Wrap Up for Point Yacht Club Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals

Offshore Durban: 16 - 18 December

Three days of adverse conditions tested two small, competitive fleets of sailors competing in the Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Provincials hosted by Point Yacht Club.

In the Flying Fifteen Nationals - No strangers to being at the front of the pack in the magnificent Flying Fifteen class, Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek led throughout the regatta, impressively taking top honours in seven out of the nine races, finding it heavy going in the light winds on the final day and finishing second behind Anthony McMillan and Danish sailor, Lauritz Walsøe. Pushing Harris and Kriek throughout the regatta, Campbell Alexander sailing with visiting crew, Dr Stephanie Brown from the UK who scored six seconds, a third and a fourth notching up a second behind Harris and Kriek.

In the Hobie 16 Provincials, the father and son team of Peter and Matthew Hall dominated on the water. The Hall team won all but two races in their eight race regatta. They were chased by inland sailors, brothers Kyle and Justin Lambie.

The Flying Fifteens had the biggest fleet on the water in recent memory, with 11 boats on the water. For the regatta to constitute as a South African Sailing event, they needed 10 boats to start and finish two races. The class was agonisingly close, but it wasn’t meant to be. On day one newcomers to the fleet, Father and son team of Dominic and Marco Collett thought they had enough clearance but hit the sand bank. On the second day offshore, the heavy weather took its toll with Campbell Alexander taking a bite out of Greg Hurters boat, and Hurter and his crew, Michael Surgeson had to limp home. Collett squared took to the ocean for the first time, bravely flying their spinnaker but as luck would have it, a rogue Hobie 16 pitch-poled directly in-front of them, with the mast crashing down onto them, knocking Dominic on the head and into the water, earning him five stitches and sadly destroying their chances of completing a race.

Brown, who sails for Rutland Sailing Club in the British Midlands said, “The sailing was great fun and we were lucky to have lots of wind Saturday and Sunday. Campbell was a fantastic helm to crew for and the fleet was a high level of competition but very welcoming. It was lovely to see such strong support for the newer sailors. The warm waters and big waves were a wonderful change. Thanks to you all for a great trip!”

“Sailing was amazing, a tough race since I had close to no prior experience with FF15 and symmetrical spinnakers. Since I usually sail Lasers the whole event was one big learning curve. The fleet is strong but we had some good races!” enthused Danish sailor, Lauritz Walsøe.

The first day of racing was held in the bay, with conditions being hazardous offshore, with a short, sharp swell and high winds deterring Race Officer extraordinaire, Kevin Bingham. Four races were run in a blustery North Easter course. The second day, racing went offshore with the winds consistently around 15knots and over adding into the mix a bit of a running swell. Bingham got in another four races on Sunday. The entire fleet of Flying Fifteens however, disappeared early from the race track, leaving only the Hobies to sail in the final race on Sunday. On Monday, keeping an eye on the inclement weather enroute, the Hobies didn’t venture onto the water with a depleted fleet of Flying Fifteens gathering ahead of the spectacular midday storm. A strict Bingham gave both fleets a wounding results for not being on the start line, but fortunately with discards, the top sailors results didn’t take a huge knock.

Hobie hero, Garth Loudon only sailed the one race, with his brand-new crew member, his daughter Kristin. A delighted dad said, “Kristin finally showed interest in sailing, so we had a quick lesson on Sunday morning and entered one of the races. It was great to be back on the water again! We managed a second place in good winds. Peter and Matthew were sailing very well, was good to see!”

The next event for the enthusiastic fleet is the upcoming Bar Anniversary Pursuit Race that will be sailed in the harbour at the end of the month.

