On This Day – 23 April. A Newspaper History of Sailing

by Richard Crockett

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have made contact.

Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.

To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.

1967. “Work Starts this Month On·S.A. Racing Yacht”. Work will begin this month on the super-light racing yacht in which South Africa’s toughest sailor will contest next year’s single-handed transatlantic race from Plymouth to New York.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1967 04 23 157

1985. “A Day for Welcoming Sailing Craft to PE”. Today was a day for welcoming sailing craft from South America. The Port Elizabeth yacht, Wings, which took part in the 1985 Cape to Uruguay Race, and the Chilean Navy’s sail training ship, Esmeralda, both arrived in port today.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 04 23 324 7

1988. “Three EL Yachts Try for Line Honours”. Three late entries have pushed the race fleet for this year’s Wilbur Ellis Da Gama Ocean Challenge up to 31 yachts.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1988 04 23 5

1990. “Booze Cruise with A Difference”. Over 300 sailors on 22 yachts have arrived here after a gruelling run of 5 475 nautical miles from Uruguay in the Whitbread round-the-world Race.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 04 23 386 19

1994. “Foul Weather Tests Yachtsmen in Hout Bay Keelboat Regatta”. The heavy rain and fog which covered the Cape last weekend almost resulted in the first days of the 1994 HB Car Hire Admirals Cup challenge having to be cancelled.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1994 04 23 454

1999. “Sailing by Dale Granger”. Four fabulous days spent in Durban where one can swim, surf and sail naked, even tan in mid-autumn, confirms to me that Banana Town is the haven of South Africa’s winter sailing ports.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1999 04 23 264

2001. “Woman’s 2% Ears, But 100% Sheer Guts”. Imagine being the only person with a hearing disability on a yacht race around the world, especially in bad weather when your crewmates cannot shout warnings to you which could save your life.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2001 04 23 361

2007. “Shosholoza Gives Americans A Run for Their Money”. South Africa’s Team Shosholoza has come close to causing one of the biggest upsets in three years of America’s Cup class racing.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2007 04 23 720

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za

What is “On this Day” About?
I am busy archiving many boxes of press cuttings I have accumulated and which I guestimate run into tens of thousands! A daunting task which I believe to be necessary before ditching them as I have been concerned for many years about the lack of interest Clubs, Classes and other sailing related organisations give to preserving their history.

Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have made contact.

This is my personal crusade, and instead of simply archiving and keeping the contents away from prying eyes, I will share my spoils in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing as much as I do, and continue to do as I wade through the labourious process of scanning each and every cutting in my archives.

As each scanned cutting will be searchable, I will be able to create presentation packs personally tailored to a persons exact requirements – ie. Rothmans Week, the NCS Regatta, the Rio Race, Mauritius Race, Vasco da Gama Race and more – or simply by the name of an individual (like Ant Steward and his open boat exploits) who want a record of his/her sailing career for the family archives.

I have already done this by scanning in excess of 10 000 pages of material I have on ‘Voortrekker’ – from idle chatter, to concept, to the formation of what ultimately became the South African Ocean Racing Trust (SAORT), to the fruition of the 1968 OSTAR Race in which Bruce Dalling and ‘Voortrekker’ excelled – and even beyond that.

The possibilities are endless – so watch this space.

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za