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

Point Yacht Club elects their Flag Officers

Point Yacht Club

Flag Officers

Durban: Tuesday 7 September

The Point Yacht Club has a new helmsman, Round the World sailor; Craig Millar has been elected as the new Commodore for the Durban based yacht club.

With an extensive competitive sailing CV; Millar has numerous awards, both in South Africa and internationally competing in Hunters, J22 and Solings. His most triumphant sailing achievement would be when he was the skipper for the Durban entry in the 2005/2006 Clipper Round the World yacht race, where together with his crew they came second overall.

“It is a great honour to be bestowed with the title of Commodore. I sincerely hope to share and grow the phenomenal sport of sailing, and encourage more people to come and be a part of it.” encouraged, Millar.

Second in Command, Kevin Bingham will fill the role of Vice Commodore, Millar’s right hand man. Bingham has earned his stripes being a frequent Race Officer for dinghy racing most Saturday afternoons either in the bay or offshore. His CV boasts SASCOC Protea Colours for Sailing Management, Optimist World Champs team manager when they travelled to New Zealand in 2011; Past Chairman for SAS KZN and Past President for the SA Optimist Sailing Class and to round it off; he is a recognised SAS Provincial Race Officer as well.

“I am extremely lucky to be supported by a man of Kevin’s calibre as well as the experienced and highly competent team of Rear Commodores.” concluded Millar.

Joining him will be Myles White, who is in charge of the smaller boats and takes the role of Dinghy Rear Commodore. White has over 4 decades experience sailing in Durban, preferring the exhilaration of racing in his Flying Fifteen. White has experience in all aspects of sailing, having competed in long distance racing, round the cans racing, and more recently favouring dinghy racing.

“After something like 40 years of membership I have now completed my first year on any Club Committee, and I am looking forward to applying some of the lessons I learned through Round Table and hopefully building on the recent success achieved in dinghy sailing at PYC. My objective is to get more boats on the water more regularly and for people to have so much fun doing it that they keep coming back for more.” enthused an optimistic White at the announcement.

Ron Pet will be looking after the larger yachts with his title of Keeler Rear Commodore; Pet’s love for the bigger yachts is evident with the amount of time he puts in as race officer on Wednesday night’s Twilight Racing and weekend offshore racing. Pet also is the hardworking man behind the scenes for the hugely popular MSC Week.

Retaining his position, Nik Albert stays on as the Youth Rear Commodore. Albert is a keen competitor himself in both the Hobie and Flying Fifteen classes. The keen Durban sailor has had a successful term with a number of youngsters coming up through the ranks, representing both Point Yacht Club and South Africa at a variety of events and Albert hopes to grow this.

Point Yacht Club has a fine team at the helm for the next cycle, with the recently elected Flag Officers starting to get into the groove of growing the sport of sailing in Durban.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za

Q&A with awesome sailor, Mike Kavanagh from Ray of Light

I managed to catch up with Mike Kavanagh ahead of the upcoming Vasco da Gama to Port Elizabeth. 

This is what he had to say to the questions I three at him...

Family? 

Married to first mate Heidi and have been blessed with a wonderful son, able seaman Sean.

How many of them sail? 

Heidi and Sean are avid sailors, as are most of our family members. Heidi was born a von Bredow. Some of our family are sailing on the Fast 42, Nemesis in this race. My cousin Graham Cross just dropped anchor in Brazil on a lovely boat called Onyx that was built by my grandfather Harry Cross and finished by my uncle John Cross.

Which area do you live in? 

Oslo Beach, Port Shepstone in KZN

How did you get into sailing? 

I started sailing with my grandfather and uncle as a little boy, on a Flying Dutchman built by my Grandfather. Later, when I was 10 years old, we built a Dabchick during the school holidays, a boat I still own. The dabbie still has a scar from one of the steel marks on Emmarentia dam that I hit while staring at the girls on the windsurfers. In the good old days we used to sail for fun, very little racing. Maybe we should be doing more of that these days. I was privileged to crew on the family Stadt 23, Umoya on Vaal dam when not playing cricket, hockey or golf, which was seldom as a scholar.

What are your achievements in sailing? 

