Sailor of the Month

Sadly with sailing still on the backburner, the monthly Sailor of the Month award is postponed until the sport gets back to normal. Thanks to Raymarine and MDM Marine services for their continued support and understanding during these difficult times. Stay Safe please.

by Richard Crockett Due to the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown for the past 7 months which has resulted in very little competitive sailing taking place, it has been decided to cancel the competition this year. Just three monthly winners have been announced so far this year, and with few, if any key regattas planned for the balance of the year, this decision was inevitable. It is important at this point to thank our sponsor, MDM Marine Services, the importers of …

Now here’s man who is absolutely passionate about his sailing, yet despite his age he just continues to mix it up with the best sailors in the world on the 52 Super Series circuit. Up until recently he was always a highly respected 505 dinghy sailor on the international circuit. Hasso Plattner played a massive role in getting this series, as well as the now cancelled Rolex TP52 World Championship to Cape Town. But this award is about sailing, so …

‘Ballyhoo Too’ sailed an incredibly good Cape to Rio race, yet her performance was very much under the radar, despite it being one of the best performances in the fleet. Rijk Kuttel & Chris Garratt sailed their old Mumm 36 two-up in the racing fleet, and day after day they just reeled off really good mileages, then took on the storm in the closing stages in their stride, and finished second overall in an elapsed time of 19 days 17 …

The Cape to Rio Race 2020 will be remembered for two things for years to come. The manner in which Love Water, the 70-foot trimaran blasted her way across the South Atlantic in record time, and the ferocious storm through which the fleet had to battle to get to the finish line. All eyes were on the battle between Love Water and Maserati as these two racked up huge mileage – 600nm-plus – day after day as with sails packed …

Nominations are about to close for the first award of 202, so if you would like to make a nomination, now’s the time to do it. We have up-and-coming youngsters trying to make their mark in the sport; we have those who have passed the youth ranks and are setting their sights higher and on greater things in the sport. They all need recognition of their achievements in as many ways as possible. Just one way is through SAILING Mag …

by Richard Crockett Congratulations to Mike Hayton on becoming SAILING Magazine’s 19th Sailor of the Year. Raymarine and MDM Marine Services have continued sponsoring this award throughout 2019, and with it there is a handsome sum of money to the winner. Please support our sponsor. Now in its 19th year, the winners’ Roll of Honour reads something like a who’s who of sailors in South Africa. One of the key aspects to this award is that it is sailor driven, …

Matt and Rivaldo teamed up in 2019 to compete in the 420 class, taking the opportunity to join a class that is going through a revival in South Africa, so they are now part of that group of sailors who are raising the bar in the class. They recently won this year’s 420 National Championship on the last leg of the last race on the last day of the championship, after a nailbiting series with several reversals of fortune. Rivaldo …

Progli and Hutton-Squire won the recent 505 Nationals in Saldanha Bay, winning 3 of the 6 races and not being lower than 4th (their first race) – a great result against some well-seasoned and highly experienced and competent 505 sailors. A report on the event said it was going to be “one of the toughest events on the calendar in 2019″ – and that was not puffery, especially when one looked at the competitor list. Progli and Hutton-Squire did not …

Campbell Alexander & Dave Herridge sailed together in the Flying 15 worlds in Ireland a few weeks back as a new combination. Alexander sails both Flying 15s and Lasers, while Herridge is a ‘lifetime’ Laser sailor and top kiteboarder. They finished 11th in the pre-worlds in a fleet of 50-plus boats and 15th in the Worlds in a fleet of 70-plus boats. Their overall position in the worlds does not tell the whole story as in several races they led …

The Lipton Cup was a ‘hot’ event this year with the Cape 31s making their debut – and they did not disappoint as the racing was slick, fast and incredibly competitive. But one team ultimately stood out as the boat to beat as they were consistent, quick on all points of the wind, and managed to extricate themselves from being ‘dead on the water’ to real contenders by simply keeping their heads out of the boat and sailing hard and …

  South African sailors have been competing in numbers internationally recently, and mostly doing pretty well, so our judges had a tough time calling the winner. Andrew Tarboton has always been a very versatile sailor who performs well in most classes and conditions, and just recently finished 14th in the Musto Skiff World Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands. He scored four top ten places in 14 races, with a 2nd being his best individual result – an excellent result in …

Local RSA Optimist sailors have generally had a torrid time when competing internationally, and few in recent times have managed to make the Gold fleet at their very first attempt. But this changed when Sean Kavanagh competed in the European championship last month, his first ever major European event, and made his mark by getting into the Gold fleet. And he raised some eyebrows too as he was the youngest competitor at the event, eventually qualifying for the Gold fleet …

After several years of trying, and coming so close last year, Paul Lagesse finally won the Hobie 16 Nationals in 2019 offshore Durban. He managed this feat against a fleet that was smaller than usual, some 21 boats, but included perennial champion Blaine Dodds and regular Durban front runner Garth Louden, so was as high quality as ever. Making the feat more impressive Lagesse was without his long time experienced crewman, and was crewed this time by his 10 year …

Since winning the Far East 28 Worlds in China in October last year, Hall has competed with distinction in the Cape 31 Class – which is the only keelboat class producing really tough and competitive sailing. It’s fast, it’s relentless, and it’s close, exceptionally close in fact, with a mere minor error being exceptionally costly in terms of overall placings. But that cut ‘n thrust is undoubtedly what drives Hall as he is able to soak up the pressure, bounce …