Lipton Cup 2018

Point Yacht Club

Offshore Durban

Sailing in Durban received the generous news from the Royal Cape Yacht Club, the victorious 2017 Lipton Cup winners, with the offer to host the prestigious event in warmer waters.

In a letter presented to the Commodore of Point Yacht Club, Greg de Beyer, Commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, Vitor Medina graciously offered the opportunity to host the respected event offshore of Durban mid-year in 2018.

In Medina’s letter, he referred to the 2013 event sailed offshore of Durban, where Point Yacht Club finished second to a boat that was subsequently found to have been illegally modified.

Medina stated, “While Point Yacht Club was earlier this year, formally declared the winner of the Lipton Cup in 2013, your club had of course been denied the opportunity of defending the Cup in 2014 on your home waters. This unfortunate situation can’t be fully rectified at this stage.

“Royal Cape Yacht Club, in recognition of this unfairness of your loss to a non-conforming boat in 2013, is prepared to forfeit our right to defend the Cup in Table Bay next year and offer the 2018 event to your Club to host during the week following the MSC Week.”

In response, a delighted Greg de Beyer, Commodore of Point Yacht Club enthusiastically accepted the offer. “This offer has been discussed by our General Committee as well as our Sailing Committees and I can confirm that the offer has been eagerly and unanimously accepted.

“Point Yacht Club is firmly committed to promoting our sport in conjunction with other sailing clubs and organisations throughout South Africa. Whilst we never doubted the goodwill and common goal of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, we welcome this gesture and will do our utmost to ensure that 2018 event is a success and is undertaken in the spirit in which the gift was given to our sport.”

The helmsman for the Point Yacht Club’s Lipton entry, Richard Weddell, has had a somewhat dramatic Lipton campaign. Finishing a respectable fourth in his first attempt down in Simons Town in 2012, Weddell and his team then sailed magnificently offshore of Durban in 2013, finishing tie on points with False Bay Yacht Club, but due to a count back, they ended their regatta with the position of runner up.

“It is a bit of a bitter-sweet feeling, hearing this news. The guys and I worked so incredibly hard, leading up to the 2013 challenge, and the week of the challenge. We were honestly devastated at the result. It marred our enthusiasm in getting back on the water. The generosity shown by the Royal Cape guys is tremendously kind. This gentlemanly act certainly will inject a great deal of interest back into sailing, and specifically this historic event, and hopefully motivate many for the future.”

With this announcement, the Rear Commodore of Keelers is hard at work scheduling in trials to select the best suited team to challenge for the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s title.

Durban’s sailing community is abuzz with the gracious declaration from Royal Cape Yacht Club, offering the Point Yacht Club to host the 65^th Lipton Cup.

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

Lipton Challenge Cup It's A Wrap

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Lipton Challenge Cup

Simonstown: 24 – 29 August

The majestic historic cup stays in Cape Town.

Greg Davis and his team sailing on Co-Ordination from the Royal Cape Yacht Club have claimed the title of the Lipton Challenge Cup.

It was a rather non-eventful conclusion to the 2014 Lipton Challenge Cup that had 15 of South Africa’s top sailing teams participating in the one-design race. The final day in Simonstown was near breathless and the Race Officer pushed the start time to the latest possible opportunity waiting for the wind to fill as he tried to squeeze in a final race before the cut off time of 2pm but after two general recalls, the clock struck two and racing was abandoned in the tranquil conditions.

This year the weather gods gave the fleet six days of liquorice all-sorts. The sailors unfortunately managed only fifty percent of the races getting in three races of the six scheduled. Two days racing was called off due to the wind being too light and on Thursday racing was abandoned due to conditions being too hazardous with big seas and high winds hammering the Cape.

Davis managed two wins and a second over the three races. This is his tenth Lipton Challenge Cup victory flying the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s burgee.

Durban’s top finisher was the young team from the Royal Natal Yacht Club sailing on Orion B2G2. The skipper for the team Brennan Robinson said, “I am so impressed with everyone in our team. Trent on the stick handled so well, keeping us fast and low. The guys, Thokazani, Nqoba, Refeloa and the youngest on the team Michaela sailed out of their boats in the testing conditions, they never gave up the entire time.”

Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Graham Rose stated proudly, “I think they did wonderfully well. We are all enormously proud of our team. They showed terrific sportsmanship on the water and they were a glowing example of decorum to the rest of the fleet.”

