Wrap Up Point Yacht Club's Sangoma Cruise

Offshore: 26 - 30 December

A small fleet of adventurous yachties ventured offshore for the Sangoma Cruise hosted by Point Yacht Club.

The 80 nautical mile cruise had five keelboats entered to participate, with three of the yacht taking the first weather window on Boxing Day, the remaining two checked out to leave on 28 December to catch the South Westerly winds.

First to depart, Ocean Spirit helmed by Neville Bransby set the pace in the dying South Wester on Boxing Day. The enthusiastic team took 12 hours from Durban to Richards Bay. Hot on their heels, the spirited crew sailing on Therapy. And following them was the experienced skipper, Jon Marshall (Rear Commodore of Keelers for Point Yacht Club), on his yacht Majimoto. His crew was small catamaran sailor, Bart Fokkens who had never ventured beyond uMhlanga, clocking up his first overnight passage with the duo taking 18 hours to get into Richards Bay.

The second batch of boats kept an eye on the weather window, opting to wait for the 20 knots South Wester two days later. Round the World Clipper skipper, Craig Millar and his crew on Argo FY departed Durban at 9am. Keen sailor, Robin Hulley was due to sail with Millar on his yacht Mafuta, but as he was heading out the door at his home, his geyser burst, dampening his spirits and not allowing him to compete.

Argo FY had a gentle sail up to Richards Bay, having blown their kite shortly after getting out of the Harbour channel.

"We specifically chose the south Wester to sail up in as the whole team were keen to get offshore and fly the kite. A minute after we hoisted the spinnaker, it gently floated back down to the deck. We fished it back in, and after a debate onboard if our light weather kite would handle the conditions, we opted for the safer option of putting the gib out on the pole and goose winging it." Skipper, Millar said on his return.

From breakwater to breakwater, it took the Argo FY team 10.5 hours to get to Richards Bay, with only one gybe to enter the Harbour mouth as the sun was setting.

Both Therapy and Ocean Spirit had a quick turn around in Richards Bay, catching up on a bit of kip and then catching the North Easter back home before it switched to the South Wester that brought Argo FY up. Ocean Spirit sailed impressively with 11 hours on the clock back home, top speed reaching 17.4knots. The sleek Therapy notched up a top speed of 18knots.

Majimoto missed the window, waiting for Argo FY who were transporting their main sail, Marshall and Fokkens sadly damaged their main on the ride up. Both Argo FY and Majimoto had a day in Richards Bay to carry out a few running repairs before they took to the water on the second last day of the year.

At 6.30am, the two boats made their way offshore in a gentleman's race back to Durban. Argo FY surfed the entire way home, with Millar recording 21knots, pumping the tiller as he caught a swell and surfed his way to the impressive speed. The team made up of Millar, Ed de Lange, and Hannah and Rudi Fokkens made it back in 8 hours and 5 minutes.

"It was a great sail, the team are young, experienced and fantastic onboard. But what really was wonderful about this experience is all the chatter back on land that has been created. The more experienced guys have got the record books out, and have been reminiscing when they used to sail this route regularly. Loads of the guys have said that they are keen to participate in the next one. It is exhilarating to be offshore, and actually sailing somewhere, giving us an opportunity to stretch our legs." Millar stated.

The record set in October 1990 by Sun Tonic, a Royal Cape One Design was skippered by Peter Atkinson.

"And for the next cruise, we will most certainly fly our kite! And who knows, maybe we can get close to Atkinson's record?" Millar said.

Majimoto, with only the two sailors onboard came in sailing most of the way with only their jib up, but still managing to hit a few numbers over 15knots on the speedo. They got back into Durban a couple of hours after Argo FY just after 7:00pm, having been pummelled by the sea state in the howling North Easter.

The next big events this month at Point Yacht Club for the Keelers is the Sigma Series and then Bar Anniversary Pursuit Race for the dinghies.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club's Facebook page.

Wrap Up for Point Yacht Club Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals

Offshore Durban: 16 - 18 December

Three days of adverse conditions tested two small, competitive fleets of sailors competing in the Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Provincials hosted by Point Yacht Club.