I like to think of myself a good seaman, thanks to the influence of Alex Cousins of Yachtmaster Ocean Sailing School. I have always been competitive in sports and have worked hard to improve as a racing sailor, being largely self taught by applying knowledge gained from a library of ‘go fast’ books, tested on Ray of Light and smaller Flying 15’s and J22’s. For me a notable achievement was being consistently competitive in the Cape Town club sailing scene with a fun loving mixed crew of old and young, men and women, physically and mentally challenged, novices, a couple of French girls and some elderly Hollanders was very rewarding. We enjoyed taking line honours in last year’s Vasco but were disappointed to miss out on handicap, so will be looking to improve this year. I was privileged to be part of Stuart Ritchie’s crew on the Beneteau First 40, BMA that took line honours and the handicap win in the 2011 Vasco. It was that experience that showed me what had to be done to Ray of Light and her crew to convert her to a club racer from a world cruiser. We have been improving our skills and the boat since then and now that we are Durban based, have wonderful close racing on the water and on handicap with Bellatrix (formerly BMA). One more achievement is to have survived a 360 degree roll on a Stadt 23 named Dejavu in a regatta offshore PE in the 1998 while we were debating whether or not to wear life jackets, we were struck by a breaking wave just outside PE harbour. I trust our arrival in PE this year will be less eventful. 

What other class of boats have you / do you sail? 

Apart from Ray of Light we have a lovely wooden decked classic Flying 15 called Femme Fatale that has a long history of sailing in Durban and Saldanha. We try to upset the carbon fibre speed machines in Durban from time to time. We also enjoy fishing on our little ski boat Sport’s Captain.

Best memory or moment that stands out for you so far in sailing? 

Sailing in the Southern Atlantic ocean was unforgettable, with spectacular bird life. Another highlight was watching a marlin chasing our lures while doing 15 knots downwind with the kite up when leaving the Canary Islands. Moments later we crash gybed as the helms person was distracted by the marlin and consequently had to head back to the Canaries for repairs. Returning Ray of Light to Cape Town from Luderitz, jury rigged after being dismasted (due to the failure of a rather light Sparcraft France factory fitting) in the 2012 Governors Cup, with my wife Heidi and 4 year old Sean was memorable. The week long slow motor beat with storm jib and a dabchick sized main into a building south easter while standing watch with my little boy was something to be cherished, as was the tuna we caught far offshore. Vasco 2014 was special as we had Heidi’s dad Pieter and sister Sigi on the crew with us. With Sean it was three generations. Vasco da pigeon joined us 25 miles offshore as we approached and entered to Durban harbour. Fancy a pigeon finding us way out at sea.

What do you most enjoy about sailing? 

I get great joy from being in God’s creation experiencing the freedom of the open ocean while being driven along by the power of the wind. The sea life is always amazing, it’s like an extended game drive! The concentration and focus needed to keep the boat sailing efficiently is a great way to get your mind off life’s other distractions and challenges. Most of all I enjoy sharing the experience with my wife and son.

What are you hoping to achieve in this year’s Vasco da Gama race? 

I would like to arrive safely in PE with the boat and crew in one piece. We have learned that despite rigorous and thorough preparation, unforeseen mishaps happen. I would like to sail the boat to its potential and perhaps catch a 20kg tuna on the way to PE or on the way back to Durban.

What has sailing taught you? 

So many things, including self sufficiency, innovation and problem solving. It has taught me practical skills like how to service a diesel engine, a marine toilet and to replace steering cables (remember to cross them!). Let’s not talk about black water holding tanks. Sailing has taught me the value of teamwork, clear communication, proper preparation and thinking ahead to anticipate what will happen next. It has made a weather man of me and taught me to work hard to fund the passion! Most of all it has allowed me to spend priceless moments with my family at sea and in the bay in a wide variety of circumstances. On a lighter note I have learned to avoid vomit flying from the weather rail and even tack naked as happened in last years Vasco when we got a little too close to the shore while I was down below trying to suit up for the night ahead and was called on deck in a hurry.

Role model in sailing? 

My Grandfather, Uncle and Father in Law who planted and nurtured the love of sailing in me.

Role model in life? 

Jesus Christ

What are you hobbies? 