“Our team have shown that sailing is very much alive in Durban. The future of sailing is certainly going to be exciting with this talent coming through our ranks.”

The Royal Natal Yacht Club team are

Brennan Robinson (Captain): Trimmer

Trent Bingham: Helmsman

Thokozani Latha: Trimmer

Nqoba Mswazi: Bowman

Michaela Robinson: Tactics

Refeloa Zililo: Halyards

Final results

1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis) 4points, 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 7points, 3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson) 10points, 4 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli) 13points, 5 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon) 16points, 6 Southern Charter UCT Maverick (UCT YC, Chris Gough) 17points, 7 Point Yacht Club (PYC, Craig Millar) 18 points

Lipton Challenge Cup Day Five Race Four

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Lipton Challenge Cup

Day Five Race Four

It is a case of all or nothing today (Friday) for the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s sailors competing in the Lipton Challenge Cup down in Simonstown.

Racing was abandoned yesterday (Thursday) due to the extreme weathers hitting the Cape. Winds registering well over 30knots pelted the coastline, making sailing conditions to dangerous. One of the sailors from Knysna was treated for mild hyperthermia on Wednesday in the icy miserable weather.

This is the second race that was abandoned; the first race on Sunday never took place due to light conditions. The weather gods certainly have given South Africa’s top sailors a variety of extreme weathers, from light fluffy conditions to high winds, squalls and rain, and big seas.

Six points separate the top three boats as they head into the final day of racing in the most coveted sailing event in South Africa, the 105th Lipton Challenge Cup. The winner of the 2014 event will host next year’s race and at this stage the historic cup looks to be travelling to Cape Town.

For the leading Durban team, to win they will need Greg Davis sailing for the Royal Cape Yacht Club to have a disastrous race finishing towards the back of the fleet in eighth position or worse. They would also need to keep four boats between them and second placed Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club’s B&G.

Surrounded by very dark clouds, the spirit was upbeat amongst the teams. Captain for the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Brennan Robinson said, “The Capies are tough to beat on their home waters and in the conditions that they're accustomed to. We knew it would be difficult but I am really impressed with our young team, they have given their all. The final day is going to be epic.”

The Rear Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Rob Samways commented, “We are very proud of our team which is destined for greater heights over this three year campaign. They have sailed hard against some big names and shown Durban has some future stars knocking at the door of likes of veteran Davis.”

The weather looks to remain chilly in Simonstown with no rain predicted but still a bit of breeze around to make the conclusion of the 2014 Lipton Challenge Cup a humdinger of note.

Leader board
1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis) 4points, 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 7points, 3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson) 10points, 4 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli) 13points, 5 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon) 16points, 6 Southern Charter UCT Maverick (UCT YC, Chris Gough) 17, 7 Point Yacht Club (PYC, Craig Millar) 18

ENDS

Lipton Challenge Cup Day Four Race Three

Royal Natal Yacht Club
Lipton Challenge Cup
Day Four Race Three

Hefty sea conditions saw the fleet work hard in the third race of the Lipton Challenge Cup down in Simonstown yesterday (Wednesday) with Greg Davis sailing for the Royal Cape Yacht Club on Co-Ordination notching up his second victory.

The crème-de-la-crème of South African sailors were expecting testing conditions with the SA Weather Service issuing warnings on Tuesday about the two fronts hitting the Cape. Racing got underway promptly at midday with the wind gusting at around 25knots and slowly increased to the 30knot mark as they sailed on a windward / leeward or sausage course.

 Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Brennan Robinson commented, “The wind came through much stronger than expected, with frequent rain squalls rolling down the course. It became a very physical game, and with some resilience we clung onto third place.”

Davis had an impressive day on the water handling the heavy conditions well. On rounding the first mark, he had already worked a five boat length lead on Daniel Agulhas’ B&G. Third around was Hout Bay Yacht Club’s Theo Yon and Durban’s very own Orion B2G2 in fourth.

Overall second placed Zeekoe Vlei had a cracker of a start but spent majority of the race playing tag with Davis and crew. They managed to get a sniff of a lead on the second lap but Davis regained it on the leeward leg and took the win a minute ahead of Agulhas on B&G.

Durban’s Mr Consistent, Brennan Robinson and his team flying the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s burgee claimed their second third place in the competition after a tiring race. Again the crew were the first KZN boat to cross the line.

