Historical

by Richard Crockett There is not much in my archives yet from the ‘60s and ‘70s, although I did manage to sniff out two interesting pieces from 1969. The balance are from the ‘80s and early ‘90s – and make interesting reading. 1969. Rhodesian to Skipper SA Yacht. The Daily News reported that Rhodesia’s Olympic yachtsman, David Butler, was to skipper a South African yacht in the 1971 Cape Town to Rio race. CLICK on this link to read all …

1968 10 07 307 1968 10 07 807 1986 10 07 078 1986 10 07 496 1991 10 07 412 4 1992 10 07 427 13by Richard Crockett I have selected an interesting choice of cuttings today covering the full spectrum of our sport and dealing with Voortrekker on Display in Milner Park, to youth sailing, the Rothmans Cape to Rio Race – and even a snippet on the SA Navy. Enjoy. Record crowd at ‘Great Outdoors’. 1968. Bruce Dalling, …

1986 05 10 055 1986 05 10 459 1986 10 05 082 1989 10 05 377 32 1991 10 05 412 11 1991 10 05 412 5by Richard Crockett Today we have no info from the ‘60 and ‘70s, but some good stuff anyway as John Martin earned his Provincial Colours; UBS Switzerland won the Whitbread Race; The America’s Cup preliminary rounds began in NZ; enthusiastic juniors enjoyed a training camp; a call went out the Halcatters; and there are …

by Richard Crockett Yesterday we had a pic of ‘Corsair II’ when she arrived in Durban. Today a brief story of cruise, plus some news on the Whitbread Race, BOC Race – and John Martin. ‘Corsair II’ Circumnavigation. 1967. Stan Jeffrey started this cruise in April 1964. She is a Bermudan ketch which won the Simonstown to Port Elizabeth race in 1962. She was built in Cape Town. Read about it HERE: 1967 10 04 Padda Kuttel. 1985. Remember Padda and …

by Richard Crockett I have been frantically scanning away as I realised that I have so far scanned little from the latter part of the year – so here goes. Corsair II. 1967. Stan Jeffrey took his trusty steed on a three-and-a-half year cruise, and docked in Durban on her final leg towards Cape Town. Jeffrey became a highly respected sailing administrator within the Cruising Association of South Africa (CASA). The Stan Jeffrey trophy for outstanding administration within the sport …

Richard Crockett Upfront – apologies for the break in transmission yesterday, but Eskom was doing routine maintenance for the day in our area yesterday. We were informed that ‘the juice’ would be off from 08h00 until 16h00 – and it was – all very efficient by Eskom. So as a bonus I will include a cutting from 1 October, and the balance for today. Enjoy looking back at the rich history our sport has in this country, and indeed the …

by Richard Crockett I just happened to notice a few days ago that Graeme Willcox competed in the British Contender class Nationals – and finished very well in 4th spot, with his best result a 2nd. The Contender is a class no longer sailed in this country to my knowledge anyway, although some of the older yachties will remember it from ‘way back when’! My old mate Rob Martin keeps reminding me that he sailed one of these back in …

by Richard Crockett In December 2017 I reported that Frans Loots had successfully restored ‘Stroppy’ – the Sprog that is regarded as the first one built. The boat had been lying in the basement of a Museum in Port Elizabeth for many years as there simply was nowhere for it to be displayed. One had hoped that after the restoration, which I may add was a masterful job by Frans Loots, it still remain hidden. So very simply – are …

by Richard Crockett The Sprog class was once an evergreen and dynamic class which just seemed to provide top class dinghy sailing for many – until it suddenly died which was rather sad. Yet despite its demise as an active sailing class there are many out there who remember the Sprog fondly, and who still, to this day, remember their Sprog days very clearly. Dudley Thomson, who now sails from Benoni Yacht Club, sent me the accompanying 3 Sprog pics, …

by Richard Crockett Last week I posted info about ‘Stormy’ and the fact that she is being saved from destruction by someone in the USA who is going to restore her to her former glory. There was a good response to this news and the pic I posted of her. Just by change I happened to come across some of the first words ever written about this highly successful ocean racer. Enjoy them, as here they are … .

A few days ago I posted some info and pics of Sprogs from Chris Grylls – and this solicited some great response from followers, and a pic by Jane Hudson of she and Dave rigging a Sprog in Sedgefield in 1969. Jane said: “Here’s one for the books – Sedgefield 1969 with David Hudson.” Dave Hudson responded with this: “David Hudson I don’t know the number. I think this boat belonged to Acland Bertie. He had started building MSM Sprogs …

by Richard Crockett The very first Cape to Rio Race in 1971 attracted worldwide interest, and entries too, with a fine array of yachts in the 69 boat fleet. In those days van de Stadt designs were very popular, with many featuring on our local racing circuit, and the fleet saw many E G van de Stadt designs competing. First and third overall we van de Stadt designs, being ‘Albatross II’ and ‘Stormy’. ‘Stormy’ was skippered by Cornelis ‘Kees’ Bruynzeel, …

In August last year I published some info and pics under the heading “Sprog Memories’. (READ IT HERE) Just recently Chris Grylls, now living in the Hamble, sent me the following info and pics. He writes that: The original Sprog 2 was ‘Smiler’ also owned by Peter Senn. ‘Sensation’ was built for Peter Senn by Beehive Builders in Port Elizabeth. They built many Sprogs, and later Wingers, amongst some other dinghies. She originally had an all-varnished hull with a pale …

Mike Spruce, a follower of this blog has sent in two interesting pics. The first he titled “Launch day – ‘Voortrekker 1′” – so it dates back to 1968 – 51 years ago! The second is of the Sprog ‘Smokey’ – and is captioned as “Fred & Mike Spruce on Germiston Lake (VLC) in the dark ages. ‘Smokey’ sold to (I think) “Van” Milne, a lost Canadian in Africa. Memory fading – can’t recall who built Smokey (son’s name was …

by Richard Crockett While archiving an extensive amount of info I have on Voortrekker 1 and the formation of the Trust which was formed to raise funds for her build and OSTAR campaign in 1968 under Bruce Dalling, I looked for a few books in my library to get additional info on that singlehanded race, and some of the people competing. First up I read ‘Separate Horizons’ by Stephen Pakenham, which is a definitive survey of the Singlehanded Transatlantic Race. …