In the Flying Fifteen Nationals - No strangers to being at the front of the pack in the magnificent Flying Fifteen class, Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek led throughout the regatta, impressively taking top honours in seven out of the nine races, finding it heavy going in the light winds on the final day and finishing second behind Anthony McMillan and Danish sailor, Lauritz Walsøe. Pushing Harris and Kriek throughout the regatta, Campbell Alexander sailing with visiting crew, Dr Stephanie Brown from the UK who scored six seconds, a third and a fourth notching up a second behind Harris and Kriek.

In the Hobie 16 Provincials, the father and son team of Peter and Matthew Hall dominated on the water. The Hall team won all but two races in their eight race regatta. They were chased by inland sailors, brothers Kyle and Justin Lambie.

The Flying Fifteens had the biggest fleet on the water in recent memory, with 11 boats on the water. For the regatta to constitute as a South African Sailing event, they needed 10 boats to start and finish two races. The class was agonisingly close, but it wasn’t meant to be. On day one newcomers to the fleet, Father and son team of Dominic and Marco Collett thought they had enough clearance but hit the sand bank. On the second day offshore, the heavy weather took its toll with Campbell Alexander taking a bite out of Greg Hurters boat, and Hurter and his crew, Michael Surgeson had to limp home. Collett squared took to the ocean for the first time, bravely flying their spinnaker but as luck would have it, a rogue Hobie 16 pitch-poled directly in-front of them, with the mast crashing down onto them, knocking Dominic on the head and into the water, earning him five stitches and sadly destroying their chances of completing a race.

Brown, who sails for Rutland Sailing Club in the British Midlands said, “The sailing was great fun and we were lucky to have lots of wind Saturday and Sunday. Campbell was a fantastic helm to crew for and the fleet was a high level of competition but very welcoming. It was lovely to see such strong support for the newer sailors. The warm waters and big waves were a wonderful change. Thanks to you all for a great trip!”

“Sailing was amazing, a tough race since I had close to no prior experience with FF15 and symmetrical spinnakers. Since I usually sail Lasers the whole event was one big learning curve. The fleet is strong but we had some good races!” enthused Danish sailor, Lauritz Walsøe.

The first day of racing was held in the bay, with conditions being hazardous offshore, with a short, sharp swell and high winds deterring Race Officer extraordinaire, Kevin Bingham. Four races were run in a blustery North Easter course. The second day, racing went offshore with the winds consistently around 15knots and over adding into the mix a bit of a running swell. Bingham got in another four races on Sunday. The entire fleet of Flying Fifteens however, disappeared early from the race track, leaving only the Hobies to sail in the final race on Sunday. On Monday, keeping an eye on the inclement weather enroute, the Hobies didn’t venture onto the water with a depleted fleet of Flying Fifteens gathering ahead of the spectacular midday storm. A strict Bingham gave both fleets a wounding results for not being on the start line, but fortunately with discards, the top sailors results didn’t take a huge knock.

Hobie hero, Garth Loudon only sailed the one race, with his brand-new crew member, his daughter Kristin. A delighted dad said, “Kristin finally showed interest in sailing, so we had a quick lesson on Sunday morning and entered one of the races. It was great to be back on the water again! We managed a second place in good winds. Peter and Matthew were sailing very well, was good to see!”

The next event for the enthusiastic fleet is the upcoming Bar Anniversary Pursuit Race that will be sailed in the harbour at the end of the month.

Results

Flying Fifteen Nationals

1 Patrick Harris / Jeremy Kriek 9pts, 2 Campbell Alexander / Steph Brown 19pts, 3 Anthony McMillan / Lauritz Walsøe 32pts. 4 Craig Campbell / Nhlanhla Phakathi 36pts, 5 Myles White / Estelle Buys 38pts, 6 Thomas Funke / Peter Funke 51pts, 7 Hannah Fokkens / Rudi Fokkens 64pts, 8 Greg Hurter / Mike Surgeson 65pts, 9 Iain Bowman / Jan Larkens 80pts, 10 Chris Coxen / Michael Boorman 82pts, 11 Dominic Collett / Marco Collett 96pts

Hobie 16 Provincials

1 Peter Hall / Matthew Hall 8pts, 2 Kyle Lambie / Justin Lambie 26pts, 3 Andrew Heathcote / Blake Davidson 26pts, 4 Mike Goodyer / Jennifer Goodyer 36pts, 5 Jethro Brophy Tintinger / Stephanie Goodyer 36pts, 6 Dylan Albert / Chad Stevenson 49pts, 7 Justin Butler / James Butler 49pts, 8 Wayne Smith / Kate Bain 59pts, 9 Dylan Lambie / Cameron Booth 64pts, 10 Garth Loudon / Kristin Loudon 68pts, 11Ruddi Rogge / Sven Paton 81pts

Lipton Cup 2018

Point Yacht Club

Offshore Durban

Sailing in Durban received the generous news from the Royal Cape Yacht Club, the victorious 2017 Lipton Cup winners, with the offer to host the prestigious event in warmer waters.