“The Capies are tough to beat on their home waters and in the conditions that they're accustomed to. Shortly after the start we found ourselves in third place which we consolidated on and pushed through to the finish'

Defending champs, False Bay Yacht Club’s Markus Progli had a tough day at the office; they took a gamble and went left on the course on the first leeward leg with the remainder of the fleet sailing to the right. The gamble didn’t pay off for the defending champs and they spent most of the race playing catch up. Then on the final leg heading up to the finish, their main halyards failed and they limped to the finish under only jib power.

The overnight leader board juggled a bit with Davis and Agulhas retaining their first and second positions. Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Robinson is six points behind Davis and Craig Millar, the other Durban entry sailing for Point Yacht Club dropped a place to seventh position.

With the three compulsory Lipton courses done, the final two days will be challenging for all as they try to out-sail Davis who has won the cup nine times and he looks to have a comfortable lead at the moment but things can change with one single wrong decision out on the water.
Results

Race Three
1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis), 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas), 3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson), 4 Southern Charter UCT Maverick (UCT Yacht Club Chris Gough), 5 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon), 6 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli), 7 Point Yacht Club (Point Yacht Club Craig Millar)

Leader board
1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis) 4points, 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 7points, 3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson) 10points, 4 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli) 13points, 5 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon) 16points, 6 Southern Charter UCT Maverick (UCT YC, Chris Gough) 17, 7 Point Yacht Club (PYC, Craig Millar) 18

ENDS

Lipton Challenge Cup Day Three Race Two

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Lipton Challenge Cup

Day Three Race Two

After a nerve wracking race, the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Orion B2G2 was again KZN’s first boat across the line, finishing in fourth place in race two of the esteemed Lipton Challenge Cup down in Simonstown.

Defending champions False Bay Yacht Club sailed a brilliant race leading right from the gun. As Intasure, skippered by Markus Progli, rounded the second buoy on the triangle course they had already managed to gain a significant lead over the rest of the fleet.

Durban’s top finisher in race one, the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Orion B2G2 skippered by Brennan Robinson spent most of the race in second position but on the third and final lap dropped down to fourth after a close tussle with Greg Davis sailing for the Royal Cape Yacht Club and Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club’s Daniel Agulhas.

Robinson stated when on terra firma, ""It was a huge challenge defending second place. The tactics involved required as much attention as we could spare. Fortune did not smile on us at the end, but we are still in with a shot."

The rest of the field jostled and swopped positions with the previous day’s victors, Davis sailing Co-Ordination finishing in second place. Yon captaining the Royal Cape’s academy team sailing representing Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club racing on B&G crossed the line in third. Robinson and his crew finished just over two minutes behind the lead boat.  Point Yacht Club’s Craig Millar got his team home in sixth position.

At the close of day three, Davis and team are still tops on the leader board with 3points after the first and second place. Agulhas and team flying the ZVYC burgee remain in second place with 5points after their second and third positions. Robinson and Progli are all tied up on 7points each. Point Yacht Club’s Millar and Hout Bay Yacht Club’s Theo Yon both have a tally of 11points after their two races.

Race two got under way late yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon as the race officer waited for the light winds to fill. The predicted light conditions averaged a tranquil 8knots in comparison to the blustery conditions and big swells in race one. It would appear that this was the calm before the storm. The following days racing are going to be extremely interesting as two fronts are due to hit the peninsula and the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre is advising people to stay away from the Atlantic Seaboard, False Bay’s coastline and Gordon’s Bay beachfront.

Results

Race Two
1 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli), 2 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis), 3 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 4 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson), 4 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon), 5 Southern Charter UCT Maverick (UCT Yacht Club Chris Gough), 6 Point Yacht Club (Point Yacht Club Craig Millar)

Leader board

1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis) 3points, 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 5points, =3 Intasure (False Bay Yacht Club Markus Progli) 7points, =3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson) 7points, =5 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon) 11points, =5 Point Yacht Club (Point Yacht Club Craig Millar) 11points

Lipton Challenge Cup Day Two Race One

Royal Natal Yacht Club
Lipton Challenge Cup

Day two got underway in the Lipton Challenge Cup, South Africa’s most coveted sailing trophy, with Greg Davis skippering the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s entry Co-Ordination taking an early lead in Simonstown.

No stranger to winning the Lipton Challenge, veteran sailor Davis led from the start as the rest of the fleet jostled for positions.

