News

                by Richard Crockett During the inaugural Cape to Rio race in 1971, the 10-metre van der Stadt-designed sloop ‘Pionier’ sank after hitting a whale. That was on 28 January 1971 at the position 24 30’ south and 07 06’ west. Forty years later (now 53 years later) the two remaining survivors of that tragedy, Willie Schütten and Jenifer Webb remembered the sinking, and the rescue, over dinner. The five crew for the …

By Richard Crockett As a prep school kid I was fascinated by ‘Sandefjord’ and her voyage around the world. Why, I am not really sure, but that voyage may well have been the fire that lit my passion for sailing. I remember following her circumnavigation in the newspapers, and when the movie of her circumnavigation was launched, I just had to go and see it. That was in 1967, and the following year I began sailing. However, this is about …

By Richard Crockett Without checking, I am sure that I have shared this feature before, and bother not as it shows just what fine seamen we produced back in days of yore. I wrote the following intro at the time: “The following arrived in an e-mail recently and caught my eye as I remembered that in my archives I had pics of this incident, and that I had read the story in a very old copy of SA Yachting, so …

by Richard Crockett I wonder how many mad-cap schemes have been conjured up on a bar stool in a yacht Club Pub on a stonking day when it’s prudent to stay off the water? No doubt many, but are there any to top this as told by Ralph Thomas? “Standing in Charlie’s Bar at PYC one Saturday lunchtime waiting for my ‘pie and gravy’, the discussion of the Inhaca crossing (Maputo to Inhaca Island) was on the agenda. As it …

by Richard Crockett Apologies for the break last week, but I was felled by the lurgy. The ‘old salts’ amongst our followers will undoubtedly remember ‘Sandefjord’. She was found in an unseaworthy state in Durban in the 1960s and fully restored by the Cullen brothers – Patrick and Barry. She was then 53 years old, and the brothers, with some crew, circumnavigated the globe, and made a film of the voyage which later became a huge hit. She also competed …

by Richard Crockett In January 2011 I started the “from the archives – a blast from the past” series in SAILING Mag as we had been re-organising our filing system and reference library. By way of change and providing something fresh and different, I will reproduce them here – so please ENJOY, SHARE and COMMENT. Please read the March 2011 original magazine offering at the link provided to see what I could glean from the pics at the time of …

by Richard Crockett In January 2011 I started the “from the archives – a blast from the past” series in SAILING Mag as we had been re-organising our filing system and reference library. By way of change and providing something fresh and different, I will reproduce them here – so please ENJOY, SHARE and COMMENT. Please read the original magazine offering at the link provided to see what I could glean from the pics at the time of publication, and …

In January 2011 I started the “from the archives – a blast from the past” series in SAILING Mag as we had been re-organising our filing system and reference library. By way of change and providing something fresh and different, I will reproduce them here – so please ENJOY, SHARE and COMMENT. Please read the original offering at the link provided, and then the responses below. READ IT HERE:  2011 01 – SAILING Magazine – S&A – OCR-2 All comments …

by Richard Crockett A few weeks back I shared a feature that Dudley Dix had written about the 2014 storm at the beginning of the Rio Race. He penned that having reflected further on the race and also written a book on the subject. Today’s feature was written from the heart not long after he and his crew had returned to Cape Town aboard ‘Black Cat’. This is just one rather chilling paragraph: “While changing from the #1 jib to …

by Richard Crockett The name Eric Tabarly was one which reverberated around the sailing world in the 1960s and much later too as he was simply one hell of a tough sailor and fine seaman who race a string of yachts named ‘Pen Duick’. The headline is a misnomer as Bob Fisher penned this piece 10 years ago now. He was always welcomed in Cape Town when on round-the-world passages, and especially during his preparations prior to the Rio Races …

By Richard Crockett I always admire people who choose to explore new cruising destinations rather than to simply follow in the wake of many before them. One such cruising couple are former Capetonians Nicholas & Diedre Mace who decided to take their 50-foot cat up the Breede River. Their rationale was as follows: The Breede River is described as the longest navigable river in the Western Cape (28nm from mouth to the Pont) and is only 160nm by sea from …

By Richard Crockett I have always enjoyed features Nick Leggatt has written as they are always to the point, tell it like it really is, and come with years of hands-on experience. So the feature of his that I share today was written in 2015, which means that technology has advanced exponentially, and more worrying means that the headline is probably now more important today than it was almost 10 years ago! He introduced the feature as follows: To look …

By Richard Crockett Here’s another excellent feature for all those who go to sea in small boats to read and inwardly digest. This is how the introduction read: “For anyone considering an ocean voyage, a liferaft and an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) are essential gear. Of course, we always hope we’ll never have to use them and most of us have a basic idea of how to deploy them, but what happens when the unexpected happens in really …

By Richard Crockett I do enjoy it when I stumble across gems while searching my archives. Today I can share another of those gems, and sadly have to admit that I have just one photo of ‘Elegance’ in my archives. But that may change as I slowly add new material virtually every day. The author of this interesting feature posed this question and then answered it himself: “How does a boat get to be 80 years old? The main requirement …

by Richard Crockett I can’t seem to help myself publishing material on the Dabchick as it’s such a wonderful little boat. So today, instead of concentrating on the boat itself, this feature is all about Jack Koper who designed and promoted the Dabchick, plus several other classes too. The original tribute, in the March 1977 issue of SA Yachting magazine, is reproduced today in an abridged form. Its introduction read as follows: “As this year, 2016, is the 60th anniversary …