Royal Natal Yacht Club
Christmas Regatta
The Royal Natal Yacht Club hosted the Christmas Regatta
offshore of Durban for the Flying Fifteens and the 505s over the long weekend,
Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek took honours in the Flying Fifteens and
Alexander and Warwick Ham claimed a win in the 505 class.
The duo of Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek are in a class
of their own when it comes to competing in the Flying Fifteen design, their
names on the floating trophy show their domination over the years. Since 2003,
when the trophy was first awarded, the team have their names engraved eight
times, with the engravers now preparing a ninth entry for the formidable two.
Campbell Alexander helming Ffullerine managed to secure
second position by just one point against Gregg Hurter sailing his yacht, Freyja.
The two skippers battled it out over the long weekend, as they tussled for
silver. Alexander managed to just get the edge on the last day, when he took
the win in the seventh race, nudging out Hurter by a single point.
In the faster 505 class, brothers Alexander and Warwick
Ham enjoyed the conditions, claiming victory with six wins out of the eight
races sailed. Their consistency put them ten points ahead of closest rivals,
another brother team of Thomas and Peter Funke. Five boats competed in the 505
class, with most of the competitors being from up county and relished sailing
in the offshore conditions.
All of the races were competed on a triangle, sausage,
triangle course and race officer, Rob Samways managed an impressive eight races
in the two days of competition.
Sunday’s racing was cancelled due to a request from the
Minister of Sport and all the sailors observed proper protocol in honour of our
country’s legend. The club members gathered on the lawns where they held a
minute’s silence for Madiba, followed by dropping the South African flag. The
Commodore rang the club’s bell, followed by all of the members singing the
national anthem. The flag was then raised half way up the pole and flew at
half-mast for the remainder of the regatta.
Durban sailors will be having a bit of a break over the
festive season as they all plan to enjoy spending time on land with their loved
ones. The final race for the year will be on Sunday 29 December.
Results
Flying Fifteens
1 Ffoxxoff (Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek) 7pts, 2
Ffullerine (Campbell Alexander and Jon Marshall) 17pts, 3 Freyja (Gregg Hurter
and Malcolm Tiley) 18pts, 4 Bad Influence (Mike Wright and Mike Surgeson)
24pts, 5 Firefly (Craig Campbell and Ian Hogg) 38pts, 6 F3 (Neil Yelland and
Martin Zimmerman) 40pts, 7 Ffothermucker (Myles White and Refelao Zilio) 41pts
505
1 Alexander Ham and Warwick Ham 8pts, 2 Thomas Funke and
Peter Funke 18pts, 3 Kyle Klaus and Robert Groenwald 19pts, 4 Kobus Holtzhauzen
and Henko 27, 5 Hans Rogotzkei and CJ Miln 30pts
ENDS