Drama happened minutes before the fleet were under starters’ orders with Hermanus Yacht Club’s Maverick Meerkat losing her mast. Another withdrawal happened when UCT Yacht Club’s Maverick started taking on water and had to make her way back to port.

Durban’s two entries, the Royal Natal Yacht Club and Point Yacht Club had a steady start to their 2014 Lipton campaigns with skipper Brennan Robinson on Orion B2G2 and his crew tucked in a consistent third for majority of the race, staying right up there with the leaders.

Out of the blocks, the top five leaders rounded the first buoy all within 80seconds of one-another, Durban’s Robinson rounding in fifth position. As they went around the second mark, Orion B2G2 was still in fifth position. On nearing the third buoy, False Bay Yacht Club dropped back a few positions and Orion B2G2 sailing magnificently, gained a place moving to fourth place.

Tackling lap two, the wind shifted a bit which meant that the race officer had to adjust the course slightly and Royal Natal Yacht Club’s skipper read the wind shift perfectly jumping to third position and remained there for the final two laps.

Skipper for Orion B2G2 Brennan Robinson said when back on land, “First race of Lipton was really blustery, with a mix of light and howling wind thrown at us but we managed to stay in the leading pack finishing up third today. I was really impressed with our top speed that we clocked in these conditions, we got an 18.2knots maximum speed.”

Continuing the young skipper said, “It was very challenging with False Bay offering both light and very strong blustery winds. Positions changed a lot at the top end of the fleet, but sailing conservatively we managed to be up there all the time. In the past we've seen that consistency pays.”

Second placed B&G flying the Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club burgee, skippered by Daniel Agulhas had a slow start, but made big gains in when a drastic wind shift came through. The next four races #are going to be interesting as Robinson skippered Orion B2G2 to victory recently in the MSC Week with Agulhas finishing second in the week long regatta.

Craig Millar from the Point Yacht Club was right up there in second for the first two laps, behind Co-Ordinations’ Davis but on his final lap lost momentum finishing the race in fifth position.

Fifteen boats headed out from host club False Bay Yacht Club in a stiff North Westerly that was registering 17-25 knots with lots of gusts. Sea conditions were lumpy as the sailors took on a rectangle course in their one-design L26 yachts.

For the second year in a row, day one saw a frustrating start to the event with zero wind which eventually meant racing on day one was abandoned.

Leader board
1 Co-Ordination (Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis), 2 B&G (Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Daniel Agulhas) 3 Orion B2G2 (Royal Natal Yacht Club Brennan Robinson), 4 LTC / Cab Technology SA (Hout Bay Yacht Club Theo Yon), 5 Point Yacht Club (Point Yacht Club Craig Millar)

ENDS

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.

Royal Natal Yacht Club's Lipton Challenge Cup Team Announced

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Lipton Challenge Cup

Team Announcement

The Royal Natal Yacht Club has announced their team for the 2014 Lipton Challenge Cup that will take place on 24 – 29 August in False Bay, Cape Town.

Hosted by the 2013 victors, False Bay Yacht Club, the Lipton Challenge Cup is the most notorious yacht race in South Africa with teams travelling from across the country in an attempt to claim the magnificent trophy. This is the 105^th challenge that is sailed offshore in South African waters.

Royal Natal Yacht Club won the cup in 2012 bringing the challenge to Durban last year. The team is led by Brennan Robinson who was part of the victorious 2012 team. Robinson will be making his fourth Lipton Challenge Cup campaign. His age belies his experience, along with the 2012 Lipton Challenge Cup win, he has two epic Cape2Rio’s under his belt along with a long list of accomplishments in a variety of classes.

At the announcement, Robinson enthused, “We had a fantastic start to our campaign, not having sailed together as a team we managed to claim the title at L26 KZN Provincials held recently offshore of Durban. But we still have a long way to go to get to the level needed to campaign for the Lipton Challenge Cup. I believe we will put a formidable challenge in for the 2014 cup.”

Back for their second appearance on B2G2, Trent Bingham will be taking the role of helmsman this year and Nqoba Mswazi returns after an impressive 2013 campaign on the bow. Mswazi has just recently competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in the cold, hard crossing from China to America in the midst of the Northern hemisphere’s winter.

The youngest on-board happens to also be the youngest sibling of South Africa’s top sailing family; Michaela Robinson joins her older brother Brennan as part of the 6-strong crew. Michaela makes her first appearance at the Lipton Challenge Cup. Her sailing CV is as impressive as her older brother Brennan. She has competed in numerous international regattas as well as doing the Atlantic crossing twice in the Cape2Rio race.

