Lipton Cup. What a Corker!

By Richard Crockett

The best way to write about the 2019 event is to start at the prize giving! It had been said countless times in the build-up to the regatta, and while racing was taking place, that this was simply the most competitive fleet for many years with the cream of our best sailors competing.

To kick off his victory speech, David Rae requested that all Lipton Cup winners stand, then World Champions, National Champions and Olympians too. There were more standing than sitting! Proof enough that the cream of the crop was there.

This was an incredible regatta in every single way possible. Here’s why.

The Cape 31 proved to be a good choice although crew needed time in the boat to understand its nuances and race it competitively. Most teams put in tons of time on the water in preparation. More importantly, despite some quite big gaps between boats at times, the fleet was able to come together quickly, mix it up and change the standings on almost every single leg. There was hardly any hint of simply follow-my-leader and hope for the best. A lead was never secure until the finish line had been crossed.

Tactically the courses were pretty true in every race with the fleet splitting to either side, and then coming back together to combat at close quarters for the mark roundings.

It was spectacular to watch as one was always on the edge of the seat, and crew work was slick, very slick, and very professional which is a testament to the crew who had spent many long hours in training.

Of the eight races, four were won by different boats with just the front runners scoring three wins each. Both Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club (WYAC) and Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) scored three wins each, with Royal Natal (RNYC) and Aeolians Club winning one apiece.

The final race which was won by Aeolians saw them go right from the very start, with the bulk of the fleet going left. David Hudson, the oldest crew in the fleet, had seen some cloud on the mountain with five minutes to go, and called that move then. They had what looked like an unassailable lead at the end of the first beat, but this was slowly whittled down throughout the race by Hermanus Yacht Club who ultimately had to settle for second – a fine result for both teams after a tough regatta.

There were just two standout boats in this fleet, with WYAC and RCYC slugging it out for supremacy. As has always been said in the Lipton Cup – it’s consistency that counts and wins the cup, and no-one sailed more consistently than Mike Hayton and David Rae on ‘Nitro’, representing Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club. They won the opening race and then scored two more firsts and two seconds in the first five races to have a commanding lead.

As one knows, the Lipton jitters can, and do, on occasions set in, and their final three races were not really their finest – although not due to poor sailing. In those races they scored 5; 2 & 7 – with kelp and plastic bags bugging them. These obstructions forced them, and other boats too during every race, to back-down to clear the kelp – all the while losing places.

The final race was heart-in-the mouth stuff for WYAC as with their five point buffer one would have expected them to hang in, keep out of trouble, and sail conservatively. These tactics they were forced to abandon as on starting they snared kelp and backed-down, effectively starting last. They were obstructed on 3 different occasions up the first beat with plastic, so instead of defending the lead, they were having to challenge for it – every single inch of the way to the finish line.

It was dramatic stuff as at one point they had relinquished the Cup to RCYC, yet had the ability to fight back and win overall. They were thoroughly deserving overall winners.

No report would be complete without mention of the RCYC team which was co-skippered by Gerry Hegie and Asenathi Jim. They had big pressure on their shoulders as the RCYC was the defending Club. Hegie helmed ‘Yanmar’, their trusty steed, like a man possessed and won three races of the 8 race contest. He was fast, very fast on the water, and would often come back from impossible positions by the end of the race. But, he was not consistent, and in an early race conceded a substantial lead due to a wind shift, and also took a scoring penalty after an altercation with another boat. It was these lapses that effectively put him out of the running despite appearing to be fastest on the water.

Mark Sadler, sailing for RNYC on ‘Orion DYP’, was always tipped to be a threat, and after his win in race 3 looked to be set to make a challenge, but he just never really got it going from there. He’s a very fine sailor as we all know, but having flown in the night before the first race, he simply did not have enough time with his crew to hone the edge he needed. Yet his third overall was just reward for a hard weeks sailing.

The Walvis Bay Yacht Club team, skippered by Bjorn Geiger, had a really good regatta, threatening the top runners in almost every race, but sailed themselves out of any podium place on the final day in the lighter conditions which they battled in.

The issue of kelp and plastic in the sea is cause for concern. Kelp is something one simply cannot control, but plastic is controllable. Big storms in the days building up to Lipton resulted in rubbish being washed into the sea from the City via their storm water drainage system. The same happens in Durban, and undoubtedly other cities around the world. No excuse – and something the City of Cape Town should be ashamed of and investigate methods of curtailing. We need clean seas – full stop!

Much has been said and commented on in the various social media platforms about the choice of the C31 for Lipton. Because the boat is so fast two races a day are possible – even on the 12 nautical mile compulsory courses. Plus the Race Officer did not have to wait more than a few minutes before finishing first and last – so the second race of the day could be stated 20 minutes after the last boat. That’s a very quick and time-efficient turnaround time.

Having been a vocal supporter of the L26 with the proviso that the support was until something better came along, I am now convinced that the C31 was a great choice for Lipton, as was the L26 in its heyday. The Lipton Trustees initially stated the C31 was for a two year trail period. I don’t believe that trial needs to be any longer and would encourage them to entrench it for the foreseeable future until it too has served its purpose like the 5 designated Lipton Cup classes prior to the C31.

