Point Yacht Club
Bart’s Bash and Opening Season
Harbour: Sunday 20 September
The rain gods were kind to the Durban sailing community offering
clear blue skies for the opening of the Summer Sailing Season and Bart’s Bash –
‘The Second Sail’ that took place on Sunday (20 September) in the harbour.
Over 50 boats gathered near the T-Jetty in the bay for
the colourful formal procession hosted by Point Yacht Club. First in line and leading
the sail past was the Life President of Point Yacht Club, Vernon Goss, he was followed
by a magnificent fleet of all different shapes and sizes of boats. Gliding
alongside the dignitaries’ boat in single file, every member of the crew donned
their hats and gave three cheers to the Commodores with the greeting and well
wishes being returned in the traditional opening for the sailing season.
After the last boat tipped their hat, the majority of
yachts moved across to the race track to participate in the fun Bart’s Bash –
‘The Second Sail’. As the Rear Commodore of Keelers, Ron Pet, placed the last
mark down, the predicted big winds picked up and quickly levelled out at 22knots.
With the arrival of the Beasterly Easterly; the chop picked up making it a
rather splashy affair. The anemometer reflected numbers in the low 30s as the
gusts challenged a few of the helmsman, with some boats heeling over rather
dramatically.
Overall numbers of boats and participants were down from
the massive turn out last year, but the brave yachtsmen and women who came out
had a blast as they whizzed around the bay in the fun opening cruise. “I think
everyone who came out for the opening cruise had a blast on the water. A few
boats got into the spirit of things and started water fights with each other.”
said the new Commodore for the Point Yacht Club, Craig Millar.
Continuing, Millar said, “If the race reaches the same
numbers as last year, it will be magnificent and cementing the fact that it is
the biggest sailing event in the world. It takes the organisers in the UK a few
months to tally all the numbers so we won’t know for a while if we got anywhere
near the Guinness World Record. I know that when I left the club yesterday
(Sunday) the total meters sailed so far around the world was currently standing
at 460,333 across 62 countries.”
Taking line honours on the day was young Berea’s Jethro
Tintinger-Brophy who was sailing solo on his Hobie 14. He finished the 2.2NM
race in a time of 24.37, just ahead of Hilton’s Luke Wagner sailing the Pacer
375, Southern Storm. Only 24 boats finished the short course in the bay, the
gusty conditions making it unfavourable and dangerous for the smaller boats and
younger sailors that all participated last year.
Happening simultaneously, a handful of kitesurfers also
took to the water offshore, as they couldn’t sail in the harbour due to port
restrictions. They opted for a 12km course that was a direct line. The crew of
kitesurfers recorded a maximum gust of 34knots, James Lea handled the blustery
conditions perfectly and was the overall winner with a time of 1hour and
20minutes.
The next event for the Point Yacht Club is the Transnet
Port to Port race that starts on World Maritime Day on Wednesday 23
September. R35,000 is up for grabs in
this inaugural race from Durban to Richard’s Bay.
For more info visit www.pyc.co.za
Results
Point Yacht Club
Bart’s Bash and Opening Season
Harbour: Sunday 20 September
Provisional Results
1 Catalyst (Jethro Brophy Tintinger - Hobie 14), 2
Therapy (Gavin Wadsworth), 3 Zing (Gavin Smith), 4 Southern Storm (Luke
Wagner), 5 So Basic (Stuart Ritchie), 6 Skitzo (Nigel Milln), 7 Caversham
Caprice (Jimmy Melville), 8 Bandit (Sean Jones), 9 Neptune’s Nymph (Phil
Downing), 10 Bellissima (Vernon Goss), 11 Container World (Brenden Humphreys),
12 Alkistis (Greg Donkin), 13 PYC Challenger (Florence Marshall), 14 Crazy
Diamond (Wayne Smith), 15 Shiloh (Tracy Bowman), 16 Deo Volente (Neville
Bransbury), 17 Ithebe (Tim Wickham), 18 Mafuta (Robin Hulley), 19 Big Blue
(Rory Simpson), 20 Vent de Cap (Andrew Pavid), 21 Hobbit (Sean Koegh) 22 Sea
Witch (Vikus), 23 Magenta (Ricky Piper), 24 PGMT Clipper (Bernard Bussy)
Offshore: Sunday 20 September
Kitesurfers
1 James Lea, 2 Byron Watt, 3 Rossco Walters,
4 Alec Lanham-Love, 5 Bruce Gayham, 6 Craig Allsopp,
7 Leighton Moody
ENDS
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