Golf, fishing, garden cricket with my son

Besides sailing, any other sport you participate in / excel in? 

In the past cricket / hockey / golf, now days sailing and fishing take up most of the spare time with a little golf now and then.

Describe yourself in one word? 

Content

Where would you like to be in five years / what will you like to have achieved? 

I have no five year plan, never have. I try to live each day to the fullest and although difficult, try not to worry about tomorrow, as it will take care of itself.

Anything of interest that you would like to add:

My wife Heidi and son Sean who is now six, have done most of the 20,000 miles we have clocked up together on Ray of Light. The privilege to sail together has been immense; sailing is definitely a great family sport. It saddens me that there are not more families sailing together. I am hopeful that Heidi’s deteriorating physical condition will not prevent her from joining us for this race. We look forward to another voyage together and to sharing the experience with our good friends and crew in the Vasco 2015. We are especially looking forward to the duel with Nemesis, owned by Heidi’s sister Sigi and husband Anthony Bailes.

Point Yacht Club Dinghy Class Champs and Royal Natal Yacht Club North South Race

Point Yacht Club / Royal Natal Yacht Club

Dinghy Class Champs Day Six

North South Race

Harbour: Saturday 28 February

Offshore: Sunday 1 March

Yachts big and small came out to participate in light winds for two events over the weekend.

The conclusion to the Point Yacht Club’s Dinghy Class Champs day six had a fleet of 25 yachts working hard to find the winds in the harbour on Saturday.

Overall winners were Dylan Alberts in the Hobie Fleet; Myles White and Charlotte Marshall in the Flying Fifteens; Trevor Gibb sailing on his Mirror in the Open Class; Richard Bates in the Laser class; Rob Samways and Jared Quinn in the Dart division and young Sven Paton racing on his RS Tera Pro.

It was contradicting weather for the racing of day six, two weeks ago racing was abandoned on the day due to heavy winds. The postponed racing got underway with a slight breeze but as the afternoon drew on, the winds completely disappeared at times.

Shifty winds made it relatively tough for the race officer and sailors. During the three races, Kevin Bingham adjusted the course three times to accommodate the change in wind direction.

On Sunday 9 big keelers made their way offshore to compete in the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s North South Race with Gregg Hurter helming Bellatrix took the line and handicap honours.

Race Officer, Rob Samways got the boats underway directly off of Addington Beach, the small fleet had a short beat up to a buoy set off the north breakwater of the harbour. The boats had a port rounding before heading out to the fairway marker on the horizon. Here the yachts had a starboard rounding and made their way to another buoy set off the old Whaling Station on the Bluff before returning back to the finish line.

Bellatrix finished the 11 Nautical Mile race in just under two hours, finishing ten minutes ahead of second placed Majimoto skippered by Jon Marshall. Having rounded first, Bellatrix turned on the gas and opened the gap between themselves and Majimoto as they made their way out to the Fairway Mark. Majimoto made the mistake of not flying their spinnaker directly but waited till they were clear of the wind shadow caused by the Bluff. Hurter and his crew continued to build on their lead all the way to the finish.

In third place, Gavin Wadsworth on Therapy managed to stay in front of Brad Rayson on Flyer the entire race. The tail end of the fleet had a momentous tussle between the only two L26s racing. Brendan Humphries on the stick of Container World managed to edge out Denmar Nel helming PYC Challenger. One second separated the two as Container World surged forward on a swell pipping Nel at the post.

Results

Point Yacht Club

Dinghy Class Champs Day Six

Harbour: Saturday 28 February

Hobie Class

1 Dylan Alberts (Hobie 14), 2 Justin Butler (Hobie 14), 3 Wayne Smith / Kate Bains (Hobie 16), 4 Peter Hall (Hobie 14) 5 Michael Dickinson (Hobie 16), 6 Justin Butler (Hobie 16), 7 Murray May (Hobie 16), 8 CJ Miln (Hobie 16), 9 Chad Stevenson (Hobie 16), 10 Nathan Constant (Hobie 14), 11 Sean Fennessy (Hobie 14), 12 Matthew Hall (Hobie Dragoon), 13 David van Niekerk (Hobie 14)

