Historical

by Richard Crockett Most people who sail in this country have heard of the Mistral keelboat. Strong in numbers on inland waterways, the Mistral was often the first taste of keelboat sailing many received. In 1971, some 53 years ago, legendary boatbuilder, Fred Raas, father of Lex, launched ‘Ponjaart’ – a wooden prototype Mistral on the Vaal Dam. She was the plug for the mould from which more than 127 Mistrals were made – first by the Raas family business, …

By Richard Crockett The 2017 America’s Cup report I have chosen to share today is pretty darn pertinent with the finals of the 37th cup due to start later this week. Plus, it shows just how far the “yachts” (can we really call them that?) and technology have progressed in just 7 years. Since the 34th America’s Cup in 2013 there has been renewed effort from several teams to wrest “The Cup” away from the Americans who have always had …

By Richard Crockett ‘Caprice’ was a landmark boat at RCYC before being purchased by Anthony Dancig, refitted and sailed to the Caribbean. ‘Caprice’ was built around 1930 by Louw & Halvorsen in the Cape Town docks and she may have been the oldest surviving South African-built pilot cutter. During the 1950s and 60s she was owned by a Mr Middleton of Cape Town who used her mainly for weekend sailing. When Dancig bought her in 1988 the boat was in …

by Richard Crockett It’s been 25 years since this regatta when South African sailor Gareth Blanckenberg won the Laser Class on home waters, taking the Youth World title for himself. He showed great speed throughout the regatta, but really got into his stride when he won race 4. In the 11-race series he counted three firsts and discarded two sevenths to finish 17 points clear of second place. Since those heady days when Blanckenberg dominated, has a young South African …

By Richard Crockett Imagine being run down by a ship – and surviving that ordeal? This is exactly what happened to Tony and Terry English whose 34 foot steel yacht was run down in the dark by a Lithuanian freighter. For Tony, coming to terms with the ordeal has took time. For months he had nightmares about the dark hull of the ship bearing down on them in heavy South Atlantic seas – moments before his ankle and ribs were …

By Richard Crockett For the past three days I have shared info on ‘Zeeslang’ – a remarkable yacht which evokes many memories every time her name is mentioned. In Part 3 of her restoration series, there was mention of several races in which she specifically excelled. These are not easy to find, although I have managed to find an account of the tough 1958 Dassen Island race in which she took line honours from the bigger boats by 45 minutes. …

by Richard Crockett We are now at the point where ‘Zeeslang’s’ restoration had been completed and the boat was ready for launching. It was fortuitous that there was a delay of a few months before this third part of the story was published as, “inevitably a touch of nostalgia creeps in with the historical. Part 1 of this series did deal largely with the history of ‘Zeeslang’ and the people who sailed in her, but memories were jogged by the …

by Richard Crockett Bernard Diebold, apart from his active sailing interest and ability, had developed an interest in the history and design of yachts, with particular reference to van de Stadt. While in Amsterdam on a visit he made a research trip to the Maritime Museum, unearthing valuable information. In particular he was searching for the plans of ‘Zeeslang’ which Bruynzeel had declined to give to Cliffie Leih when he sold her. He was successful, and as a bonus had …

By Richard Crockett I was planning to share the restoration of ‘Zeeslang’ with you today, but on researching the subject I realised that there was more to this fascinating boat than just her restoration. I also realised that in 2005, 19 years ago now, Charles Paice had written extensively on the subject for SAILING magazine. In his own words he said: “No story of the restoration of ‘Zeeslang’ would be complete without reference to the amazing man whose concept she …

By Richard Crockett Anyone who follows the history of our sport will know, or at least, has heard the name ‘Zeeslang’. She is a legendary yacht which has touched the hearts of many, and after a very tough racing career has been restored on several occasions. Today she is in pristine condition – and that’s another story for another time. The introduction to this feature says: “The annals of yachting in South African include boats which have become household names. …

By Richard Crockett Most followers of this Blog know the name ‘Spray’ and also that of Joshua Slocum. But how many know the name Guy Bernardin? In his day Bernardin was once the epitome of the hardened solo sailor. Since those days he has turned away from racing and returned to where it all started – Joshua Slocum and the ‘Spray’. Bernardin’s present voyage is a return to the romance of sail and family values. Bernardin sensed that he had …

By Richard Crockett In the middle of a cyclone, these are the real words exchanged between the crew of ‘Siandra’ as they battled for survival. “We’ve got to pull the storm jib off!” Rains lashed at my face as I struggled to see whether Jamie had heard. Once again I screamed through the roar: “We’re going much too fast – something’s going to break!” He grimaced. I knew what he was thinking. In these conditions the foredeck would be a …

By Richard Crockett Lin and Larry Pardey were the doyens of cruising in their heydays, sailing the world in simple boats sans electronics and equipment requiring power. It was something of a gypsy lifestyle, but one which suited them, and which brought joy and answers to cruising folk the world over who read their very informative books and magazine articles. In this feature they answer some telling questions as posed by cruisers. To help you understand their point of view, …

by Richard Crockett Most of us will have at some point in our lives read about Shackleton and ‘Endurance’? In this feature Skip Novak describes an attempt to retrace Shackleton’s voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia. His opening paragraphs read as follows: “The last 36 hours had been heavy going. The Southern Ocean storm had carved its path just above the 60th parallel. With increasing winds from the north-east topping out at over 60 knots the breaking seas came …

By Richard Crockett Singlehanded ocean racing is tough, very tough, and is best illustrated by the feature article today of the 1996/97 Vendee Globe race when several yachts capsized and one disappeared without trace. The drama of the Du Bois and Bullimore rescues 1 400 miles south-west of Perth in early January was not matched by the quiet disappearance of second placed Canadian skipper Gerry Roufs some 2 200 miles west of Cape Horn. On 7 January the Argos beacon …