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.

Durban's Sailing Prodigy Off To The Youth Worlds

Point Yacht Club

Youth World Championships

Sanya, China: 10 – 15 December

Durban’s sailing prodigy, Benji Daniel is about to hit Chinese waters as he takes on 19 other nations at the Youth World Championships.

The 47^th edition takes place at Sanya Beach on Hainan Island, in the south of China with race days scheduled from the 10 – 15 December. With an expected 400 sailors from 70 countries, the crème-de-la-crème of the next generation of international sailors, under the age of 19 will go up against each other in nine classes. Only one team from each nation is selected to participate in each class.

Daniel, who was crowned the 29er World Champion in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach in August, will be changing it up. He trades in his familiar 29er to compete in the 420 class and will be sailing with the promising talent, Rivaldo Arendse from Cape Town.

Point Yacht Club’s star sailor will be heading to his third youth world champs, having raced in the 29er fleet with Durban’s Chad Stevenson in Langkawi, Malaysia in 2015 and then in Auckland, New Zealand last December, finishing both times towards the back of the fleet. His raw talent was revealed when, in an impromptu pairing with Cape Town’s Alex Burger, ignited them onto the international stage, and ultimately the top spot on the 29er podium.

The hard-working, modest sailor stated, “We are heading to China with realistic expectations. For Rivaldo and me, this is very much a getting to know you phase. We have never sailed competitively together before, and aren’t hugely familiar with the 420s so we aren’t going to put any unnecessary pressure on ourselves!

“Rivaldo is a really nice guy, he is 14 and I have just recently turned 17. Youths is going to be his biggest event yet. We are both really excited, and justifiably nervous as well. The other teams have a few of years on us, and have the advantage of sailing competitively together in massive regattas. It will be a major learning curve for us but so long as we stick to the basics, we will be alright.”

With his last exam scheduled for the 1^st of December, the Grade 11 pupil at Thomas More College will be putting his pen down, handing in his paper, and then dashing to the airport to fly down to Cape Town for some last-minute training with coach, former Olympic sailor Roger Hudson.

“It has been an unexpectedly exciting year. School and exams have been my main focus, so I can start the process of applying for uni. Between the chaos of school, I have been doing loads of quick trips down to Cape Town for training, firstly with Alex leading up to the 29er Worlds and now for the Youth Worlds. Having jetted off to Long Island beach in July and now to be representing South Africa lining up against some awesome sailors in China, it all seems quite surreal.”

Sailing under the shadow of one of the tallest statues in the world, the Guang Yin will see 70 Nations competing in the 47^th Youth World Championship taking place on the island of Hainan.

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

Prague - The Land of Stories

Billed as the land of stories, the capital of the Czech Republic surely features in a variety of tales, and now it stars in a few of mine.

Prague is pretty, delightfully so and it certainly is a tourist hotspot. At times, I felt a tad bit like a salmon swimming upstream. Old Town is steeped in history, the buildings magnificent – of course, set in Europe.

I snuck in for the 2017 FIBA European Women Basketball Championships; my days were filled with exploring the delights of Old Town and surrounds, and my evenings filled with cheering for Les Bleus in the early stages of the tournament.

Home for the duration was a wonderful, comfortable, friendly spot; Parkhotel was a fab tram ride away from all the main touristy action but a short stroll to the arena. In my hood, attractions included the Planetarium, the home of ice hockey team HC Sparta Praha, the Výstaviště exhibition grounds, Křižíkova amphitheatre which boasts a dancing water fountain and the giant glass pyramid of the Goja Music Hall.

My first morning I got wondrously lost. Discovering, that my map reading skills had a slight flaw when weary from all the travel. In my aimless wanderings, I stumbled upon the 2017 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup, on display a multitude of talents surfing rapids alongside the Vltava River. Having only ever seen this on the box during the Olympics, I watched with sheer admiration as these paddlers challenged the torrent of water, zigzaggedly navigating their way around a hanging course.

I strolled beyond the impressive Troja Castle, snuggly set away from the road. Passing the massive expanse of the Prague Zoo, all the way to a dead-end: a dock entitled Podhoří. Deciding that perhaps now was either a good time to turn around, or ask for directions, as there wasn’t anyone to question I did a U-turn and made my way back to the Zoo entrance. Here, I hopped on the first public bus, not knowing which direction it was going but sure I would get somewhere more central, and I wasn’t wrong.

Apart from basketball, I had one reservation on my itinerary that I was eager not to miss at a craft brewery, Výtopna. I discovered this place through social media and was keen to try it due to its quirkiness. Set on the top floor in a massive upmarket shopping centre called the Palladium, I went and had lunch there, not once but twice. The menu offered traditional, hearty, affordable, simple food with a small but interesting choice of beers on-tap.