In a letter presented to the Commodore of Point Yacht Club, Greg de Beyer, Commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, Vitor Medina graciously offered the opportunity to host the respected event offshore of Durban mid-year in 2018.

In Medina’s letter, he referred to the 2013 event sailed offshore of Durban, where Point Yacht Club finished second to a boat that was subsequently found to have been illegally modified.

Medina stated, “While Point Yacht Club was earlier this year, formally declared the winner of the Lipton Cup in 2013, your club had of course been denied the opportunity of defending the Cup in 2014 on your home waters. This unfortunate situation can’t be fully rectified at this stage.

“Royal Cape Yacht Club, in recognition of this unfairness of your loss to a non-conforming boat in 2013, is prepared to forfeit our right to defend the Cup in Table Bay next year and offer the 2018 event to your Club to host during the week following the MSC Week.”

In response, a delighted Greg de Beyer, Commodore of Point Yacht Club enthusiastically accepted the offer. “This offer has been discussed by our General Committee as well as our Sailing Committees and I can confirm that the offer has been eagerly and unanimously accepted.

“Point Yacht Club is firmly committed to promoting our sport in conjunction with other sailing clubs and organisations throughout South Africa. Whilst we never doubted the goodwill and common goal of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, we welcome this gesture and will do our utmost to ensure that 2018 event is a success and is undertaken in the spirit in which the gift was given to our sport.”

The helmsman for the Point Yacht Club’s Lipton entry, Richard Weddell, has had a somewhat dramatic Lipton campaign. Finishing a respectable fourth in his first attempt down in Simons Town in 2012, Weddell and his team then sailed magnificently offshore of Durban in 2013, finishing tie on points with False Bay Yacht Club, but due to a count back, they ended their regatta with the position of runner up.

“It is a bit of a bitter-sweet feeling, hearing this news. The guys and I worked so incredibly hard, leading up to the 2013 challenge, and the week of the challenge. We were honestly devastated at the result. It marred our enthusiasm in getting back on the water. The generosity shown by the Royal Cape guys is tremendously kind. This gentlemanly act certainly will inject a great deal of interest back into sailing, and specifically this historic event, and hopefully motivate many for the future.”

With this announcement, the Rear Commodore of Keelers is hard at work scheduling in trials to select the best suited team to challenge for the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s title.

Durban’s sailing community is abuzz with the gracious declaration from Royal Cape Yacht Club, offering the Point Yacht Club to host the 65^th Lipton Cup.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the Facebook page.

Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals 2017

Point Yacht Club

Offshore Durban: 16 - 18 December

Mid - December, two classes will be heading offshore to compete in the Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals hosted by Point Yacht Club from the 16 – 18 December.

Defending champs in the modern fleet of Flying Fifteens are Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek who keep raking in the awards, they will be back on the water in the hopes of being crowned yet again. In the hunt to topple them off the top spot on the podium are international specialist 505 sailors, brothers Thomas and Peter Funke. Other names to look out for will be Myles White and his regular crew member, Estelle Buys, they will be keen to perform as they start to focus on the Flying Fifteen World Champs in Ireland.

Campbell Alexander, who competed in the Laser World Masters in Split, Croatia recently, will be pairing up with Dr Stephanie Brown from England. The Brit sailor who is out here for a week long holiday, will be relishing the warmer weather out at sea and making a trip up to the berg. Brown was awarded a special seamanship award at the Charles Stanley Direct Cowes Classic Week this July. She was crewing on a Flying Fifteen Fram Freyr, holding second position when she witnessed a nearby collision. Giving up her second place, she assisted the concussed sailor injured in the collision. The injured crew member later received 24 stitches in his head at hospital.

