Ola Lipton Challenge Cup comes to Durban

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Ola Lipton Challenge Cup Regatta 2013

Offshore Durban: 6 – 12 July

Durban plays host to the biggest sailing event in South Africa, the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup taking place offshore from 7-12 July.

Defending champions, the Royal Natal Yacht Club welcomes the crème-de-la-crème of the country’s ‘yachties’ travelling to our warm waters as they compete in search of the holy grail of the aquatic sport sailing, the historic Lipton Cup.

The fairer Cape has kept a firm grip on the Lipton Cup for well over a decade with a Durban club previously claiming a victory in 1985 when the University of Natal’s Element won the event. The oldest club in Africa, the Royal Natal Yacht Club, after an exceptional three year campaign managed a spectacular victory last year at the 2012 Lipton Challenge Cup in False Bay, winning by a mere one point, bringing the prized silverware back to Durban.

With a shuffle of crew, the sturdy L26 yacht Orion B2G2 will be led by well-known Durban sailor, Patrick Harris with his able crewmen. Their single aim is to keep the cup in Durban. Harris is joined on the deck by Jeremy Kriek, Euan Hurter, Trent Bingham, Andrew Wadsworth, Ngoba Mswazi and Michael Boorman (reserve) making up the Royal Natal Yacht Club team. Three more teams from KwaZulu Natal join the Royals out on the water. 

The Ola Lipton Challenge Cup is a one design class event, meaning that every single yacht is the same design, same length and same weight making the regatta a battle of wits, testing the crews’ skill and capabilities out on the water.

“Durban is ready!” encouraged Phil Downing, Rear Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club. “Sailing offshore Durban in winter is spectacular, the conditions gorgeous. Our guys have been hard at work training for this event and the whole sailing community is behind the team 100%.”

Durban’s winter waters will be a flurry of action as sailors from around the country will be flocking down to Durban to get as much knowledge of the conditions in the regattas leading up to the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup. First up is the KZN Provincials, followed by the L26 Nationals that is run concurrently with the MSC Week.

The Ola Lipton Challenge Cup is hosted by the winning team each year, and was last held in Durban in 2003 when Theeswaterkloof Sports Club from Western Cape opted to race the event in Durban.

Deep sea sailing action is about to hot up with the one hundred and second hosting of the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup that sees sailors from around the country taking to Durban waters to compete in this renowned regatta.

Royal Natal Yacht Club's Lipton Challenge Cup wins: year, vessel and skipper
1958 – Sunmaid, W.I. Hancock; 1959 – Mariquita, W.I. Hancock; 1962 - Mariquita, W.I. Hancock; 1964 - Mariquita, W.I. Hancock; 1965 - Mariquita, W.I. Hancock; 1966 - Mariquita, W.I. Hancock; 1967 – Yvette, R.S. Chedburn; 1971 – Sunrose, J.M. Whittle; 1973 - Sunrose, J.M. Whittle; 2012 – Orion B2G2, Ricky Robinson