What sets Výtopna apart is the fact that my ‘waiters’ Erik, Marcel and Nela dropping off my liquid refreshments, were in actual fact gorgeous model trains. The ‘waitrons’ travel over 10kms of tracks every day, having served, astonishingly, over 6 million patrons in the three Výtopna restaurants in the Czech Republic since 2009. The Palladium Výtopna has over 400m of tracks cleverly laid around booths, where the trains can chug into your section, allow you to grab your drinks and then expertly reverse out.

As with most first world cities, getting around Prague to see the sights, everything imaginable is on offer. If you fancied a horse-drawn carriage; running tours; guided electric bikes; the Hop On – Hop Off bus; river cruises, or even handsome vintage cars, you could comfortably get around. Chatting to Durban’s Chef, Andrew Draper on his return from Prague, he mentioned a fabulous outing around deserted buildings and communist areas on a Segway. He said the abandoned, ruined stadium, especially stood out for him!

Prague, mostly, is flat so I opted for trams to get central and then ND 10 toes to get around. The trams were easy to navigate, sprouting off in all directions.

Years ago, after a trip to Paris, I posted a pic of a bridge in Paris, Annie - a Finnish mate of mine commented that she liked my shot of Charles Bridge. Admittedly this was the first time I had ever heard of Charles Bridge. Since then I have seen numerous gorgeous shots: a famous capture has mist swirling around, or a haunting sunrise shot. In these dreamy, inviting images there is hardly a soul around. In real life, in summer – this was far from the case.

Connecting Old Town and the Lesser Quarter, the pedestrian crossing known as Charles Bridge is gorgeously ancient. Lined with traders peddling souvenirs, the 500m of historic bridge is a throng of weaving people. An alley of 30 guardian angels look down on you as you stroll across the Vltava River, these mostly baroque statues are all replicas with the priceless originals being housed in the National Museum.

Climbing up to the largest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle sits proudly overlooking the Lesser Quarter and beyond, I discovered a gem of a tourist trap hidden down a short passage. Tucked away, a cave-like shop stocked with beautiful handmade delicate wooden wares. Christmas shopping for the family was easily done, including collecting some gorgeous wooden postcards.

Something that fascinates me in Europe is how each country cleverly introduces modern architecture around century old structures. In Prague, The Dancing House is a statement of how the city is embracing and entwining old and new.  This quirky, shiny building rose out of a vacant riverfront plot a couple of decades ago, it rejoices in its surroundings.

A ritual in each new location is to spend quiet time in religious spaces. Before I flew north, Gloria Hoff from the KZNSA Gallery urged me to visit the Jewish Quarter, saying how vibrant, and historic the area was. I strolled around admiring the compact area, housing six synagogues and a 15^th century cemetery. Admittedly, everything was closed at the time I visited and peering through the iron gates of the cemetery, it looked sadly run down! Headstones crumbling or knocked over and long over grown grass added to the sorry state.

Hanging out in the square around Town Hall, I admired the Astronomical Clock. A mate of mine, Vishal Ramphal posted an image of the third oldest medieval clock in all its glory. When I was there majority of it was under wraps getting a well-deserved make over. Gratefully, the intricate clock face was on show, while the rest of the building was gently being restored.

I stopped in at the exquisite St Nicholas Church trailing along with fellow passionate French supporter Melanie Gallais. The frescoes donning the high domed ceilings were of Michelangelo quality, the halo of subtle lights equal to those from the Blue Mosque and I loved the door knocker type handles on the massive, bold red doors. I sampled a chimney cake or a Trdelníks, a Czech cinnamon-flavoured pastry, while watching excited tourists jump into buggies with bored looking horses ready to take them on a sightseeing loop. The home-made ice cream was dreamy, the sugar-coated doughnut cone, not so much!

A poignant moment in the heatwave that Prague was experiencing, a chef from a popular pavement café stood with his hosepipe with a refreshing mist being sprayed on passing tourists.

The whole city is incredible, Prague has a lot to offer. There is a lot to do off the tourist track. Little hidden treasures like the Hanging Man – remember to look up, or the modern-day, public art splattered around the city, listening to funky buskers at the foot of Charles Bridge. Or dining out in one of the best spots around, sitting on a public bench overlooking the Vltava, enjoying Turkish take out, watching yoga while concert goers dressed up in ballgowns head into the Rudolfinum Concert Hall as the sun sets on yet another magnificent day in the Czech Republic.

PS - Wear comfortable shoes – nobody told me this and I learnt it the hard way!

Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs

Point Yacht Club

Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs

Harbour: 1 – 3 July

Sailing into July, the Point Yacht Club will be hosting the inaugural Inter-Varsity Cup taking place in the harbour of Durban from 1 – 3 July.