Flying Fifteens

1 Myles White / Charlotte Marshall, 2 Patrick Harris / Jeremy Kriek, 3 Campbell Alexander / Chris Clark, 4 Gregg Hurter / Nik Albert, 5 Paul Changuion / Tim Duguid, 6 Simon Musgrove, 7 Craig Campbell / Ian Hogg, 8 Rick Parker, 9 Florence Marshall / Edrich de Lange, 10 Vincent Tiedt, 11 Heidi Kavanagh / Michael Kavanagh, 12 Carl Zimmerman / Simone Yelland

Open Class

1 Trevor Gibb (Mirror), 2 Benji Daniels / Euan Hurter (29er), 3 Denmar Nel (L26 PYC Challenger), 4 Rob Tarboton / Michael Dickinson (29er), 5 My Way (Clynton de Fyn), 6 Sean Hurter (Dabchick), 7 Euan Hurter (Dabchick), 8 Chad Stevenson (Dabchick), 9 Rudi Fokkens (RS Feva), 10 Thokozani Latha (L26 Lindiwe), 11 Jethro Brophy Tintinger / Eli Brophy Tintinger (420), 12 David Curtis (Rebel)

Laser

1 Richard Bates, 2 Frances van Breda, 3 Henri Frencken, 4 Anthony Arbuthnot, 5 Denny Moffatt, 6 Andrew Walford, 7 Rob Goulden, 8 Gregg Dobson, 9 Anthony MacMillan, 10 Campbell Alexander, 11 Rowen Clark, 12 Trent Bingham, 13 Murray May, 14 Jethro Brophy Tintinger (Radial), 15 Chad Stevenson (Radial), 16 Simon Musgrove

Open Class Cats

1 Rob Samways (Dart), 2 Bill Ellens (Paper Tiger), 3 Coert Grobbelaar (Halcat), 4 Clynton de Fyn / Jackie Barnard (Halcat), 5 Jethro Brophy Tintinger / Eli Brophy Tintinger (Halcat), 6 Neil Wadsworth (Halcat), 7 Richard Potgieter (Halcat), 8 Andile Zulu (Halcat)

RS Tera

1 Sven Paton (Pro), 2 Cameron Paarle (Sport), 3 James Butler (Pro), 4 Liam Fennessy (Sport), 5 Chad Stevenson (Pro)

Royal Natal Yacht Club

North South Race

Offshore: Sunday 1 March

1 Bellatrix (Gregg Hurter), 2 Majimoto (Jon Marshall), 3 Therapy (Gavin Wadsworth), 4 Flyer (Brad Rayson), 5 Container World (Brendan Humphries), 6 PYC Challenger (Denmar Nel), 7 Bellissima (Vernon Goss), 8 Candi (Theuns Nel), RTD Thermopylae (Frank Edwards)

Royal Natal Yacht Club Dinghy Spring Series Day Two

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Dinghy Spring Series Day Two

It was chalk and cheese with the conditions for the second day of the Dinghy Spring Series hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club with nine yachts arriving in the blustery conditions.

Race Officer, Jennifer Weyer set a windward leeward course for the small boats in the harbour. Conditions were ideal for loads of thrills and spills. The gusts edged up towards the 30knot mark but the wind was blowing mostly around the high teens or low twenties. With a lot of chop in the bay, all the sailors were drenched by the spray from the water.

The three Flying Fifteens relished the conditions and flew on the run powered by their larger spinnakers. The most competitive fleet on the water did three laps of the sausage course, finishing consistently around the 35minute mark for all three races. It was fantastic racing between the three in the last two races. On the run down to the leeward mark, the spinnakers kept catching up to each other. On the beat up to the weather mark the tactics came into play as they split up in the field, all tacking and heading off in different directions.

Crossing the line for the final race of the day, Myles White helming his Flying Fifteen brushed past the bridge boat shouting, “Please can we have another race, we are loving these conditions!”

The first boat to call it quits having been unable to start was the smallest boat in the fleet, the small RS Tera capsized on the way to the start and took a while to right himself. Denmar Nel from Pinetown also spent a lot of time in the water as his Laser toppled over on numerous occasions. Not managing to finish the first race, an exhausted Nel opted to turn his efforts in and head for shore mid-way through the second race.