Joining them on the water will be respected and highly competitive Greg Hurter, Hurter was victorious four years ago. Well known for his stealth mode, he is keeping his crew name under wraps in the build up to the event. Anthony McMillan will be hoping for a repeat performance in the first running of the Jonsson Cup, where he pipped Olympic sailor Dave Hibberd on the line. Both him and Hibberd didn’t sail the correct course, but it was a fabulous tight finish and McMillan will be concentrating on the race course card this regatta. Similarly, to Hurter, McMillan is not revealing who is crew member is. Nhlanhla Phakathi and Craig Campbell, who featured on the Bashboard for the Bart’s Bash and are keen to feature on the steps of the podium.

A strong family contingent will be gracing the course sailing on the magnificent classics. Newcomers to the fleet, brother and sister team of Rudi and Hannah Fokkens. Also, fairly newcomers, Father and son team of Dominic and Marco Collett venture offshore for the first time, having gleaned their experience sailing in the bay. Another father and son team, that of Rob and Iain Bowman will be back on the water after their superb craft got t-boned and had to get a bit of reconstructive surgery.

The Hobie 16 fleet is expected to have a number of hot shot sailors in town hoping to take to the water. Their challenge will be navigating the beachfront development currently taking place.

“The launching of the Hobies will be a bit of a challenge, but we are confident we will get the numbers on the water, and look forward to a colourful, fun-filled, competitive event.” Commodore for the Point Yacht Club, Greg de Beyer stated.

A number of big names will be taking to the water having competed internationally recently. Hoping to jet-propel his way to the front, Jethro Brophy-Tintinger has had a remarkable year, having competed in the Netherlands, topped the local log in the biggest sailing event in the world, Bart’s Bash and just touched down from being a part of the Volvo Round the World send-off down in Cape Town.

Joining him will be Garth Loudon with a young, new crew member. In the Durban offseason, Loudon represented SA in the prestigious Hobie World Cat in Germany. Loudon, together with Peter Hall took on the best of the best at the Hobie Multiworlds and Europeans 2017 held in the Netherlands. Hall will be sailing with his champ son, Matthew who has been turning heads in the Hobie 14 class.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club’s Facebook page.

Durban's Sailing Prodigy Off To The Youth Worlds

Point Yacht Club

Youth World Championships

Sanya, China: 10 – 15 December

Durban’s sailing prodigy, Benji Daniel is about to hit Chinese waters as he takes on 19 other nations at the Youth World Championships.

The 47^th edition takes place at Sanya Beach on Hainan Island, in the south of China with race days scheduled from the 10 – 15 December. With an expected 400 sailors from 70 countries, the crème-de-la-crème of the next generation of international sailors, under the age of 19 will go up against each other in nine classes. Only one team from each nation is selected to participate in each class.

Daniel, who was crowned the 29er World Champion in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach in August, will be changing it up. He trades in his familiar 29er to compete in the 420 class and will be sailing with the promising talent, Rivaldo Arendse from Cape Town.

Point Yacht Club’s star sailor will be heading to his third youth world champs, having raced in the 29er fleet with Durban’s Chad Stevenson in Langkawi, Malaysia in 2015 and then in Auckland, New Zealand last December, finishing both times towards the back of the fleet. His raw talent was revealed when, in an impromptu pairing with Cape Town’s Alex Burger, ignited them onto the international stage, and ultimately the top spot on the 29er podium.

The hard-working, modest sailor stated, “We are heading to China with realistic expectations. For Rivaldo and me, this is very much a getting to know you phase. We have never sailed competitively together before, and aren’t hugely familiar with the 420s so we aren’t going to put any unnecessary pressure on ourselves!

“Rivaldo is a really nice guy, he is 14 and I have just recently turned 17. Youths is going to be his biggest event yet. We are both really excited, and justifiably nervous as well. The other teams have a few of years on us, and have the advantage of sailing competitively together in massive regattas. It will be a major learning curve for us but so long as we stick to the basics, we will be alright.”

With his last exam scheduled for the 1^st of December, the Grade 11 pupil at Thomas More College will be putting his pen down, handing in his paper, and then dashing to the airport to fly down to Cape Town for some last-minute training with coach, former Olympic sailor Roger Hudson.

“It has been an unexpectedly exciting year. School and exams have been my main focus, so I can start the process of applying for uni. Between the chaos of school, I have been doing loads of quick trips down to Cape Town for training, firstly with Alex leading up to the 29er Worlds and now for the Youth Worlds. Having jetted off to Long Island beach in July and now to be representing South Africa lining up against some awesome sailors in China, it all seems quite surreal.”

