News

by Richard Crockett 1987. S Africans in Lead As Yachts Near Finish:  1987 05 05 – 000168 1988. Ilse III Said to Be Leading Fleet to EL. :  1988 05 05 – 950 1990. Close-quarter Compatibility Can Make Or Break A Crew:  1990 05 05 – 977 1990. Yachting Family From SA Fall Into Renamo Hands:  1990 05 05 – 387 6_Redacted 2 1990. Meek’s ‘Yellow Peril’ Going for Line Honours:  1990 05 05 – 387 6_Redacted 2 1995. Award …

by Richard Crockett Had it not been for the wonderful YB Trackers, which in my view are an absolute necessity in this race, few, other than an inner sanctum of key people would have known that the race was on. It’s sad as this is the longest running coastal ocean race in the country having started in the early 1970s and which now boasts an impressive tally of 52 races started. Just 10 boats were on the start line, soon …

By Richard Crockett She’s won the Golden Globe singlehanded round the world non-stop race has Kirsten Neuschäfer – and she thoroughly deserves the title of “Golden Girl”. He final few miles were agonisingly slow as the wind dropped and she had to use all her abilities and concentration to eek every last little bit of boat speed from her trusty steed ‘Minnehaha’ to finish this epic circumnavigation. She’s made of stern stuff so she made it all look too easy, …

by Richard Crockett In approximately 10 hours time Kirsten Neuschäfer should cross the finish line of the singlehanded Golden Globe Race in first place after approximately 236 days at sea non-stop. And interestingly, she does not know that she is in the lead as race rules prevent radio contact and more except on official channels. So what a surprise awaits her as does a massive crowd which is expected to welcome her home to Les Sables d’Olonne in France. In …

By Richard Crockett An event with “top of the mind awareness” at this time of the year is the annual Vasco da Gama Race as it’s always been tough and relentless and will always be remembered and judged on the 1984 race which was dubbed in the media as a “Disaster”. Yes, it was tough, very tough, but that is no reason for not sharing info on that fateful race as questions are always asked about it, and much can …

By Richard Crockett As one can expect the news is always mixed with good and bad, and today we have a smattering of both. We have “Rogue Wave” news which is a term not only used to describe conditions in the Vasco da Gama Ocean Race, but which also caught ‘Thunderchild’ short when on passage to Mauritius in 1989. Ant Steward sprung a leak – well his trusty steed did off Australia when attempting his solo circumnavigation in an open …

By Richard Crockett A new week and new news through the ages and from yesteryear. 1969. Brazil Backs Yacht Race:  1969 04 24 – Rio 1971 – Don Pfotenhauer Collection – 000073 000562_Redacted – OCR 1970. Dalling Will Get Duty Free Yacht:  1970 04 24 – Rio ’71 – Don Pfotenhauer Collection – 423 – OCR 1987. Tactical Blunder Upsets Martin:  1987 04 24 – 000162 1990. Skipper Shows No Mercy in this Dash:  1990 04 24 – 157 1991. …

by Richard Crockett I have more memories of our events and sailors to share today, and even surprised myself by unearthing a pre-race cutting of the 1999 Vasco da Gama ocean race when I sailed with Dave Cox aboard Solar Wind, an L34. We had a very young Jof Heathcote aboard as helmsman, and other very young crew who had been well drilled by Cox in the build-up to the race. I wrote the following in that report: “It hardly …

By Richard Crockett Another beautiful day and more newspaper news from yesteryear. It’s always difficult picking the juiciest bits to share! The headline “Hardy Sailors Gear Up for Vasco Da Gama Race” may interest those who like ocean races and passages as it is from a column I wrote just prior to the Vasco Race when I read two books on the greatest storms at sea! Probably not a wise thing to do before racing along a coast which itself …

by Richard Crockett There are a few tales of woe in the newspaper reports selected today, but instead of being alarmed or throwing brickbats, tough times do occur when traversing massive oceans in small sailing vessels. 1984. 2 EL Yachts in Tough Da Gama Ocean Race. First up is a pic of the ‘Rubicon’ crew in Durban before the start of the 1984 Vasco da Gama Ocean Race. Sadly they succumbed in a massive storm the fleet encountered on the …

by Richard Crockett Today I am able to share 8 newspaper reports from 13 April over the years. The Vasco da Gama Race, Portnet Dias Race, Ant Steward, Mauritius Race and more feature. Here are the headlines. 1988. L34s Dominate Da Gama Entry:  1988 04 13 – 4 1990. Walon Just Fails to Edge Out ‘Anchor Yeast Voortrekker’:  1990 04 13 – 829 1991. Exhausted Yachtsman Saved After Long Ordeal:  1991 04 13 – 406 26 1991. All’s Well with …

by Richard Crockett Today we go back to 1967 and the announcement of plans to enter a yacht in OSTAR singlehanded race from Plymouth to New York. This was the beginning of the Voortrekker I era, and much, much more… . Here are today’s headlines: 1967. Bid to Put SA in Top Yacht Race:  1967 04 12 – Voortrekker 1 & Dalling – 932 – OCR 1983. 125 Years of Service to Yachting:  1983 04 12 – RNYC 125th Anniversary …

by Richard Crockett It’s back to the grindstone after a chilled few days, but aren’t the chocolate holidays wonderful!! One is rarely afforded the opportunity of seeing the Lipton Cup sailed outside the July – August window, yet way back in 1973 the challenge took place on Table Bay in April. Below are today’s headlines. 1973. Lipton Cup Yacht Races on Table Bay:  1973 04 11 – 1973 Lipton – stitched final – 295-1 – OCR 1983. Celebrations for Natal …

by Richard Crockett Another day and more news on many different aspects of our sport. It’s inevitable that the progress of ‘Shosholoza’ will become something of the norm for a while as that team, and what Captain Salvatore Sarno gave to South Africa, received saturation newspaper coverage at the time. And let’s not also forget that epic Jules Verne record that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Peter Blake set. I really do need to do some research in to how …

by Richard Crockett Some days there’s tons of news, yet others like today, are pretty sparse when it comes to sailing. Today we cover ‘Voortrekker I’ at the start of the Portnet Dias Race to the Azores and Portugal. Intrepid single-handed yachtsman Ant Steward features today, as does singlehanded sailor JJ Provoyeur. And for the dinghy and beach cat fans, we have news on Sean Ferry. Here are the headlines: A Success Story – Voortrekker I:  1990 04 05 – …