Late arrivals, Chad Stevenson racing on his Extra and Jethro Brophy-Tintinger helming a Laser got tangled together nearing the start line. Brophy-Tintinger capsized dramatically tangled up with Stevenson’s Extra and the duo drifted through the start line as the fleet made their way for the second race. Stevenson never recovered after his unfortunate arrival, tearing his main sail and experiencing rudder problems, eventually having to be towed home after the final race.

The oldest competitor in the fleet, Trevor Gibb sailing with the youngest sailor, Ian Bowman managed two races in their Mirror and after they crossed the finish line for the second time, headed for shore.

David Curtiss from Botha’s Hill helming his Rebel sailed two up with up-and-coming Dylan Alberts from Durban North. The team battled with the gusts that swept through the race track, finding their boat going over on more than one occasion. They also retired, not managing to finish the second race.

Next weekend will be busy for the oldest yacht club in the country as the Royal Natal Yacht Club have the third day for the smaller boats with the Spring Dinghy Series then on Sunday they host the Battle of Trafalgar offshore for the keelers.

For more info, visit www.rnyc.org.za or contact Kearin on 031 301 5425.

Wrap up for Jonsson Cup Pursuit Race

Point Yacht Club

Jonsson Cup Pursuit Race

A zig-zag course in the bay had a fleet of 53 dinghies travelling to all corners of the harbour on Saturday with Jon Marshall from Westville claiming the honours in Point Yacht Club’s Jonsson Cup Pursuit Race.

Marshall, the Rear Commodore for Keelers at Point Yacht Club traded in his larger, more familiar chariot for a much smaller Laser. The race that got underway just beyond the Durban Marina saw the large mixed fleet head off in light conditions towards the harbour mouth.

“It was a bit of an obstacle course dodging the busy afternoon shipping movements. On our first beat up we encountered our first challenge, a massive container ship arriving with a bevy of tugs around her. We had a few more large vessels we had to quickly get out the way of.” Marshall said when back on land.

“It was a fantastic race, long and hard work but great to be out there with all the guys. I am delighted with the win and just managed to take Gregg (Dobson) as we made our way down to the finish.” an elated Marshall said.

Gregg Dobson who has recently returned to Durban couldn’t wait to participate. The experienced yachite led for most of the race on his Laser, with Marshall just off his shoulder as they tackled the winding course designed to last two hours. As the duo neared the finish, Dobson opted for the more sheltered inland approach as Marshall didn’t go so near to land.

The finish line was set off in the shadow of the Bluff which gave the fleet their final challenge as the light winds dropped and then filled in making the final push to the line somewhat agonising for most. Marshall managed to crawl across the line as his nearest competitor, Dobson stalled with the wind taking ages to give him a lift, and in those vital moments, the duo racing on a Flying Fifteen, Paul Changion and Tim Duiguid slipped across the line having taken the open water approach to the line catching the ocean breeze before it got to the stranded Dobson.

Marshall was in one of the larger fleets with 11 full rig Lasers on the water and a couple of smaller Lasers getting in some water time as well. The Flying Fifteens were the next best represented class with eight crafts taking up the challenge. There were a few larger ‘dinghies’ as well with a few youngsters getting in some training on the L26 Container World and two other keel boats participating.

The first junior to cross the line was Alex Thorpe helming a classic little Gypsey with his Dad, Ralph. The easy to sail Gypsey is a South African designed two person boat that is ideal for learning to sail in. The Thorpes finished 21^st overall.

The long hard slog for the 53 small boats ended with Jon Marshall crossing the line in just under two hours in Point Yacht Club’s Jonsson Cup Pursuit Race on Saturday.