Nine varsities will be taking to the water this weekend, with six of the teams entered shedding off their winter woollies and travelling from Western Province and Gauteng to compete in warm Durban waters.

Participating varsities are Rhodes University, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, two teams from the University of Witwatersrand, Tuks with a combined team from the University of Johannesburg and University of Pretoria. The local teams comprise of University of Kwa-Zulu Natal Howard Campus and Durban University of Technology.

Match racing in sailing is when two teams go head-to-head against each other. The programme for events has been drawn with seven rounds of competition happening for the eight teams. Each round consists of four races. A famous example of match racing is the America’s Cup.

Competing on the same class of boat, each team consists of six sailors racing on an L26.  The course set by Race Officer, Kevin Bingham will be an upwind, downwind course with the possibility of either one or two laps. The start finish line will be set below the bottom turning mark, extending the first beat and final run to the line.

Team captains are Peter Marsh from UCT, Jonas Vijerberg from Rhodes, Alexander Ham from Stellenbosch, Kyle Boman for the combined team of UJ and Tuks, DUT will be led by Thokozani ‘DeaJay’ Latha, UKZN by Florence Marshall and Alison Bradfield and Ryan Robinson for the two Wits teams.

Officiating will be South African sailors, Ricky Robinson and Trent Bingham.

The Inter-Varsity Match Racing Champs is the precursor to the annual MSC Week, hosted by the Point Yacht Club, that takes place from 4 – 8 July offshore of Durban.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or contact the club on 031 301 4787.

For the love of the game - Passionate umpire teaches kindness and camaraderie through hockey.

Catching up with Wanri Venter ahead of the SPAR KZN School Girls Hockey Challenge

Words by Lachlan Nicholson

South Africa is a nation of sports lovers, where athletes who achieve success on the field are revered as heroes and legends. However, such glory would be impossible without the hard work and dedication of referees and umpires, who act as custodians of the games they love.

One such individual is Thomas More College sports coordinator, Wanri Venter. Now in her tenth year of service to the school, Venter has nurtured a love of hockey since her childhood in Stellenbosch, which grew as she became a student at the University of Stellenbosch. “I started umpiring during my first year at Maties (2000) because learning to do so was compulsory, but only really attended tournaments in 2004,” she explained.

As well as being an umpire and coach, Venter is still an active participant, “I enjoy hockey’s speed, fitness and physicality but most of all, the tactical aspect. The older you get, the more you rely on your experience.”

Officiating matches presents unique challenges because they are played at an ever-increasing pace. This makes the sport exciting for spectators, but requires umpires to be on top form at all times. “You strive to move constantly, so that you’re in the best possible position to make the right decision. When you umpire at a higher level, you need to trust your instincts because if you are unsure, you will miss the moment to step in.

“Often you’re like an actor on a stage; you need to sell your decisions using the tools at your disposal such as whistle tone, cards and body language. You need to earn the players’ trust by being calm, open to questions and confident.”   

Since earning her international badge in 2014, Venter has umpired 22 international matches, most of them locally between South Africa and Belgium, Scotland, Australia and India. She has twice travelled to Kenya; first to officiate for the Africa Cup of Nations then the World League Round One, she also was chosen to oversee several international indoor matches during December 2015 between South Africa, Australia, USA and Namibia.  

Venter believes that the lessons she’s learned from hockey have carried over into her personal life. “I have learned to never give up; the game is certainly not over until the final whistle. Friendships and other people's feelings are more important than winning the game.” 

Her next major event is the Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile which takes place from the 23rd of November to the 4th of December. She will also be helping co-ordinate the upcoming SPAR KZN School Girls Hockey Challenge that takes place at St Mary’s next month.

For those interested in becoming umpires, Venter has these words of wisdom, “The best place to start umpiring is with the little ones, as they play for pure enjoyment. As you gain confidence, you can umpire older age groups.” 

The 2016 edition of the MSC Week

Point Yacht Club

MSC Week

Offshore Durban: 4 – 8 July

South Africa’s premier winter regatta, the week-long annual MSC Regatta now in its 40^th year hosted by Point Yacht Club kicks off offshore of Durban on Monday 4 July.

On the back of the highly successful Hobie 16 and Flying Fifteen Provincials, the much-anticipated sailing event incorporates the L26, IRC and Hunter Provincials along with the Micro-Multihull Challenge, and the MSC Racing Class.

Race Officer, Dave Rushton will have a busy time offshore organising the various classes. A maximum of 12 races will be held for the IRC and Multihull fleets and a maximum of 15 races will be held for the L26, Hunter and Club racing classes and only five races for the MSC Racing fleet. A minimum of four races for all but the MSC Racing Fleet will need to take place to constitute a regatta.