Sailing under the shadow of one of the tallest statues in the world, the Guang Yin will see 70 Nations competing in the 47^th Youth World Championship taking place on the island of Hainan.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club’s Facebook page.

Prague - The Land of Stories

Billed as the land of stories, the capital of the Czech Republic surely features in a variety of tales, and now it stars in a few of mine.

Prague is pretty, delightfully so and it certainly is a tourist hotspot. At times, I felt a tad bit like a salmon swimming upstream. Old Town is steeped in history, the buildings magnificent – of course, set in Europe.

I snuck in for the 2017 FIBA European Women Basketball Championships; my days were filled with exploring the delights of Old Town and surrounds, and my evenings filled with cheering for Les Bleus in the early stages of the tournament.

Home for the duration was a wonderful, comfortable, friendly spot; Parkhotel was a fab tram ride away from all the main touristy action but a short stroll to the arena. In my hood, attractions included the Planetarium, the home of ice hockey team HC Sparta Praha, the Výstaviště exhibition grounds, Křižíkova amphitheatre which boasts a dancing water fountain and the giant glass pyramid of the Goja Music Hall.

My first morning I got wondrously lost. Discovering, that my map reading skills had a slight flaw when weary from all the travel. In my aimless wanderings, I stumbled upon the 2017 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup, on display a multitude of talents surfing rapids alongside the Vltava River. Having only ever seen this on the box during the Olympics, I watched with sheer admiration as these paddlers challenged the torrent of water, zigzaggedly navigating their way around a hanging course.

I strolled beyond the impressive Troja Castle, snuggly set away from the road. Passing the massive expanse of the Prague Zoo, all the way to a dead-end: a dock entitled Podhoří. Deciding that perhaps now was either a good time to turn around, or ask for directions, as there wasn’t anyone to question I did a U-turn and made my way back to the Zoo entrance. Here, I hopped on the first public bus, not knowing which direction it was going but sure I would get somewhere more central, and I wasn’t wrong.

Apart from basketball, I had one reservation on my itinerary that I was eager not to miss at a craft brewery, Výtopna. I discovered this place through social media and was keen to try it due to its quirkiness. Set on the top floor in a massive upmarket shopping centre called the Palladium, I went and had lunch there, not once but twice. The menu offered traditional, hearty, affordable, simple food with a small but interesting choice of beers on-tap.

What sets Výtopna apart is the fact that my ‘waiters’ Erik, Marcel and Nela dropping off my liquid refreshments, were in actual fact gorgeous model trains. The ‘waitrons’ travel over 10kms of tracks every day, having served, astonishingly, over 6 million patrons in the three Výtopna restaurants in the Czech Republic since 2009. The Palladium Výtopna has over 400m of tracks cleverly laid around booths, where the trains can chug into your section, allow you to grab your drinks and then expertly reverse out.

As with most first world cities, getting around Prague to see the sights, everything imaginable is on offer. If you fancied a horse-drawn carriage; running tours; guided electric bikes; the Hop On – Hop Off bus; river cruises, or even handsome vintage cars, you could comfortably get around. Chatting to Durban’s Chef, Andrew Draper on his return from Prague, he mentioned a fabulous outing around deserted buildings and communist areas on a Segway. He said the abandoned, ruined stadium, especially stood out for him!

Prague, mostly, is flat so I opted for trams to get central and then ND 10 toes to get around. The trams were easy to navigate, sprouting off in all directions.

Years ago, after a trip to Paris, I posted a pic of a bridge in Paris, Annie - a Finnish mate of mine commented that she liked my shot of Charles Bridge. Admittedly this was the first time I had ever heard of Charles Bridge. Since then I have seen numerous gorgeous shots: a famous capture has mist swirling around, or a haunting sunrise shot. In these dreamy, inviting images there is hardly a soul around. In real life, in summer – this was far from the case.

Connecting Old Town and the Lesser Quarter, the pedestrian crossing known as Charles Bridge is gorgeously ancient. Lined with traders peddling souvenirs, the 500m of historic bridge is a throng of weaving people. An alley of 30 guardian angels look down on you as you stroll across the Vltava River, these mostly baroque statues are all replicas with the priceless originals being housed in the National Museum.