Results

Flying Fifteen Nationals

1 Patrick Harris / Jeremy Kriek 9pts, 2 Campbell Alexander / Steph Brown 19pts, 3 Anthony McMillan / Lauritz Walsøe 32pts. 4 Craig Campbell / Nhlanhla Phakathi 36pts, 5 Myles White / Estelle Buys 38pts, 6 Thomas Funke / Peter Funke 51pts, 7 Hannah Fokkens / Rudi Fokkens 64pts, 8 Greg Hurter / Mike Surgeson 65pts, 9 Iain Bowman / Jan Larkens 80pts, 10 Chris Coxen / Michael Boorman 82pts, 11 Dominic Collett / Marco Collett 96pts

Hobie 16 Provincials

1 Peter Hall / Matthew Hall 8pts, 2 Kyle Lambie / Justin Lambie 26pts, 3 Andrew Heathcote / Blake Davidson 26pts, 4 Mike Goodyer / Jennifer Goodyer 36pts, 5 Jethro Brophy Tintinger / Stephanie Goodyer 36pts, 6 Dylan Albert / Chad Stevenson 49pts, 7 Justin Butler / James Butler 49pts, 8 Wayne Smith / Kate Bain 59pts, 9 Dylan Lambie / Cameron Booth 64pts, 10 Garth Loudon / Kristin Loudon 68pts, 11Ruddi Rogge / Sven Paton 81pts

Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals 2017

Point Yacht Club

Offshore Durban: 16 - 18 December

Mid - December, two classes will be heading offshore to compete in the Flying Fifteen Nationals and Hobie 16 Regionals hosted by Point Yacht Club from the 16 – 18 December.

Defending champs in the modern fleet of Flying Fifteens are Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek who keep raking in the awards, they will be back on the water in the hopes of being crowned yet again. In the hunt to topple them off the top spot on the podium are international specialist 505 sailors, brothers Thomas and Peter Funke. Other names to look out for will be Myles White and his regular crew member, Estelle Buys, they will be keen to perform as they start to focus on the Flying Fifteen World Champs in Ireland.

Campbell Alexander, who competed in the Laser World Masters in Split, Croatia recently, will be pairing up with Dr Stephanie Brown from England. The Brit sailor who is out here for a week long holiday, will be relishing the warmer weather out at sea and making a trip up to the berg. Brown was awarded a special seamanship award at the Charles Stanley Direct Cowes Classic Week this July. She was crewing on a Flying Fifteen Fram Freyr, holding second position when she witnessed a nearby collision. Giving up her second place, she assisted the concussed sailor injured in the collision. The injured crew member later received 24 stitches in his head at hospital.

Joining them on the water will be respected and highly competitive Greg Hurter, Hurter was victorious four years ago. Well known for his stealth mode, he is keeping his crew name under wraps in the build up to the event. Anthony McMillan will be hoping for a repeat performance in the first running of the Jonsson Cup, where he pipped Olympic sailor Dave Hibberd on the line. Both him and Hibberd didn’t sail the correct course, but it was a fabulous tight finish and McMillan will be concentrating on the race course card this regatta. Similarly, to Hurter, McMillan is not revealing who is crew member is. Nhlanhla Phakathi and Craig Campbell, who featured on the Bashboard for the Bart’s Bash and are keen to feature on the steps of the podium.

A strong family contingent will be gracing the course sailing on the magnificent classics. Newcomers to the fleet, brother and sister team of Rudi and Hannah Fokkens. Also, fairly newcomers, Father and son team of Dominic and Marco Collett venture offshore for the first time, having gleaned their experience sailing in the bay. Another father and son team, that of Rob and Iain Bowman will be back on the water after their superb craft got t-boned and had to get a bit of reconstructive surgery.

The Hobie 16 fleet is expected to have a number of hot shot sailors in town hoping to take to the water. Their challenge will be navigating the beachfront development currently taking place.

“The launching of the Hobies will be a bit of a challenge, but we are confident we will get the numbers on the water, and look forward to a colourful, fun-filled, competitive event.” Commodore for the Point Yacht Club, Greg de Beyer stated.

A number of big names will be taking to the water having competed internationally recently. Hoping to jet-propel his way to the front, Jethro Brophy-Tintinger has had a remarkable year, having competed in the Netherlands, topped the local log in the biggest sailing event in the world, Bart’s Bash and just touched down from being a part of the Volvo Round the World send-off down in Cape Town.

