Historical

By Richard Crockett Today I continue with part 2 of the Queen’s birthday storm which deals with specifics like what they learnt, a drogue, a hand-held VHF, gear and the shortcomings of short-handed sailing. In terms of the toll the storm took, these are the gory details as quoted: “Seven boats were abandoned. One was lost with all hands (‘Quartermaster’, a 40ft sloop from New Zealand with three persons on board). How fierce was the storm? We all like to …

By Richard Crockett Storms at sea are one of those things that everyone going to sea in a small boat has to prepare for, and be prepared when getting clubbed by a particularly bad one. The Fastnet race, the Sydney Hobart race and the Vasco da Gama race are just a few of the races that have seen their fleets hit hard and with tragic consequences. Cruisers are not exempt from these storms either, as is recounted in the feature …

By Richard Crockett Having covered the winning finish of the Vendee Globe Race about ten days ago, and with the stragglers in the race still spread across the course, now’s a good time to share a feature which remembers the original race – now some 57 years later! An extract from this feature said: “But 2004 also marks the 35th anniversary of the first solo non-stop round the world race – The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Back in 1968, …

By Richard Crockett One man who shaped dinghy sailing in this country for some 50 year was Jack Koper. His wooden dinghy designs ultimately ended up on most puddles of water in this country. The Dabchick of course grew exponentially fast and in big numbers too. A huge plus in their favour was that these boats could be built by amateurs in their own homes. His wooden dinghies, especially the Dabchick, hit the spot. He also designed the Tempo, Sonnet …

By Richard Crockett Not everyone is into expensive yachts and mooring fees, as some prefer things much smaller and trailable to get their maximum from their sailing experiences. This is the story about a couple who trailed ‘Aquila’, their Cape Cutter 19, from Mpumalanga to Mossel Bay for the summer holidays as they wanted to sail their boat on the sea and experience the freedom and challenges the open sea spaces can bring. More importantly they came to know their …

By Richard Crockett Bertie Reed was one of those special people who always had a very loyal following, and who simply drew people to him. He was a raconteur of note, and a man who was easy to get rained into the yacht club bar with. His greatest honour may have been being inducted into the Single-handed Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2006. Prior to that an ‘Evening with Bertie’ was organized by his home club, Gordon’s …

By Richard Crockett This is the story about a man who daydreamed about sailing, who bought a boat and simply went out and followed his dreams. It’s something few of us have enough courage to do! It’s written by Stephan Smith who opened this feature with the following: “I daydream often! Show me a picture and I am already on my way. This is how I landed up owning a boat in the Caribbean, never having sailed before. Not very …

By Richard Crockett As parents it must have been a very proud moment when their son was selected as crew for the ‘Shosholoza’ America’s Cup team way back in 2007. Many parents would soak up that news and wish their son well, but not Martie and Rusty Rauscher. So inspired, they went all in, sold their home, bought a yacht and set sail for Valencia, Spain, to support the team in the final rounds of racing leading up to the …

By Richard Crockett A few days ago I wrote about Andrew Tarboton having “vasbyt” by not having ever given up in his quest to win the Musto Skiff world championships. Well I wonder what the French equivalent of “vasbyt” is as Charlie Dalin has won the 10th edition of the Vendee Globe singlehanded around the world race in a record breaking time. It’s a tough assignment just completing the entry form let alone racing around the world alone! Why people …

By Richard Crockett Here’s some sobering food for thought, something that affects every single person living on plant earth – so please read it all the way to the end. NASA Confirms 2024 As Warmest Year on Record The above map of Earth in 2024 shows global surface temperature anomalies, or how much warmer or cooler each region of the planet was compared to the average from 1951 to 1980. Normal temperatures are shown in white, higher-than-normal temperatures in red …

By Richard Crockett I normally share historical news here, but today I am bucking the system and sharing a moment in history that happened over the weekend. Andrew (Andy) Tarboton has just won the Musto Skiff World Championships in Sydney – making him one of just a handful of South African dinghy world champions. Since moving to the UK from South Africa some years ago he chose the Musto Skiff as his preferred dinghy, and has competed in many world …

by Richard Crockett A few days ago I received an enquiry from a follower of my Blog requesting plans of the Andy dinghy. Sadly I have none, and even more sad is the fact that I believe he is unlikely to find any either due to the history of our great sport being tossed in trash cans regularly. But fear not, as my 1958 SA Yachting magazine archives have some details. Yachties of yesteryear will undoubtedly remember the Andy Dinghy …

By Richard Crockett I have been interested in the comments regarding the possibility of the Lipton Cup Challenge being in J22s this year. As always one gets the positive mixed with the negative, while others simply try to turn the Challenge into something it is not. One recurring thread has been about the seaworthiness of the J22 at sea in a blow. As a result I have pulled some images from the 2007 Eikos J22 internationals off Durban in a …

By Richard Crockett I have been doing a lot of scanning recently, mainly of 35mm slides taken during Crystic Week and the NCS Regattas, and have so far done over 2000 – with probably a similar number still to do. In amongst these, and obviously mis-filed, was the picture I have chosen to use to day. I know all three men in this pic very well, but it was the award that intrigued me most. I vaguely recalled having seen …

By Richard Crockett There could be a paradigm shift in the Lipton Cup should Clubs accept the thinking of the Lipton Trustees, and vote in favour of the proposal sent to them in the last few days. The Challenge could be in one-designs again – with the J22 being the designated boat. Clubs have until the end of this month to vote. In the modern era of the Lipton Cup (which to me is post 30-Squares), the L26 produced the …