From the Archives

by Richard Crockett The headline on the SA Yachting magazine report shouted :Tornado Rips Through Fleet”. And so it did, but not a Tornado that damaged the fleet or surrounds as it was a Tornado catamaran sailed by Garth Boshoff and Ralf Spargel which took the overall honours. And, they broke the record too, registering …

by Richard Crockett So here’s a bumper issue of reports on the Round the Island Races – 6 reports of the 1982, ‘83 & ‘84 races. What is clear is that Sponsorship of the event was becoming possible due to its increased stature in the sailing world, but to keep sponsors did not appear to …

by Richard Crockett From 534 to 549 – it’s not a big leap forward, but it was a positive indication that the vent was in the hearts and minds of yachties as one of those on the bucket list of events to compete in. For the record there were 549 entries. Largest class, 92 Halcats. …

by Richard Crockett It appears that the Round the Island Race on the Vaal Dam “came of age” in 1980 when 534 boats started the race, and a competing boat was on te cover of SA Yachting magazine. This 534 boat fleet was considered at the time as a record for a sailing event of …

by Richard Crockett This is the 4th event I have covered in this series now, and still it is quite small and very localised despite attracting some attention from outside of the Vaal Dam. However all events take time to gather momentum, gain interest and indeed the trust of sailors, before blossoming forth and becoming …

By Richard Crockett Whenever I search my archives I regularly come across references to the Round the Island race on the Vaal Dam, and it triggers a memory note that I should share info on this race. Today it is a very well run annual event organised by the Lake Deneys Yacht Club. The very …

by Richard Crockett Jerry Whitehead was a remarkable man, seaman and thoroughly good chap. He was simply one of those very likeable guys who did everything properly after having done thorough research. Having decided to enter the 1979 Uruguay Race, while studying the charts of the South Atlantic he realised that when he arrived in …

by Richard Crockett While researching material on the Buccaneer in 1976 I found a report on the WP Buccaneers champs, plus a really good one entitled “Durban …. Zowie!” so have chosen to share them both. Bertie Reed won the WP Buccaneer champs, a tough one indeed as the opening paragraph said this: This year’s …

by Richard Crockett Today I have chosen not to keep with the Buccaneer theme exclusively as in doing my research I came across a wonderful feature article on the multi-class National Champs festival regatta in False Bay – which included the Buccaneers. There’s lots to read in this article which is like a who-who of …

by Richard Crockett Why False Bay was never renamed Buccaneer Bay is beyond me as these bullet-proof yachts seemed to come out “en-mass” in False Bay when Buccaneer events were scheduled. Good for them as the class grew and the competition was epic. Today I have two different Buccaneer events for you. The first, reported …

Pages from 1973 10 – SA Yachting – OCR by Richard Crockett By now the “Buc” class had become well established and championship regattas were becoming more of the norm. It was at this regatta that the name Bertie Reed came to the fore in the class as he was referred to then as the …

by Richard Crockett Well the Buccaneer posts have struck a chord with several readers. Delighted to have been able to tickle the tastebuds and awaken the brain cells! There’s lot’s more to come in the days ahead, so stay tuned as they say in the classics. Week-long regattas in those days, the very early ‘70s, …

by Richard Crockett In searching the archives there are many interesting tidbits of info on the Class, like the Class President throwing his toys when the scribe mentioned in a report that the class was not happy with SAYRA and would rather be administered by CASA! What is certain is that politics played a key …

by Richard Crockett An avid follower of my scribblings is David Staniforth who recently mentioned that I should give the Buccaneer keelboat class some coverage as he fondly remembers his time sailing them in tough conditions in False Bay. It’s easier said than done as try spelling the name Buccaneer? Not so easy as it …

by Richard Crockett This time it was the Miura ‘Moonshine’ skippered by Tony Abbott which took the overall honours from Bobby Bonger’s ‘Impact’. As always with multiple starts, one at each of the starting clubs, conditions were naturally different, yet this is what makes the race so unique and challenging. The RCYC starters had hardly …