Joining him will be Garth Loudon with a young, new crew member. In the Durban offseason, Loudon represented SA in the prestigious Hobie World Cat in Germany. Loudon, together with Peter Hall took on the best of the best at the Hobie Multiworlds and Europeans 2017 held in the Netherlands. Hall will be sailing with his champ son, Matthew who has been turning heads in the Hobie 14 class.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club’s Facebook page.

The Bashboard has been tallied for Bart's Bash 2015

IMG_6423.jpg: Benji Daniel and Chad Stevenson racing on their 29er during the Bart’s Bash – The Second Sail held in Durban hosted by Point Yacht Club, this image appeared on the front page of the Yachts and Yachting Souvenir Programme in the United Kingdom.

IMG_6493.jpg: Jethro Brophy-Tintinger sailing on the Hobie 14 and Luke Wagner helming Southern Storm, both sailors appeared on the Bashboard of this year’s Bart’s Bash – The Second Sail that took place in the bay hosted by Point Yacht Club.

Pic by Sophie Thompson

Point Yacht Club

Bart’s Bash Results

Harbour: Sunday 20 September

The Bashboard has been tallied and Durban sailing and Point Yacht Club feature six times on the leader board on the biggest global sailing event, Bart’s Bash – The Second Sail that took place on Sunday 20 September.

South Africa had the second largest turn out on the water on the day out of 62 countries that took part, the United Kingdom walked away with first place. 365 South African sailors ventured out onto the water on the day, and doing the country proud, the South African team of Alex Schon and Marc Hiles were crowned overall winners of Bart’s Bash – the second ever edition of this event.

Competing on their Nacra F20 under the Lake Deneys Burgee, Schon commented, “This year we had winds of 35knots and with a short, sharp chop this made for a wild ride, with our Nacra 20 at times launching itself right out of the water. We had a fantastic ride and took a somewhat conservative approach. With only Marc out on the wire, we managed to keep our beast upright. I think that the tough conditions prevented more people from attending, but I really believe that this event needs to grow and that the great work that is being done needs to spread throughout the world, in particular throughout Africa.”

Most venues around the country reporting strong winds on the day preventing the youth to come out in force on the day. Despite the strong conditions, Point Yacht Club’s Jethro Brophy-Tintinger from Umbilo who took top honours on the day, came sixth overall in the category of winds over 18knots, with Gavin Wadsworth from Durban North placed tenth. Brophy-Tintinger placed 39^th overall.

Luke Wagner from Hilton got a top ten finish with his eighth place in the category of Adult Skipper and Tim Wickham helming Ithebe finished seventh in the category Buddy Sailor. Point Yacht Club scored an impressive ninth worldwide, the top finishing South African yacht club, in the category of Biggest Fleets with 123 competitors.

A total of 14,357 sailors participated this year globally, with 472 venues hosting the event. On the day 7,578 boats were on the water in the 62 countries.

Commodore for the Point Yacht Club and Clipper Round the World skipper, Craig Millar stated, “The figures, although down from last year’s phenomenal feat and Guinness World Record, are still absolutely mind-boggling! A total amount of 38,266,938 meters were sailed, which is almost the equivalent of sailing around the world once. Sailing around the world took me a year, but it was achieved in a day by over 14 thousand sailors! Out of the 7,000 boats, there were a total of 624 classes competing. But, what for me is the most fascinating stat is that a total time of 486 days was sailed on the day; that is a long time to be on the water.”

The dates for the third Bart’s Bash were launched this week with sailors around the world diarising Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2016.

For more info visit www.bartsbash.co.uk or www.pyc.co.za

Results

Keel and Dinghy

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, 8 Tim Green, 9 Neil Bell, 10 Ian Ferguson, 11 Cameron Carey, 12 Cameron Townsend, 13 Alex Jordaan, =14 Saleem Jonke, =14 Rob Chrystal, 16 Daryl Massey

Wrap up for Bart's Bash 2015

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

A few questions with catamaran sailor, Wayne Smith

Wayne Smith is one of Durban’s most enthusiastic and accomplished Hobie sailors. He sails with his girlfriend, Kate Bains and the duo will be competing in the Hobie Nationals over the Easter weekend sailing offshore of Durban. He has competed in the Hobie 16 World championships in Port Elizabeth and the Hobie Tiger World Champs in Langebaan. He also sailed his Hobie 16 in the World Masters games in Sydney in 2009. He picked up his interest in sailing from his father who was a competitive sailor in the 60's and 70's.

