Sailor of the Month

Mike Hayton is no stranger to the competitive racing scene, and a man who likes to surround himself with a dedicated crew who like to sail and play hard. Plus, with two top keelboats in his stable he is able to give both women and men the opportunity to sail on top boats. The annual Mykonos Race is always a favourite on his calendar and he works his crew hard on the passage to Mykonos, and then even harder during …

It’s been a few decades since South Africans performed with class and distinction on the world singlehanded stage, and while race from Cape Town to the Island of St Helena is anything but ‘on the world stage’, Dale Kushner was the only singlehanded competitor. Singlehanded sailing is something he has dreamt about for many years, and having completed this course he may yet set his sights higher and pit himself against the best in the world at an international level. …

This is always a pleasurable time of the year as it’s when I get to announce the Raymarine SAILING Mag Blog Sailor of the Year. This award is made in conjunction with MDM Marine Services who are the local RSA importers of Raymarine sailing electronics. Sincere thanks to them for their on-going support and sponsorship of the cash prize the winner receives. It is also appropriate at this juncture to thank the anonymous judges who evaluate the nominations each month …

Malcolm led a team of South Africans to the FarEast 28 worlds in China in October. The team was made up of crew from his Cape 31, Magic, which he recently launched in Table Bay with the desire to join in the tight and competitive racing that is provided. His team were made to work hard and learn the FarEast 28 very quickly, as most teams have their own boats, and even brought their own sails! Malcolm showed his class, …

Stefano Marcia is a worthy candidate as he has just won the 2018 Laser National Championships in style, while showing that he is the top Laser sailor in the country. He also holds the SAS Northern Region provincial championship title and finished fifth in the 2018 American Nationals. He represented South Africa at the 2016 Olympics and now spends most of his spare time on the water bettering his skills. All this knowledge and experience is not wasted as he …

Dave Shilton was invited to join a group of Finn sailors in a 2-week ‘Emerging Nations’ Programme before the 2018 Finn Gold Cup in Denmark. He received intense coaching and support both before and during the Gold Cup. The programme proved a great success for Shilton as he was 5th in the first race of the regatta against the best in the world. His final position was a credible 56th out of 90 boats. Shilton’s dream was to come back …

It’s a pretty safe bet to say that Blaine Dodds has to be South Africa’s top Hobie sailor as he has such an impressive local and international record in these cats. His latest victory is another international title to add to the long list he already has. He recently competed in the Sylt Regatta in Germany, an exclusive regatta, where only teams of the worlds best Hobie 16 sailors compete – and he won it in fine style too, sailing …

The month in which the Lipton Cup is sailed always highlights some interesting characters and even more important, some incredible performances. It’s hardly surprising then that Roger Hudson is the one to be singled out as he skippered the RCYC team to a Lipton victory on ‘foreign’ waters by winning 4 of the 5 races. While this was an emphatic win, it simply does not tell the whole story. Hudson is the kind of sailor who takes nothing at face …

Sailing in the TP 52 Super Series during June in Croatia, Tina Plattner and her crew, with a generous number of South Africans aboard, scored a number of ‘firsts’ which have tipped the scales in her favour to win this award for the second time this year. It is rare that anyone gets to win the “Sailor of the Month’ title twice in one year, yet Tina Plattner has done just that, and added another ‘first’ to the following achievements …

Now here’s a man who is no stranger to this award, and even has the prestige ‘Sailor of the Year’ title to his credit, yet he continues to mellow and shine as he climbs the ‘age ladder’ in our wonderful sport! He is of course the evergreen Blaine Dodds – Hobie Cat supremo and doyen of the fleet for so many years now. He was nominated for the award simply because so far this year he has won the Hobie …

Bernard Farmer took his Charger 33 to a stunning handicap win in the Vasco da Gama Ocean race between Durban and Port Elizabeth at the end of April. This was a very tough race with the fleet being clubbed by two gale force South Westerlies in excess of 40 knots. But this did not deter Farmer and his crew who took it all in their stride, knuckled down, and simply sailed hard all the time. At one point, according to …

It is rare that we receive nominations for cruising yachtsmen, but good safe seamanship in hostile and bitterly cold waters is as important as making a dinghy or keelboat go fast on the race course. Gert is one of the quietest and most low profile of sailors, but in recent years he has completed two significant cruising passages and has now completed his third, and most ambitious voyage yet. His latest passage of “Southern Cape Voyages” saw him circumnavigating the …

Tina is one of those sailors who gives the sport her all as a tough competitor who never gives up. Plus she is game to sail a variety of boats – and all very well too as she competes at the top of the sport. She was one of the first to get a new Cape 31 and has campaigned it with relish. In the recent ‘international’ regatta in which two top overseas teams competed, she won the regatta in …

This young man who matriculated last year is has received this accolade before as he is simply a very fine and talented young sailors. He caught the eye of Roger Hudson of RaceAhead who has been mentoring and coaching him for the past year or more, resulting in a sailor with more refined skills, more confidence, and a far better understanding of what it takes to win big on the international stage. His results in the past year have improved …

The SAILING Mag Blog ‘Sailor of the Year’ role of honour consists of many fine names of top South African yachties. The latest sailors to receive the SAILING Magazine Blog ‘Sailor of the Year’ award are Alex Burger & Benji Daniel who won the 29er Worlds in August 2017. This is the very first time since inception of this award has there been a joint award. These two up-and-coming young sailors have been interviewed by William Crockett. READ THE INTERVIEWS …