Confirmed entries are Container World in the L26 class. Tony Cockerill from Henley-Midmar and Dave Martinson from Witbank will be competing in the Hunter class. In the IRC Class, the lightning quick Southern Storm will be dusting herself off to participate under her new owner, Warren Clark. In the sports boats class we have the Fluid 180, PhattAss entered, together with Cabriole, a Beneteau First Class 8 and a Pacer 27 with youngster, Michaela Robinson driving.

In the micro multihulls old rivals, Bandit skippered by Sean Jones and Ladybird skippered by Andrew Dolloway are entered. Representing the Bluff Yacht Club, Andrew Murray sailing on Liquid Blue will be taking to the water in the MSC Racing Fleet.

Regatta Convenor Ron Pet stated, “The regatta is always a hit, both on and off the water. Teams travel from around the country to participate. A number of the teams use this as a tune up race ahead of the prestigious Lipton Challenge Cup that will be taking place in Cape Town later this month.”

“Loads of sailors have indicated their intent to compete, so we are eagerly awaiting their entries. Just in the IRC alone, we have Gregg Hurter racing Vasco finisher, Bellatrix and also the brand newcomer to the Durban fleet, the majestic CFM owned by Stuart Ritchie promises to be on the water. Wayne Smith, helming the multihull Crazy Diamond has had her out of the water and been modifying her bows, so it will be good to see her go up against Bandit and Ladybird.”

Durban truly is the place to be this winter, with three back-to-back sailing events of national proportion, the MSC Week concludes ten days of winter-bliss on local waters.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or contact the club on 031 301 4787.

Captivating Nantes

Situated along the picturesque west coast, on the mighty river Loire, Nantes is a captivating, vibrant city! Having visited the metropolis twice now, I love the energy of it.

Nantes appears to have got the balance of restoring the old, with the new blending in majestically, and quite strikingly. The biggest city of the Brittany region has attempted to build an identity as a creative capital of dream and fantasy. This is evident in the architecture and quirky artwork, including Banksy-style street art splattered around the region.

I think the ‘New York City viewing laws’ apply when walking around, remember to look up. One of my favourite finds was around the theme-park area, a building that at eye level was a dull concrete block jazzed up with a bit of colourful art, looking up there was an actual bus with wheels ‘parking off’ a few levels up, followed by a funky, intricate, metal casing reaching to the sky.

An absolute must is a ride on the Nantes elephant! Yes, an elephant! In France! One of the main attractions is the creation of the Les Machines de L’ile, this 40ft wooden structure goes walkabout for half an hour around the Jardin des Voyages precinct, embarking from its metal cathedral with 50 passengers on board. Unsuspecting tourists get doused with squirts from its trunk, with gleeful patrons cheering from above. They have a variety of other mechanised treasures that young and old can play on, but for me, a true African – the elephant stole my heart.

Being an unashamed nautical junky, mixed in with a love for history, and architecture I delight in stumbling upon historical ships, tall ships specifically! Not far from the funfair, theme-park side of the world, moored on the Loire is the magnificent historic three mast tall ship, the Belem. An old beauty that now is a training boat but for decades was a true work horse.

Nantes is a photographer’s dream, with objects around every corner begging to be captured. The old architecture of the cathedral, or the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany or the Graslin District, Square and Opera, to a variety of modern statues or artwork like the massive spikey Resolution des Forces or the rings set along the promenade, or even just boats moored on the river, there is something beautiful to snap.

According to the Nantes tourism website, there are 28 artworks dotted around 22 sites along the 120km Loire estuary between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire.

Nantes is not a car friendly city, with parking establishments being costly and street parking being almost impossible to find. But everything and more is just an amble, a cycle or a tramride away. Public transport is efficient and affordable. On both visits, I had a hire car, having driven from Bourges via Saint Michel to Nantes on my first visit or being mobile to head out to the suburb of Reze for the recent Olympic Qualifications for the Les Blues Basketball Women successful campaign to get to Rio.

Having access to a vehicle, I indulged and opted to take a few day trips from Nantes. The most memorable was out to Saint-Nazaire and the beaches of Saint Brevin Les Pins, I happened upon the incredible, perhaps creepy, artwork of the Serpent D’Ocean. Unveiled in 2012, the aluminium skeleton that is 120m long brings Chinese mythology to a French shore.  The sea serpent looks like it has just beached itself, and with the different tides and sea-state, the mood around the serpent constantly changes. Quite intriguing!

So, if you planning a trip to the famed wine region of Bordeaux, I would strongly recommend you make a detour to Nantes and surrounds for a couple of days, you won’t regret it!