Historical

by Richard Crockett Followers of the Lipton Cup marvelled when Etienne van Cuyck won two consecutive Lipton events in a row, and few probably thought, due to the high level of competition, that three in a row would ever be possible. Well Chris King and Rick Nankin, joint skippers, did just this from 1988 to 1990 through consistent sailing as of the 18 races sailed in those 3 years they won just 2 of them! The 1988 Challenge This is …

by Richard Crockett Reading the reports from 1987 again it looks as if this was an event looking for someone to take it by the scruff of the neck – and win it. Race after race it lumbered on until Etienne van Cuyck won the coveted cup again simply by sailing consistently. This is what the SAILING Inland & Offshore Magazine reporter had to say in his opening paragraphs: “Overall strategy or tactical opportunism? Consistency or brilliance? The safe play …

by Richard Crockett This was another rip-snorting event, marred only by a big wind shift in the first race which had the top contenders on the back foot. But the cream always rises to the top, and ultimately after four races, Etienne van Cuyck and his crew representing the RCYC were the ones who rose up and sailed to victory. Alex Stone, writing for SA Yachting opened his report with these words: “What is it that makes the Lipton Cup …

by Richard Crockett This was a hard-fought and very exciting series which went down to the wire, and which had the scribes for SA Yachting and SAILING Inland & Offshore magazine excited almost beyond words as the youngest crew ever went on to win the coveted cup! This is how Roy Heiner opened his report in SA Yachting: “THE 1985 Lipton Cup must surely be remembered as the most exciting, competitive and nerve destroying regatta yet held on South Africa …

by Richard Crockett Well the Quarter-Tonners had a very short lifespan of just two years in the Lipton Cup before the Lipton Trustees announced that the L26 was to be the Lipton boat for the 1984 contest. This decision was not necessarily met with as much favour as one may have expected as can be seen in the extract below from SA Yachting in January 1984, as well as from an editorial in the August ‘84 issue of SAILING Magazine. …

by Richard Crockett Despite the euphoria of the Lipton Cup being revived in 1982 after a nine year absence, the choice of the Quarter-Tonner as the Lipton Boat continued to be viewed in a negative light. Sadly it was the cost of keeping an IOR Quarter Tonner competitive, or building a new one to hopefully be as competitive, or even more competitive than the modern boats in the fleet, was a limiting factor and one which directly resulted in a …

by Richard Crockett Having covered each and every one of the 22 Lipton Cup series of the “Elegant Era” of the 30-Square Metre class from 1952 to 1973, it’s time to move on to the “Modern Era” and specifically the Quarter-Ton era which was short-lived as just two series in those modern out-and-out racers was held. 1973 was the last series of the “Elegant Era”, and for 9 years the Lipton Cup was on display in the Royal Natal Yacht …

By Richard Crockett Almost a week ago I published info on the 1969 Lipton Cup, with one response specifically asking where the 30-Square Metre ‘Sunrose’ was. Some will know that she became a display piece in the Workshop shopping centre in the middle of Durban. This was to avoid her being scrapped. Well in 1998 she had to be moved again, and was sent to Durban’s Maritime Museum on the Esplanade. HERE IS THE NEWSPAPER REPORT ON HER MOVE:  1998 …

by Richard Crockett “Still going strong, the 30 Squares are planning a new lease of life with fibreglass hulls in the offing …” shouted the heading, but alas this 1973 event was to be the very last in the 30-Square Metre class, and no one knew it as they were planning the next event as the next few paragraphs show. “At the Mayor’s Reception during the Lipton Cup last year in Durban, it was sportingly announced that the leading Cape …

Cox’s Five Wins in Lipton Cup by Richard Crockett “Grand slam to the Point Yacht Club – that’s the result of the 1972 Lipton Cup, sailed at sea off Durban during July. ‘Tintomara’, skippered by David Cox, commodore of the Point Yacht Club, walked away with the cup with five wins out of a possible five. “Runner-up was Jimmy Whittle, skippering ‘Sun Rose’, who won last year’s contest in the same waters with ‘Tarpon’, skippered by John Waller of Cape …

by Richard Crockett Back in Durban thanks to a sporting gesture from the Cape Clubs the previous year, Jimmy Whittle took the cup for the very first time in a long Lipton career. “It was only fair that after sailing hard in Lipton Cup contests for more than 20 years, Jimmy Whittle should emerge the winner of the 1971 series. Yachtsmen all over South Africa congratulate him. Till now his record has been a meritorious string of second and third …

Pages from 1970 05 – SAY -000250 – OCR by Richard Crockett This was an interesting year as it appeared that sportsmanship played a huge roll throughout the whole series. “After a break of two years it was very gratifying to see two Durban entries. As a result next Lipton Cup will be held offshore at Durban.” Race 3 was sailed in a variable SSE, with the finishing positions as follows: ‘Yvette’, ‘Sunmaid’, ‘Tinromara’, ‘Sunrose’, ‘Tarpon’, ‘Trickson’, ‘Mariquita’. “It was …

by Richard Crockett The biggest news of this ‘69 series was that it was a purely Cape event as no out-of-towners entered! “For the first time in the history of the series the Lipton Cup Regatta in Table Bay last month was not an interport event, although this has been the whole basis of the contest since its inception. Only five Cape yachts turned out to do battle. “The beautiful, slender Scandinavian-designed 30 Square Metre made a brave sight, however, …

by Richard Crockett Gale-Beset ‘Lipton’ “The 1968 Lipton Challenge Contest will long be remembered by all who took part in it a one of the toughest and most challenging series of races ever sailed by Thirty Square Metre Class yachts in these or any other waters. “The weather could not have been more unkind. The first race was abandoned due to poor visibility, strong winds and high seas. On the next day (Saturday, June 8) conditions were generally the same …

by Richard Crockett I suppose that one can almost always say that the selected class of Lipton Challenge Cup boat is under threat as people from other classes aspired to compete in what is the most prestige of South African sailing regattas. In the RCOD Class news reports in SA Yachting Magazine it was clear that these owners were keen to become the Lipton Cup Class. This was highlighted indirectly by the incoming President of the 30-Square Metre class by …