I attended Athlone Primary School and Maritzburg College High School in Pietermaritzburg and went on to study a BSc in Building Science at the University of KZN-Durban. I have travelled and worked in the builders industry in several places around the world but always gravitate back to good ol' Durbs. Currently in a relationship with a fantastic lady, Kate Bain, who manages the care of orphans in Northern KZN and I try dedicate some of my time supporting her in her endeavour. I am currently involved in developing some residential units in Westville and spend much of my free time involved in sailing through Point Yacht Club. Either trying to promote it or participating in events.

  

What do you love about your town and province?

Mainly...it’s home. And what makes it home is the friends and family here. Of course the climate, landscape and sea just add the finishing touches. Durban is very multi-cultural which adds to the flavour, enchantment and excitement of the city.

What is your favourite destination in the province if you want to take some time out?

The Drakensburg. The backdrop of majestic mountains against the silent starry sky is soul-stuff. The tranquillity contrasts to the hustle and bustle of Durban city life.

Sports & Hobbies?

All through school and varsity I did gymnastics and carried on to do diving, mountain biking, white water kayaking, climbing, water skiing ... but now days anything with a sail is my preference. I began windsurfing at high school and still enjoy the sport although now days I sail Hobie catamarans and micro multi hulls more often. I even have a remote controlled yacht just to show my age!!!

Favourite food and drinks; any place(s) you want to recommend to people?

Almost everything my girlfriend cooks, not only cos she has cooked it GF but she is a damn good cook. I love a medium steak with lots of garlic, my favourite place for the best meat meal in the world is Joops' Place....mmmmmm. I am not impartial to tequila when the party's on but beer especially the growing number of craft beers available make for good after action socialising. Red wine has its place but I am not too up myself enough to think life can’t go on without a good (expensive) red.

Favourite vacation place outside KZN?

Langebaan in summer. A taste of Mediterranean Europe in Africa....lots of foreigners and of course the wind blows.

Any gems you found in the province?

Yes, the bum slide in the gorge near Wonder Cave in the Central Berg and Karlkloof canopy tours, it’s exciting and the location is beautiful.

How do you manage work and home life?

Awfully by all accounts but that depends on who you asking, currently its more squewed to 'life' than 'work'....

What is the best part of your job?

Self Employed so having work is always a good thing but also meeting a variety of people that the industry offers is exciting and challenging...also the boss is very reasonable at times and allows time off for good work / life balance.

What is the worst part of your job? 

Not having work and the boss can be difficult sometimes...

What is the one thing about your to town/province that you think everybody should know?

Its location for outdoor activities is one of the best in the world. Local government needs to understand this and support and develop this potential.

"If I had all the money in the world I would ...

Overthrow the government, ensure my girlfriend’s foundation, Izulu Orphan Projects, became financially secure and self-sustaining (as they get absolutely no Government assistance)....oh yes and of course buy a 60ft catamaran and cruise the Mediterranean."

Hobie Epic

Point Yacht Club

Hobie Epic

Thursday 19 February

A small fleet of adrenaline driven sailors set to embark on the annual Point Yacht Club’s Hobie Epic, racing between Durban to Richards Bay.

This is the sixth epic race, with the small catamarans launching from the Point Yacht Club’s Beachsite or at the Zululand Yacht Club and trek all the way along the coast. The fleet are hoping to set off on Thursday, but will need to wait for a good weather opportunity and could be on standby until Sunday 22 February.

Hobie Representative, Peter Hall explained, “If the conditions are a North Easterly wind then the race is a Richards Bay to Durban race, and if the winds happen to be a South Westerly then it is done in reverse from Durban to Richards Bay. The last two years a front has come through on the weekend of the race and a South Westerly has blown launching us at 6:00am racing to Richards Bay.”