Rounding up the team and the last of the new comers are Thokozani ‘Deejay’ Latha and Refeloa ‘Waterboy’ Zililo. Latha gained invaluable experience when he was part of the39-strong crew on board the tall ship Lord Nelson that that sailed from Durban to Kochi, India. Zililo has just recently competed in the gruelling 300NM  Vasco da Gama yacht race from Maputo to Durban.

The team will be coached by Ricky Robinson, the previous skipper of the 2012 winning team. They are joined by Sandy Samways as Team Manager.

Commodore for the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Graham Rose said, “We have high hopes for our young team. This is the toughest sailing challenge in South Africa and we wish them everything of the best as they represent our club.”

Positions of the team are

Brennan Robinson (Captain): Trimmer

Trent Bingham: Helmsman

Thokozani Latha: Trimmer

Nqoba Mswazi: Bowman

Michaela Robinson: Tactics

Refeloa Zililo: Halyards

For more info visit www.rnyc.org.za or www.liptoncup.com.

Chatting to young sailing brothers, Euan and Sean Hurter

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Brothers, Euan and Sean Hurter are jetting off to compete on international waters in the next month.

The two Morningside sailors will be competing in Germany, Weymouth and Portugal racing in the pacey 29er class. This is the first time that the brothers will be competing internationally. The first two stops will be used as an introduction to the international circuit but the main event in Tavira, Portugal is the most important event for the duo. They will be joining another six South African sailors who will be racing in a variety of classes in Portugal at the ISAF Youth World Championships.

“For our first international out, I am very nervous but that is to be expected. The opportunity that has presented itself is phenomenal and the learning curve is going to be huge! I just want to make sure we make every part of it worth it.” said 18year old Euan Hurter.

Euan, who represented the Royal Natal Yacht Club at the Lipton Challenge Cup is a familiar face in Durban’s sailing circles but his younger brother Sean who up until recently dabbled in yachting, “This whole 29er campaign has sort of taken over the household. Almost everything we do has sailing in mind. We have to talk about sailing at home, or else we don’t move forward and improve. Often it might just be to fill in our training sheets, plan our next sail, and what needs to happen in general.” 16year old Sean shares.

Euan adds, “Sailing with my brother, for me, means I am more pedantic, more straight forward and to the point. I am less afraid of saying ‘we are sailing badly, this isn’t good enough!’”

Smiling, Euan states, “Simply how much fun can a 29er be? It is fast, thrilling and makes everything else seem a little bit boring. The hardest thing is keeping the boat going fast; for the smallest mistake you often pay with a surprise visit into the water as the boat is like standing up in a canoe.”

The Hurter boys who both attend Clifton College will be participating in the European Championship at the Kiel Week in Germany from 21 – 29 June, then the smallest event in Weymouth, United Kingdom at the Eurocup Event from 5 – 6 July. Then they will be joining the best young up-and-coming international sailors at the ISAF World Champs in Portugal from 12 – 19 July.

Euan concludes, “I don’t admire one single 29er team, but rather all the teams that achieve really well at worlds and those that further their sailing rather than stopping once out of youth class.”

The Hurter lad’s Dad, Gregg will be on the water while his sons are competing overseas. Gregg will be defending his title in the gruelling Vasco da Gama blue water race hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club from Maputo to Durban.

For more info visit www.rnyc.org.za

Chatting to sailor Michael Dickinson

Royal Natal Yacht Club

Michael Dickinson

There is an ocean of possibilities awaiting Glenwood High’s Michael Dickinson as he prepares for the most prestigious sailing event in the country, the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup.

On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, the young man enthuses, “I started sailing with my father when I was eight years old, and I always enjoyed water sports so kept at it.”

The Glenwood High School student is extremely passionate about sailing with his bucket list consisting all of nautical to-do items, “I am hoping to get my yacht masters, compete in the 49er youth worlds, sail in a Velux 5 Oceans, oh and of course pass matric! My list gets longer and longer, but the basic aim is to sail, sail and sail some more.”

Gearing up for the biggest sailing event in the country, Dickinson comments, “The preparations have been tough with a limited budget to get the yacht up to standard and we have an inexperienced team, we have a lot of work to do. That being said, the guys have been great taking it in their stride and always having a blast, always finding a way to laugh. And the teamwork has been out of this world.”

