The Royal Natal Yacht Club had a busy weekend with three
events taking place for the small dinghies and the larger keelboats.
On Saturday the Flying Fifteens and dinghies competed in
the bay, the larger boats competed in both the third day of the Dinghy Bay
Series and the Flying Fifteen Regional Class Championships while the other
competitors participated in the club Dinghy
Bay Series.
In the blustery prevailing wind, the sailors had their
jobs cut out for them, reading when the puffs would overpower their boats and
having to work hard as the switchy wind dropped down. There were a number of
thrills as the sailors planed their boats flying down to the bottom mark with their
spinnakers flying, working hard to maintain the power as the wind shifted
around. A few spills saw a couple of people landing up in the water as they
pushed their boats hard around the windward leeward course.
The only Laser brave enough to venture out watched in
dismay as his mast snapped half way up during the second race, leaving Denmar
Nel stranded with his miserable sail flapping in the breeze forcing him to
retire and limp back home.
Another dramatic turn of events occurred right on the
start line as the young team of Mongezi Mfeka and Michael Boorman boisterously
overshot the start and had to turn around to start legally. The team racing the
Flying Fifteen Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum cut back through the fleet only to T-bone an
approaching Flying Fifteen that was coming through the start line a bit late but at
a rapid pace. The victims of the meaty blow were John Bandfield sailing with
his grandson, John Bandfield Junior. The Bandfields were sailing the club’s Flying Fifteen in her maiden voyage after
having been on land for years and slowly been lovingly restored over months and
months of work by John Bandfield. The Bandfields had to retreat
cautiously back to land with a massive gaping hole in her beautifully restored
bow.
The Rear Commodore, Rob Samways, racing on his J22
celebrated his birthday on the water with his crew and relished the conditions.
Being the only J in the competition, the trio racing Running with Scissors took
the time out on the water to perfect their gybes that needed a bit of work.
On Sunday, perfect summer weather greeted sailors as they
took to the waters. The Flying Fifteens competed in the final day of the Flying
Fifteen Regional Class Championship and the larger yachts headed offshore to
race in the Umdhloti Mayor’s Race.
The Flying Fifteen team of Steve Hegerstrom and Siya Vato
ended the fourth day of racing victoriously claiming victory from the duo of
Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek who have dominated the class over the last
decade. Finishing third were Myles White and Estelle Buys with Martin Zimmerman
sailing with Neil Yelland driving their classic FF hard to finish fourth in a
competitive fleet.
Thirteen races were sailed in total over the four days of
the Flying Fifteen Regional Class Championships with an impressive 12 yachts
competing.
A fleet of over fifteen boats competed in the offshore
event with a gorgeous east-north easterly delighting sailors with flat seas and
marvellous sailing conditions. The keelboats made their way up to the turning
mark at the southern end of Umhloti, 600m off the river mouth. Gregg Hurter’s Bellatrix helmed on the day by Richard
Parker was the first boat to reach the
buoy and to turn around the mark,
followed by Sean Jones on Bandit, Sticky Fingers skippered by the Rear
Commodore Rob Samways and hot on his tail, the Commodore, Graham Rose sailing
his L34 Zap.
After turning the yachts enjoyed a long spinnaker run
back to Durban providing those on the shore with a
wonderful spectacle of colourful spinnakers flying as the yachts made their way
home . “The asymmetrical spinnaker worked a charm for the guys. We made
the mistake of flying our symmetrical spinnaker on the run and lost to Flyer by
five seconds on handicap. But it was a splendid day out on the water. We all
thoroughly enjoyed the racing.” Commodore Graham Rose said after the race.
Peter Goble on Jennabee
sailed a brilliant race coming second to Richard Parker who won the Bill
Piddington trophy for the skipper over 60 years of age.
This weekend the Dinghy Bay Series continues in the bay
with the keelers preparing for the Memorial Regatta at the end of February.
For more info visit www.rnyc.org.za
or contact Keiran at the club on 031 301 5425.
Royal Natal Yacht Club
Results
Umdhloti Mayor’s Race
Division A
1 Bellatrix (Richard Parker), 2 Sticky Fingers (Rob
Samways), 3 Flyer (Brad Rayson), 4 Zap (Graham Rose), 5 Therapy (Gavin
Wadsworth), 6 Bellissima (Vernon Goss), 7 Counter Point, 8 So Basic (Hemraj
Gokal), 9 Container World (Denmar Nel), 10 Majimoto (Jon Marshall)
Division B
1 Jennabee (Peter Goble), 2 Candi (Theuns Nel), 3
Caversham Caprice (Richard Crockett), 4 Jedi (Willy Vandeverre)
Multihulls
1 Bandit (Sean Jones)
Bill Piddington Trophy (Over 60 skipper)
1 Bellatrix (Richard Parker), 2 Jennabee (Peter Goble), 3
Flyer (Brad Rayson), 4 Bellissima (Vernon Goss), 5 So Basic (Stuart Ritchie), 6
Jedi (Willy Vandeverre)
Flying Fifteen Regional Class Championship
1 Focus Pocus (Stever Hegerstrom and Siya Vato), 2
Ffothermucker (Myles White and Estelle Buys), 3 Ffrigate (Martin Zimmerman and
Karl Zimmerman), 4 Ffoxxoff (Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek), 5 Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum
(Mongezi Mfeka and Michael Boorman), 6 Gisella (Clinton Hendrie and Mike
Prior), 7 Financial Fling (Simon Mosgrave and Craig Howie), 8 Freya (Gregg
Hurter and Jeff Rose), 9 Firefly (Craig Campbell and Ian Hogg), 10 Fflight
(Jeremy Beckett and Andile Zulu), 11 Ffullerene (Campbell Alexander and Jon Marshall)
Dinghy Bay Series
Flying Fifteens
1 Ffothermucker (Myles White and Estelle Buys), 2
Ffrigate (Martin Zimmerman and Karl Zimmerman), 3 Ffoxxoff (Patrick Harris and
Jeremy Kriek), 4 Focus Pocus (Steve Hegerstrom and Siya Vato), 5 Financial
Fling (Simon Mosgrave and Craig Howie), 6 Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum (Mongezi Mfeka and
Michael Boorman), 7 Gisella (Clinton Hendrie and Mike Prior), 8 Freya (Gregg
Hurter and Jeff Rose), 9 Fflight (Jeremy Beckett and Andile Zulu), 10 RNYC FF
(John Bandfield and John JNR Bandfield)
J22
1 Running With Scissors (Rob Samways, Jared Quinn, DJ
Latha)
Laser
1 Denmar Nel, 2 Campbell Alexander, 3 Andrew Walford, 4
Trent Bingham
Laser Radial
1 Anna Tiet, 2 Eli Brophy – Tintinger
Laser 4.7
1 Matthew Gaughran
RS Terra Sport
1 Dylan Alberts, 2 Chad Stevenson, 3 James Butler
RS Terra
1 Sven Paton, 2 TJ Timothy, 3 Jethro Brophy – Tintinger
Oppies
1 Liam Fennesy, 2 Calum Gaughran
Mirror
1 Trevor Gibb
29er
1 Rob Tarboton and Micahel Dickinson, 2 Euan Hurter and
Sean Hurter
505
1 Thomas Funke and Clayton Beviss
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