The rules are easy, launch at one of the yacht clubs site and sail non-stop up or down to the finish at either the Richards Bay Harbour mouth or at the beach landing at Vetch’s. All boats are fitted with a tracking device to keep an eye on them, with race support shadowing them as they sail along the coastline.

“We are hoping that eight boats will be lining up for this year’s event. The weather window unfortunately clashes with the other sailing endurance event, the well-attended 9 Hour event in Midmar, so we are expecting fewer boats on the water this year.” Hall stated.

Hall has won the event five times on his Hobie 16, and fellow sailor Mark Wijtenburg has dominated the event in the Hobie Tiger division. “It usually takes the Tigers six to eight hours to get to Richards Bay and the Hobie 16s a couple of hours longer.”

This gruelling event takes the small crafts along some of the most treacherous coastline in the world, “The guys get off the water and are exhausted, both physically and mentally drained. But the experience is well worth the demands of the adventure. In a word it is epic!” Hall concluded.

Richards Bay or Durban awaits the arrival of a handful of Hobie sailors as they compete in the Point Yacht Club’s Hobie Epic.

To follow the race, go to www.pyc.co.za or like the clubs Facebook page.

Day Five for Point Yacht Club's Dinghy Class Champs

Point Yacht Club

Dinghy Class Champs Day Five

Harbour: Saturday 7 February

A splendid fleet of 24 dinghies participated in the fifth day of the Point Yacht Club’s Dinghy Class Champs held in the harbour on Saturday.

Returning after a long absence, Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek returned to the water in their brand new, glisteningly beautiful, carbon hull Flying Fifteen, Ffigjam. The highly decorated sailors showed their class as they powered to the front in their division, with a comfortable lead in all three races. 

In the Laser class, Gregg Dobson returning home from work in Madagascar loved being back on the water. He took the line honours in the first race, but got jammed up at the start in the second race, finishing in seventh and then a fifth in the final race. Trent Bingham also returned from a long absence from sailing, claiming the honours in the second race, but was forced to retire from the third race due to his kicker breaking. Another long-time absent sailor made his welcome return. Rowen Clark from Pennington took to the water after a number of years. It didn’t take him long to get back into the swing of things, finishing in seventh in his first race. He managed to up a gear and finished in fourth in the second race, then improved some more in the final race finishing third.

The only lady in the fleet, Frances Van Breda showed up a number of the blokes with a fine tally of a fourth, a sixth and a third in her three races.

A colourful fleet of Hobies also came out to compete to get in some water time ahead of their Nationals, the upcoming Hobie Epic to Richards Bay and the 9 Hour at Midmar. The entire fleet opted to retire from the first race, all camping out on the sand bank in the middle of the bay due to the winds dropping off.

Peter Hall sailing one up on his Hobie 14 came first in the second and third race with a tussle for second place occurring between Michael Dickinson and Hannah Fokkens on their Hobie 16 and 14 year old Dylan Alberts racing on his Hobie 14. Dickinson helming the Hobie 16 took second place in the second race, meanwhile Alberts snuck in ahead of the larger Hobie in the final race, much to his verbal elation at beating the older and more accomplished Dickinson.

The multi-coloured and multi-class fleet of 24 dinghies consisted of a Mirror, a Dabchick, Hobies, Lasers, Flying Fifteens, RS Teras, a 29er and an RS Feva.

After the first race, the breeze shifted from an Easterly, moving around to a South Easterly, causing the Race Officer, Kevin Bingham to make a course adjustment. Bingham managed to get in three windward leeward races in near the T-Jetty. As the afternoon drew on, the 8knot breeze dropped to a gentle 5knots, forcing Bingham to shorten the final race.

This weekend sees two events hosted by Point Yacht Club, the conclusion to the Dinghy Class Champs and the first in the Jockey Series offshore of Durban. Race Officer Ron Pet has organised a tactical sausage course for the keelboats, ensuring lots of action as the bigger boats are required to carve through a set of ‘gates’ in the centre of the course and will have two options to round at the bottom mark.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the Point Yacht Club’s Facebook page.

The Captain's Challenge

Point Yacht Club

The Captain’s Challenge

Sunday 30 November

Point Yacht Club’s Aldino Gorlei celebrated a personal milestone, enjoying his 80^th birthday doing what he enjoys most – sailing.