“The whole team is really looking forward to the competition and learning something new!” the young skipper adds. The team is one of the youngest that will be competing, with an average age of 15 years and all being Glenwood learners.

Dickinson recently was awarded the Choose Life Youth Trophy when he competed in the Colorpress Vasco da Gama international yacht race, the race that started in Maputo and finished in Durban this May. “The best memory would have to be as we were coming in and watching Choose Life Pacer come across our bow at the finish line making us realise how close the race was.”

This would be the highlight of his fledgling career,” I have been to a few places mainly in the UK and a few others for racing but nothing beats sailing offshore here at home.”

“I am a sailor because I love its challenges and no one race is ever the same. My motto is to keep sailing and go extremely fast, there isn’t anything like it! The thrill of flying across the water is a huge adrenaline rush, as well as sailing is really physical and keeps you fit.” said the enthusiastic lad.

His interest off the water has him eyeing out the bulls eye. “I dabble in a bit of archery, the discipline involved is fantastic and you have to work hard to hit your target! A good life lesson.”

The matric student plans to pursue his love to the ocean, “I am hoping to study something in the field of Maritime Studies and maybe something in journalism as well!”

But for now, the sailor spends every waking moment on the water, “I pretty much sail every day after school; I enjoy sharing my passion and coach Terra's introducing other people to the great sport.”

All local eyes are on the lads from Glenwood High School, representing the youngest yacht club in the country, the Glenwood High School Yacht Club, Dickinson is joined by Gabriel Davies; Rowan Garrat; Joshua Canaan; Brendan Humphries and Eli Brophy-Tintinger.

Chatting to Cape Town Sailors Sieraj Jacobs and Marcello Burricks

“We love Durban’s conditions. They suit our style of sailing perfectly!”

These are the complimentary words of Boland’s skipper, Sieraj Jacobs as he carefully checks his L26 packing everything away after having just competed in the prestigious Ola Lipton Challenge Cup in Durban.

The team competed in the six daylong event against top international, Olympic and South African sailors concluding in an impressive seventh position. “We had wanted to do better than our sixth last year but marginally missed it.” the charming skipper states.

A cool Marcello Burricks, Jacobs’s right hand man stated, “We are a good team! We have been sailing together for years so know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We sailed out hearts out on the water over the last five days.” he says smiling.

On paper, Jacobs and his team representing the Defence Yacht Club Boland were the team to beat but the duel offshore between the 18 yachts was extremely fierce, “Competing in an event like this, you cannot make a wrong decision, you have to be consistent and be at the top of the log if you want to win! It is do or die out there.”

The team were in the top half of the fleet for the entire regatta. “Our worst position was ninth on the first day. That cost us but we walk away with loads of experience.” Trader 24 had a scorecard revealing a ninth, a fifth, a fourth and two eighth positions.

The team were up against the likes of ‘Mr Lipton’, Greg Davies sailing for Royal Cape Yacht Club who has won the event nine times in the illustrious century old event. “No doubt he is a phenomenal sailor, a great but Greg also sailed one bad race, coming ninth in the second last race and that cost his team terribly!”

The compact determined frame says eyeing out his yacht, Trader 24. “We enjoyed the shorts and t-shirt sailing but it is good to be going back home. It has been a long two weeks; our bodies are broken after two hard regattas.”

Jacobs, from Shosholoza fame has had a few years off from racing in the Lipton, “You could say I am making a comeback, but I love the Lipton. My younger brother Taariq has been holding the reins for a bit, and doing really well. He helmed again and did a superb job. Last year I competed in False Bay and we came sixth in the strong fleet of 25. I wanted to do better than that but will be back to break into the top five next year!”

The team began the recent MSC Week in Durban leading the fleet for half of the regatta in the L26 class, but when the blowy weather moved up the coast, the guys lost their first place. “It is a bit unusual for sailors from Cape Town to say that they prefer the lighter breeze, but we do.”

It showed with Trader 24’s best placings being in the lighter breeze during the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup.

Dave Hudson of international sailing fame praised Jacobs, “Sieraj used to be our pacer for the Race Ahead team but it became a problem when he used to out sail our guys in training. He is a magnificent young leader with a bright future!”

The team return to Cape Town, holding their heads high after a successful two weeks in Durban as they go back to the drawing board plotting their next Lipton Challenge campaign.