Royal Natal Yacht Club
Lipton Challenge Cup Regatta 2012
False Bay: 19 – 24 August
Day Six: Friday 24 August
The cup is heading to Durban after the Royal Natal Yacht
Club’s team led by Ricky Robinson emphatically won the Lipton Challenge Cup,
the most prestigious sailing event in South Africa.
The 2012 Lipton Challenge Cup Champions, Ricky Robinson, Jof Heathcote, Brennan
Robinson, Shane Elliot, William Crocket.
The five crew members sailing on Orion B2G2 were
victorious by the slightest of margins with one point difference between them
and the Royal Cape Yacht Club skippered by L26 legend, Greg Davies, who has won
the cup nine times in his career.
Having gone for a celebratory dip, Ricky Robinson raises his
arms in victory
Glassy oceans greeted the sailors on the final day. As
the time drew closer for the race officer to call off the day’s racing, he
determinedly got the yachts under start sequence setting them off in breathless
conditions. After an agonising first leg, the race was abandoned leaving
overnight leaders, the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Orion B2G2, victoriously
raising the trophy.
It has been 39 years since the oldest yacht club in the
country has won South Africa’s most competitive sailing trophy and the tenth
time in the history of the 121 year old regatta that they have had the honour
of bringing the cup back home.
The Lipton Challenge
Cup
“This is the most emotional I have been in years!” an
overwhelmed Richard Crockett, Commodore of the Royal Natal Yacht Club said as
the yachts entered the moorings down in Simons Town. “The guys sailed
magnificently and were consistent throughout the week. Yesterday’s nail-biting
victory and upset on the leaderboard will forever remain with me.”
Team manager and Rear Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht
Club, Gregg Dobson stated, “I am so proud of the boys. Every single moment they
were out there, they never stopped believing in themselves. Even when they were
three points behind, they still knew they could do it. All credit to them, they
performed superbly well.”
Birthday boy, Brennan
Robinson hoists the trophy over his shoulders
The crew consisting of Ricky Robinson (25) at the helm;
ablely assisted by younger brother, Brennan Robinson (24) who had the role of
Bowman; William Crockett (20) as the Pitman; Jof Heathcote (32) as the Downwind
Trimmer and the Upwind Trimmer was Shane Elliot (27) with Gregg Dobson managing
the team for the past three years.
The last time a Durban team won the cup was in 1983 when Bruce Savage sailing for the University of Natal Yacht Club raised the cup.
Celebrations
The 2013 will be hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club in
the warm waters offshore of Durban.
Victory has never
tasted sweeter than this, helmsmen Ricky Robinson .
Final Results
1 Royal Natal Yacht Club (Ricky Robinson) 17pts, 2 Royal
Cape Yacht Club (Greg Davies) 18pts, 3 University Cape Town Yacht Club (Neil
Malan / Oliver Hobson) 23pts, 4 Point Yacht Club Choose Life High Performance
Sailing (Richard Weddel) 23pts, 5 False Bay Yacht Club (Andrea Giovanni /
Markus Progli) 23pts, 6 Zeekoevlei Yacht Club (Leroy Rudolph ) 33pts, 7 Defence
Yacht Club Western Province (David Shilton) 41pts, 8 Henley Midmar Yacht Club
(Craig Millar) 43pts
Ricky Robinson
empties the bottle of champers
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