Results

1 Jon Marshal (Laser), 2 Paul Changuion / Tim Duguid (FF15), 3 Gregg Dobson (Laser), 4 Martin Zimmerman / Carl Zimmerman (FF15), 5 Rudy McNeill (Laser), 6 Andrew Walford (Laser), 7 Campbell Alexander / Chris Clark (FF15), 8 Anthony MacMillan (Laser), 9 Patrick Harris / Jeremy Kriek (FF15), 10 Gregg Hurter / Nic Albert (FF15), 11 Myles White (FF15), 12 Henri Frencken (Laser), 13 Rob Goulden (Laser), 14 Trent Bingham (Laser), 15 Heidi Kavanagh, Michael Kavanagh (FF15), 16 Bill Evans (Dragonfly), 17 Ricky Robinson (Sprog), 18 Anthony Arbuthnot (Laser), 19 Alec Lanham-Love / Greg de Beyer (49er), 20 Rob Tarboton / Michael Dickinson (29er), 21 Alex Thorpe / Ralph Thorpe (Gypsey), 22 Denmar Nel (Laser), 23 Dylan Albert (Dabchick), 24 David Curtis (Rebel), 25 Tony Alison / Pam Zarnack (Rebel), 26 Jacky Barnard / Clynton de Finn (Mistral), 27 Jethro Brophy – Tintinger / Eli Brophy – Tintinger (420), 28 CJ Miln (Laser), 29 Peter Hall (Hobie 14), 30 Bart Fokkens / Hannah Fokkens (Halcat), 31 Paul Ridsdale (Hobie 16), 32 John Banfield / John Banfield Jnr (FF15), 33 Simon Musgrave (Laser), 34 Liam Fennessy / Tristan Hancock (Hobie 16), 35 Justin Butler / Murray May (Hobie 16), 36 Sean Hurter / Benji Daniels (29er), 37 Wayne Smith (Hobie 14), 38 Richard Potgieter (Halcat), 39 Nic Koekemoer (Halcat), 40 Bruce Edward (Paper Tiger), 41 Hannah Tiedt (Laser 4.7), 42 Colin Fleming (Hobie 14 Turbo), 43 Brendan Humphries (L26), 44 Cameron Parle (RS Tera Sport), 45 Sven Paton (RS Tera Pro) 46 Matthew Hall / Chad Stevenson (Hobie Dragon), DNF James Butler (RS Tera Pro), DNF Braeden Royal / Yashir Seetal (RS Feva), DNF Trevor Gibb / Jessica Fennesy (Mirror), DNF Straun Campbell / Janet Campbell (Argie 15), DNF Richard Bates (Laser), DNF Andrew Butler (Extra), DNS Ayanda Idube (Tera)

Battle of Trafalgar Pursuit Race

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Battle of Trafalgar

Offshore of Durban: Sunday 16 November

The second attempt to chase the French Flag will take place offshore of Durban on Sunday 16 November after inclement weather forced the postponement of the Battle of Trafalgar Pursuit Race hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club.

The Battle of Trafalgar was raced in big seas last year with Morningside’s Gregg Hurter sailing Bellatrix taking honours. Hurter and his crew have entered and are hoping to defend their title as they hunt down the French Flag.

The Trafalgar race is a pursuit race; the slowest boat will head through the start line first and usually flies a French Flag at the back. The rest of the fleet heads off through the start line at intervals at a specific time depending on their handicap and the fastest boat heads off last. They then chase after the slowest boat, in the hopes of capturing the flag and the title.

“If the conditions play along, then the finish is really exciting with all the boats converging on the line on-mass.” the Rear Commodore of the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Rob Samways explained. “The start is quite technical with the boats heading off in batches at a specific time. It is like racing an everyday car versus a Formula One beast, you of course are going to give the slower car a head start.”

10 yachts headed off on Sunday 19 October to compete in the age old annual event, including defending champion, Hurter. As the small fleet exited the harbour, they were greeted by huge running swells with a few rogue waves breaking off in the distance.

Race Officer for the day, Rob Samways tried valiantly to get the race underway dropping a start line off of Addington Beach but conditions was too hazardous for the yachts. Light winds would not have been able to power the yachts over the rising swell with the tail end of the set having white horses on them.

“We watched as a heavily laden ship departed Durban and saw how the conditions were knocking it about. It was tilting at about 40degrees as it got hammered by the waves.” Samways stated when he was safely back on land.

“About 70 guys are really looking forward to the race, we have a competitive fleet entered, including newcomers to Durban sailing, Ray of Light skippered by Heidi Kavanagh from Port Shepstone, formerly from Cape Town.” The Rear Commodore concluded.

The hunt for the blue, white and red flag is on as the Durban sailors head offshore to compete in the Battle of Trafalgar on Sunday 16 November.

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