Historical

by Richard Crockett I have in recent months mentioned Jim Crawford and his yachts in my dispatches as he is a fascinating character and has interesting yachts. Apart from his hard-driving circumnavigation in ‘Dirigo II’ he has sailed in just about all the world’s great ocean races, and with ‘Angantyr’, which is today’s feature, he competed in the very first Cape to Rio Race in 1971. “It is infrequently that a man who has gone around the world in a …

by Richard Crockett I am not sure whether we have ever had 5.5’s in our local waters, but way back in 1962 Cape Town yachtsman Stephen Flesch was fortunate enough to spend a season in Europe racing one, and today shares his story. “Having just returned from Europe after a most exciting season’s racing in what is to-day one of the fiercest competitive classes, I feel that some of my experiences may be of interest in South Africa. “The 5.5s …

By Richard Crockett Can you believe it, but having mentioned the “Booth Bowl” yesterday, the report on the FD Champs I have selected for today has a photo of Robin Standing, John Sully’s crew, holding it! Sadly, no one has yet come forward on the whereabouts of this trophy. The FD report highlights many of the top sailors of the time, and even one of the top three British FD exponents who came out to compete. It’s a complete report …

by Richard Crockett During one of my recent forays into my archives I came across a reference to the “Booth Bowl”, and as I know the Booth family, I asked what had happened to it. Sadly it is missing and has not been heard of for many years. The trophy was presented to the Durban Winter Championships in 1962 by Brewer Booth, and is only referenced again in the August 1968 issue of SA Yachting magazine when it was reported …

by Richard Crockett False Bay features today in a report written by Helen Myburgh as the 1962 Western Province champs were sailed there for the very first time. This is what the report said: “False Bay waters and the False Bay Yacht Club were successfully placed on the local yachting map, when for the first time the Western Province Championship were staged at Simonstown over the Republic Day holiday week-end. “Unlimited safe deep water with suitable wind and shore facilities …

by Richard Crockett The 1962 Nationals, just six months after a very successful Nationals in Lourenco Marques, had the doubters casting aspersions – yet it was a great regatta as Knysna, and not just the yacht club, pulled out all the stops as was reported by Helen Myburgh who penned today’s report. This is a great report, not just the written words, but also because it is interspersed with many photos and a lengthy set of results which also include …

  By Richard Crockett The famous Stellenbosch-built ketch broke the course record in the 1,200-mile Buenos Aires to Rio Race, after a 28-day, 4,600-mile circular course across the South Atlantic . This is what the 1962 March/April issue of SA Yachting magazine said about her: “‘Stormvogel’ sails so far and fast that we cannot attempt to record all that happens to her. But two things stand out – she is a happy ship as well as a successful racer; and …

by Richard Crockett There’s tons of reading with which to start the week as I have decided to share the Club and Class news from the 1962 January/February issue of SA Yachting magazine. There’s lots of it too, and many photos, so without going into specifics, I will simply list the headings associated with each class and club. There is news from the following classes: Flying Dutchman class Sprog class Finn class Goodricke-Spearhead class Andy Association Sharpie Association and in …

By Richard Crockett I have always been fascinated by the name of ‘Ticonderoga’, given to a beautiful 73-foot ketch – a rather splendid name for a yacht I feel! From the 1962 January/February issue of SA Yachting comes today’s contribution of “Big Ti” attempting to break a long-standing sailing record. Plus there is a bonus read about ‘Stormvogel’ which made a quick visit to Cape Town for a refit at Globe Engineering before dashing across the South Atlantic to compete …

by Richard Crockett Although today’s feature is headed “Club Notes” I have specifically chosen it due to the interesting information it contains on the 1962 Nationals, which were to be held in Knysna, including “Tidal Tips”. There is also information from the Klerksdorp Yacht Club, Flamingo Yacht Club, and the Free State champs. A bonus read is a feature entitled “Some Doings with A Dinghy”. The information on Knysna was introduced as follows: “The 1962 SAYRA National Regatta will be …

By Richard Crockett Followers of this blog do enjoy the old regatta reports from yesteryear, so today I share a report from the 1961 Transvaal Champs held at Loch Vaal. It of course includes the ubiquitous page of small photos found in SA Yachting magazine back in days of yore. Plus, as an added bonus, Susan (whoever she was?) added a piece on the sailing waters of Rhodesia. The report was introduced as follows: “Ninety boats sailed in the Transvaal …

By Richard Crockett One has to admire the tenacity of pioneer boat-builders from days of yore who had little reference to work from, but an insatiable desire to build a yacht – especially in steel. SA Yachting magazine in the 1961 November/December issue featured an article on the experiences of readers who had taken the plunge into building their dream boats in steel. From East London, E W le Grice said this: “Although there seem to be no books devoted …

By Richard Crockett On 6 March I shared news on the RCOD concept, and today share news of the first one which was launched late in 1961. This sturdy, rock-solid little yacht gave so much joy and great sailing to so many, but today sadly the only ones left are those made of fibreglass. This is how the newly launched boat was introduced in the 1961 November/December issue of SA Yachting magazine: “Speed in hard-wind sailing conditions in deep water, …

By Richard Crockett The old National Regatta reports I know from experience always attract a lot of attention – so today I am sharing the report from the Lourenco Marques regatta of 1961. It concluded with a sail-past of the entire fleet, with the Governor-General taking the salute, to conclude a most successful and happy event. As always there are mentions of many a sailing hero and an extensive set of results too. The report opened as follows: “Well – …

By Richard Crockett In her first major ocean race ‘Stormvogel’ achieved exactly what her owner, Kees Bruynzeel had built her for, but for one disappointment, the Fastnet Race record. “Well, exactly as predicted, ‘Stormvogel’ did everything she set out to do – with great credit to her owner, South Africa and Holland and, of course, England. Hers was the sort of co-operative effort which is so often a feature of ocean racing on an international level, and is one of …