sailors that will really benifit from the challenge.

As a result of the launch of the campaign one of the longest serving events in South Africa, the Vasco Da Gama race failed to find a sponsor for this years race as potentail sponsors seem to have lost interest in local races and seem only to be looking to the SA Americas Cup campagin to sponsor. The Vasco race has been sailed for the last three years with 20 to 25 South African boats and +- 150 South African yachtsman on the start line.

One also forgets that a majority of our top yachtsman have been developed through learning and sailing oppies and then going on to sail a varity of different boats and some have even been drafted to the SA Americas cup team.

As you both are an important voice in Sailing in SA rather look at the positive side of the the oppie campaign and do not always run them down, as a lot of these younger sailors become our future star sailors, look at the young Justin in the laser 4.7 youth worlds

Makes you think does'nt it.

Kind Regards

Don Voysey.