Close on 50 boats came out for the momentous occasion relishing not only the festivities but also the conditions offshore of Durban on Sunday.

The first boat out of the starting blocks was the birthday boy himself, he set off with a handful of junior sailors on a windward leeward course in a gentle 12knots South Easterly wind. Gorlei sailing on his Hobie 14 was second to finish, being overtaken by the extremely quick 49er helmed by former Olympic athlete Alec Lanham-Love.

Once concluding the fun race, Gorlei turned around and carried on sailing. He was joined by a number of Hobies all setting off for a second ‘unofficial’ run.

Over half the fleet was made up of Gorlei’s Hobie buddies, making for a wonderful, colourful display in front of Durban. Four starts set by Race Officer Ron Pet saw the youngest and oldest of the crowd set off first, followed by the monohull dinghies with the biggest class setting off third. Finally the bigger keelboats made their way on the short course, with the buoy set off Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Commodore for the Point Yacht Club, Trevor Donald sailing on an L26, Counter Point said afterwards, “What a way to celebrate such a significant day. I know that Al loved his time on the water and was overwhelmed by all who came to support him. I was really impressed with the turn out on a busy weekend. Thank you one and all who made the effort to celebrate Al’s day with him.”

This coming weekend, the Point Yacht Club will have the conclusion of the Club Class Championships in the bay on Saturday along with the Caney Offshore Series on Sunday. Off the water, the club also has its Christmas Lunch where the Durban City Orchestra will be performing.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the Facebook page Point Yacht Club.

Royal Natal Yacht Club Catamaran Series

The exciting third day in the Catamaran Series got underway directly in front of the Royal Natal Yacht Club lawns on Saturday 9 August.

Ten catamarans including nine halcats and one Hobie 16 attacked the course in vigour in the waste-high water making full use of the spring tide.  Four races were completed with the final race being shortened as the wind died off leaving glassy testing conditions for the yachties.

Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Graham Rose stated, “Out of all of the boats that took part today, we had half of the guys racing halcats for the first time. Our youngest sailor on the water was 9years old and the smile on his face at the end of the day is what it is all about! The enjoyment of being out on the water!”

The boats flew in the open with a number of the more adventurous allowing their cats to heel over raising one hull out of the water. As the boats neared the weather mark, the wind dropped off obstructed by the buildings, leaving big holes of tranquillity that tested the sailors. 

“What is fantastic about this idea is that the crowds sitting on the lawns actually have front row seats for the action. Sailing all of a sudden becomes a spectator friendly sport. We heard cheering and chirps from the lawns this afternoon. Everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously, both on the water and on the lawns.” Rear Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club Rob Samways raved.

The final race got under starters orders just after 4pm with the surrounding water glistening in completely still conditions. The fleet crawled their way over the line, with Race Officer Carol Ferguson debating to abandon the race. As the colourful sails moved further away from the club, a smidgen of a breeze filled in.

The slow agonising race humorously turned as race leader, Samways chased the wind down to Wilson’s Wharf and got caught in a patch of zero wind battling to return to the finish of the shortened race. Roy Close racing close to the rhumb line impressively stole the race, finishing in a well-earned first. The fleet actually drifted across the line with no wind assistance with majority of the fleet concerned that the turning tide would actually take them further away from the finish line.

Adrenaline junkie, Michael Dickinson and his crew member Dylan XYZ got bored of the calm conditions and as they neared the finish, lay on the front of the hull opting for the faster option of paddling with their arms to get back to shore.

“We have more than doubled the numbers in two weeks. Our first event we had four boats on the water and today we had ten. There were a number of curious guys on the lawns and chatting to them there were promises that there would be more boats on the water!” Samways continued.

Next event for the catamarans will be this Friday (15 August) with a twilight sail starting at 4pm. The annual prize giving for the Royal Natal Yacht Club takes place this Saturday (16 August) and the next major event for South African sailors is the prestigious Lipton Challenge Cup in False Bay on the 24 August.

For more info visit www.rnyc.org.za or contact the club on 031 301 5425.