News

By Richard Crockett There’s an interesting little story today, which goes as follows. In November 1942 the United States naval supply tanker ‘Swiftsure’ was torpedoed and sank ten miles off the Cape of Good Hope. The surviving crew were picked up by a passing destroyer and the two lifeboats they were in were left to drift. A couple of days later a mine-sweeping flotilla obtained permission to take the lifeboats in tow after sighting them off Dassen Island. They were …

By Richard Crockett Yesterday I shared details of a devastating storm in the Pacific in 1994 which devastated a fleet of cruising yachts. Two years later there was a follow-up to that feature which described how ‘Sofia’ was salvaged. In that storm ‘Sofia’ had been dismasted and then rolled through 360 degrees. The engine, which had been running, stopped suddenly. Although Keith had injured his back in the roll he had been able to cut away the rig, which was …

By Richard Crockett I do not publish reports like this for the sensational news they carry, but rather for what yachties following in the wake of people heading to these areas can learn. The best way is to give a short synopsis of this report is to use the introduction which went like this: “Hurricane season was over, and the cruising community agreed; the weather map looked perfect for the 1 200-nautical mile passage from New Zealand to Tonga and …

by Richard Crockett This editorial from September 1995 is a first-hand account of a dismasting as experienced by Jo Hunter aboard ‘Chanson De Lecq’. “I managed to make some syrupy coffee before mind and body suddenly ground to a halt. Only then did I start to feel fear, lying there shivering, hearing the roar of another approaching wave, waiting for the crash and sickening shudder of the boat” said Hunter. All yacht owners who venture to sea should read this …

By Richard Crockett JJ Provoyeur has always been a larger than life figure in our local sport and industry, and became a household name when he decided to race around the world singlehanded in 1994/95. Maybe, just maybe, this singlehanded quest was all part of his plan to round Cape Horn single-handed, a thought that had been in his mind for a long time. Why? This extract may answer that question. “It was an emotional experience. I felt as if …

by Richard Crockett This may be a piece that women like as it’s all about Jill Knight who started out knowing almost nothing about sailing, and seven years sharing her story. And, she bought the boat she was cruising on and continued single-handed! In this feature she shares the following: • about creating a boat she enjoys as a home • what she has discovered about cruising • what makes the lifestyle a good one for her • and the …

By Richard Crockett Today’s feature article was written in 1995 by Skip Novak, and as his sub-head says, “First viewed from the sea the Horn draws one sailor back again”. He’s obviously referring to Cape Horn, that notorious southernmost point of South America. To put things in perspective, this is what he says about that landmark: “The reputation of Cape Horn weather with 100-knot winds, mountainous seas and snow storms in high summer may seem like an exaggeration, but it …

by Richard Crockett Okay, so who remembers what ENZA stands for? The answer is quite simple really as it simply means “Eat New Zealand Apples”! Here’s the story about ‘ENZA’s’ record breaking circumnavigation: “On 16 January 1994, the 92 foot cat ‘Enza’ crossed the Ushant start line in a bid to win the Jules. Verne Trophy. On 1 April she re-crossed the line, having taken 74 days, 22 hours , 17 minutes and 22 seconds to race round the world, …

By Richard Crockett The few cruising pieces I have shared recently have hit the mark with followers of this Blog, so here’s more, this time from Jutta Werbeck who describes a visit to the atoll of Raroia in the Tuamotus where Kon Tiki, the first scientific raft of Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl and his five men, ran aground on the windward reef on 7 August 1947 after 39 days at sea. Entering this atoll in a sailing vessel is not for …

by Richard Crockett This 70th challenge of the Lipton Cup was due to be something special, and despite the naysayers, it was to all intents and purposes just that with one pundit calling it the best ever, as the hosts, Royal Cape Yacht Club, pulled out all the stops. They had paid attention to every single detail throughout the Club that makes a regatta a success, and their attentive staff were pleasant and efficient throughout the week. READ IT ALL …

By Richard Crockett The Lipton Challenge Cup started this morning with the AP Over A flags today signalling that races not started are postponed as the weather gods sat a massive gale on top of the course causing racing to be abandoned even before the competing teams left the dock. The Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) are defending the Lipton Challenge Cup which they won last year when challenging off Durban. Challenging them for bragging rights, and of course victory, …

by Richard Crockett Yesterdays cruise on the fringe of the Roaring Forties in a Miura brought a slew of positive reactions, so here is another, also in a Miura. This time we follow the wake of David and Margie Trinder who set sail in their Miura ‘Khoisan’ from Cape Town in January 1987 and returned in November 1989, having covered some 30 000 nautical miles. Living a moment of which we had dreamed, Margie and I watched the peaks of …

by Richard Crockett Here’s a cruise with a difference for two reasons. Firstly it is about a passage from Cape Town to Sydney along the edge of the Roaring Forties, and secondly because it was written by Margaret Kennedy and gives a woman’s view of sailing. There’s possibly a third reason too, which is the fact that they sailed this passage in a Miura, three-up. We all know how bullet-proof a Miura is as a cruising boat, despite its 30-foot …

By Richard Crockett I have been asked by a follower of my Blog to share info on the 1964 Olympic Trials. I am always happy to receive requests like this, and oblige as often as is possible. These 1964 Olympic Trials, sailed in Saldanha Bay waters, were sadly purely an indication of who the top dogs were as South Africa was later banned from attending the games in Tokyo. But, after a lot of criticism of the Finn selection in …

By Richard Crockett I have chosen this feature editorial to share today as not only is it an interesting read, but it reminds me of good seamanship and the ability of yachties in days of yore to weather a storm rather than to see one coming on a weather app and not put to sea at all. Seamanship is also key in this article, and again when comparing it to days of yore, I feel it is something lacking in …