General

My fellow Sailors and friends, The start of 2018 has been a busy one for the sailing community. With the major task focussed primarily on the decision process needed to fulfil the requirements of World Sailing regulations with regards to the 2024 Olympic events. As this is a very important issue, I would like to take this month’s newsletter to provide our MNAs, our athletes and the sailing community at large with an overview of the entire process so that …

Tina is one of those sailors who gives the sport her all as a tough competitor who never gives up. Plus she is game to sail a variety of boats – and all very well too as she competes at the top of the sport. She was one of the first to get a new Cape 31 and has campaigned it with relish. In the recent ‘international’ regatta in which two top overseas teams competed, she won the regatta in …

by Malcolm Osborne Knysna Yacht Club hosted its annual Inter-Club Regatta on 10-11 February. The event attracted competitors from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, as well as from the local clubs – Mossel Bay and George Lakes. The Knysna estuary was filled with 67 boats racing around the courses. The largest fleet was the faster rated fleet of dinghies (Lasers etc.), which had 36 boats; the slower rated fleet (Optimist, Tera, etc) had 27 boats, while the Catamarans had just …

Witbank are looking forward to hosting the J22 Mpumalanga Provincials Friday 30th March to Monday 2ndApril. The meal booking form will follow shortly but in the meantime enter on Windsail, by far the easiest way, and avoid the late entry fee. As always WYAC has excellent camping facilities, the meals supplied by the kitchen are superb, the bar is well stocked and an efficient well run race team will there to make the most of the weather conditions. Please make …

This young man who matriculated last year is has received this accolade before as he is simply a very fine and talented young sailors. He caught the eye of Roger Hudson of RaceAhead who has been mentoring and coaching him for the past year or more, resulting in a sailor with more refined skills, more confidence, and a far better understanding of what it takes to win big on the international stage. His results in the past year have improved …

The following moulds are For Sale – and include hulls, decks and interior modules. Monohulls Stadt 23 Stadt 26 Stadt 34 Stadt 40 Caribbea 30 (designed by Dudley Dix) Multihulls Ocean Spirit 34 Ocean Spirit 40 Contact: Milton 083 6315196 or miltoncoplan@icloud.com

Sir John Franklin’s ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’ Expedition Lost & Found by Gillian Hutchinson Published by Bloomsbury For history buffs and those fascinated by the North-West Passage, this book has it all in terms of expeditions, history, intrigue, human endeavour and indeed the jubilation and revelations of wrecks being found almost 170 years later. The 1845 expedition to the Arctic, commanded by Sir John Franklin, was the largest, best-equipped expedition that Britain ever sent north – yet it ended in tragedy. …

The new look London Boat Show in January was the perfect place for Sunsail to announce that 81 new yachts will be joining its global fleet in 2018. A combination of Jeanneau monohulls and Leopard catamarans, 41 new yachts will be going into the British Virgin Islands and 22 new yachts heading to Croatia. Sunsail’s British Virgin Islands base re-opened on 9 December 2017 and the St Martin base is scheduled to open on 1 February 2018. The local teams …

2018 is the Diamond Jubilee of the ‘LDYC Round-the-Island Race’. Friday 2 to Sunday 4 February 2018. Sail the 60th Annual Race to Smash Our Guinness World Record Calling all sailors to make South African sailing history! Let’s celebrate by breaking our international Guinness World Record awarded in 2007, when 389 boats crossed the finish line.

by Luke Scott Table Bay provides an exceptionally beautiful setting for yacht racing, under the immense majestic gravitas of Table Mountain. However, in the middle of summer, the powerful south-easterly wind often wreaks havoc on the best sailing intentions: apart from the broaches and damage infliction, this wind and the airborne nippy seawater can also make for cold, wet and unpleasant sailing. Perhaps it is well deserving then that the colourful burst of energy and potential that is the Cape …

Volvo Penta’s new product, Easy Connect, lets boat owners connect to their boat via their smart device – enhancing the experience both onboard and at home. Boat owners can now take to the water with all the information they need in the palm of their hands. Volvo Penta’s new Easy Connect app gives boat owners access to engine, boat and route data – directly on their smartphone or tablet. The free-to-download app is paired with an onboard Bluetooth interface installed …

by John Wright The Sprog Nationals had a disappointing entry of just ten boats as many promises were not fulfilled, and many entries that were expected just didn’t turn up. Regrettably that is sailing today as also experienced by the GP14 and Fireball fleets over the same period. On the positive side the racing was keen and close with Ricky and Ryan Robinson dominating the racing. Phillip Bennett & Helen gave a good chase as runners-up. The fight for the …

Yanmar Marine International is launching the latest addition to its family of new generation common rail (CR) diesel engines, the compact Yanmar 3JH40 inboard engine, at boot Düsseldorf. The 3-cylinder 3JH40 has been developed by leading manufacturer Yanmar as the marine industry’s smallest CR inboard diesel engine. With an output of 40mhp, it will enable a whole new category of smaller leisure boat owners and commercial vessel operators to benefit for the first time from the efficiency and performance advantages …

Published by Bloomsbury Review by Richard Crockett I have for many years now I have firmly believed that the term Rogue Wave is far preferable to that of Freak Wave. It’s simply because Rogue Waves do exist, that we have to be aware of them, and that there is nothing ‘freaky’ about them. We now also have a pretty good idea as to how they are formed. To quote from the book: “To be a true rogue wave, a wave …

                                The author needs no introduction as he has, for decades now, produced the finest guides for cruisers, including ‘World Cruising Routes’, ‘World Cruising Destinations’ and ‘World Voyage Planner’. Cornell is not a man who sits back and writes about cruising. He gets ‘down and dirty’ and goes out and does it – hence the title of this book. With 200,000 nautical miles experience, he …