Climbing up to the largest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle sits proudly overlooking the Lesser Quarter and beyond, I discovered a gem of a tourist trap hidden down a short passage. Tucked away, a cave-like shop stocked with beautiful handmade delicate wooden wares. Christmas shopping for the family was easily done, including collecting some gorgeous wooden postcards.

Something that fascinates me in Europe is how each country cleverly introduces modern architecture around century old structures. In Prague, The Dancing House is a statement of how the city is embracing and entwining old and new.  This quirky, shiny building rose out of a vacant riverfront plot a couple of decades ago, it rejoices in its surroundings.

A ritual in each new location is to spend quiet time in religious spaces. Before I flew north, Gloria Hoff from the KZNSA Gallery urged me to visit the Jewish Quarter, saying how vibrant, and historic the area was. I strolled around admiring the compact area, housing six synagogues and a 15^th century cemetery. Admittedly, everything was closed at the time I visited and peering through the iron gates of the cemetery, it looked sadly run down! Headstones crumbling or knocked over and long over grown grass added to the sorry state.

Hanging out in the square around Town Hall, I admired the Astronomical Clock. A mate of mine, Vishal Ramphal posted an image of the third oldest medieval clock in all its glory. When I was there majority of it was under wraps getting a well-deserved make over. Gratefully, the intricate clock face was on show, while the rest of the building was gently being restored.

I stopped in at the exquisite St Nicholas Church trailing along with fellow passionate French supporter Melanie Gallais. The frescoes donning the high domed ceilings were of Michelangelo quality, the halo of subtle lights equal to those from the Blue Mosque and I loved the door knocker type handles on the massive, bold red doors. I sampled a chimney cake or a Trdelníks, a Czech cinnamon-flavoured pastry, while watching excited tourists jump into buggies with bored looking horses ready to take them on a sightseeing loop. The home-made ice cream was dreamy, the sugar-coated doughnut cone, not so much!

A poignant moment in the heatwave that Prague was experiencing, a chef from a popular pavement café stood with his hosepipe with a refreshing mist being sprayed on passing tourists.

The whole city is incredible, Prague has a lot to offer. There is a lot to do off the tourist track. Little hidden treasures like the Hanging Man – remember to look up, or the modern-day, public art splattered around the city, listening to funky buskers at the foot of Charles Bridge. Or dining out in one of the best spots around, sitting on a public bench overlooking the Vltava, enjoying Turkish take out, watching yoga while concert goers dressed up in ballgowns head into the Rudolfinum Concert Hall as the sun sets on yet another magnificent day in the Czech Republic.

PS - Wear comfortable shoes – nobody told me this and I learnt it the hard way!

Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs

Point Yacht Club

Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs

Harbour: 1 – 3 July

Sailing into July, the Point Yacht Club will be hosting the inaugural Inter-Varsity Cup taking place in the harbour of Durban from 1 – 3 July.

Nine varsities will be taking to the water this weekend, with six of the teams entered shedding off their winter woollies and travelling from Western Province and Gauteng to compete in warm Durban waters.

Participating varsities are Rhodes University, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, two teams from the University of Witwatersrand, Tuks with a combined team from the University of Johannesburg and University of Pretoria. The local teams comprise of University of Kwa-Zulu Natal Howard Campus and Durban University of Technology.

Match racing in sailing is when two teams go head-to-head against each other. The programme for events has been drawn with seven rounds of competition happening for the eight teams. Each round consists of four races. A famous example of match racing is the America’s Cup.

Competing on the same class of boat, each team consists of six sailors racing on an L26.  The course set by Race Officer, Kevin Bingham will be an upwind, downwind course with the possibility of either one or two laps. The start finish line will be set below the bottom turning mark, extending the first beat and final run to the line.

Team captains are Peter Marsh from UCT, Jonas Vijerberg from Rhodes, Alexander Ham from Stellenbosch, Kyle Boman for the combined team of UJ and Tuks, DUT will be led by Thokozani ‘DeaJay’ Latha, UKZN by Florence Marshall and Alison Bradfield and Ryan Robinson for the two Wits teams.

Officiating will be South African sailors, Ricky Robinson and Trent Bingham.

The Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs is the precursor to the annual MSC Week, hosted by the Point Yacht Club, that takes place from 4 – 8 July offshore of Durban.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or contact the club on 031 301 4787.