Much was also said about ‘clubs of convenience’, and in this regard I would like to remind all those who sailed the Lipton Cup in L26s of the ‘clubs of convenience’ they chose when it suited them. Unfortunately some prominent names appeared on social media slagging off this aspect of the Lipton Cup – when those self-same people used clubs of convenience too.

2020 will see the event in Langebaan, and by then the local fleet should have swelled to 15-plus boats. The competition is getting tougher – and the winner is undoubtedly the Lipton Challenge Cup – and sailing as a sport in South Africa.

 

 

No.	Year	Venue	Class	Skipper	Club	Yacht
1	1911	Cape Town	6 8 Metres	N.W. Chiazzari	PYC	Tess
2	1912	Durban	IRR of GB	N.W. Chiazzari	PYC	Skabenga
3	1913	Durban	IRR of GB	H.J. Spradbrow	PYC	Skabenga
4	1914	Durban	IRR of GB	H.J. Spradbrow	PYC	Skabenga
5	1922	Durban	IRR of GB	H.J. Spradbrow	PYC	Skabenga
6	1923	Durban	IRR of GB	H.J. Spradbrow	PYC	Skabenga
7	1952	Durban	30 m2	F. Meadows	PYC	Avocet
8	1953	Durban	30 m2	L.E. Thomas / A.Austin	RCYC	Tarpon
9	1954	Cape Town	30 m2	G.I. Bartholemew	ZVYC	Yvette
10	1955	Cape Town	30 m2	L.E. Thomas	RCYC	Tarpon
11	1956	Cape Town	30 m2	M. Gronn	ZVYC	Yvette
12	1957	Cape Town	30 m2	H.W. Kohler	RYC	Trickson II
13	1958	Algoa Bay	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Sunmaid
14	1959	Durban	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Mariquita
15	1960	Durban	30 m2	L.N. Horsfield	CN	Rapid
16	1961	Durban	30 m2	L.N. Horsfield	CN	Rapid
17	1962	Durban	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Mariquita
18	1963	Durban	30 m2	L.N. Horsfield	HSC	Rapid
19	1964	Cape Town	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Mariquita
20	1965	Durban	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Mariquita
21	1966	Durban	30 m2	W.I. Hancock	RNYC	Mariquita
22	1967	Cape Town	30 m2	R.S. Chedburn	RCYC	Yvette
23	1968	Cape Town	30 m2	H.A. VanHoogstraten	ZVYC	Trickson II
24	1969	Cape Town	30 m2	C.C. Bowley	HYC	Sunmaid
25	1970	Cape Town	30 m2	W. Bongers / H.A.Van Hoogstraten	ZVYC	Trickson II
26	1971	Durban	30 m2	J.M. Whittle	RNYC	Sunrose
27	1972	Durban	30 m2	D.L. Cox	PYC	Tintomara
28	1973	Durban	30 m2	J.M. Whittle	RNYC	Sunrose
29	1982	Durban	IOR 1/4 Ton	H.F. Ellens / A.G. Hurter	PYC	Fuel Free
30	1983	Durban	IOR 1/4 Ton	G.V. Meek	RCYC	Royal Flush
31	1984	Cape Town	L26	E. Sternagel	TYC	Galactica
32	1985	Durban	L26	B. Savage	UNYC	Element
33	1986	Durban	L26	E. VanCuyck / C.P. Keeping	RCYC	Omega Heatwave
34	1987	Cape Town	L26	E. VanCuyck / C.P. Keeping	RCYC	Joko II
35	1988	Cape Town	L26	C. King / R. Nankin	ZVYC	SX Stainless
36	1989	Cape Town	L26	C. King / R. Nankin	ZVYC	SX Stainless
37	1990	Cape Town	L26	C. King / R. Nankin	ZVYC	SX Stainless
38	1991	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis	HBYC	Judron
39	1992	Cape Town	L26	C. King	ZVYC	FG Minnitt
40	1993	Saldanha	L26	C. King	ZVYC	FG Minnitt
41	1994	Saldanha	L26	C. King	ZVYC	Dalys Insurance
42	1995	Saldanha	L26	G. Davis / D.Hudson	RCYC	MBS
43	1996	Cape Town	L26	M. Schultz / G. Meek	HYC	Africa Glass
44	1997	Gordons Bay	L26	G. Davis / D.Hudson	RCYC	MBS Challenger
45	1998	Algoa Bay	L26	P. Shaw / S. Du Toit	GBYC	Fedsure Medway
46	1999	Gordons Bay	L26	C. King / R. Nankin	TSC	Dalys Insurance
47	2000	Simons Town	L26	G. Davis / M. Sadler	RCYC	RCYC Orion Challenger
48	2001	Cape Town	L26	R. Nankin	TSC	Dalys Insurance
49	2002	Cape Town	L26	I. Ainslie	ZVYC	MSC Donna Mia
50	2003	Durban	L26	R. Nankin / M. Sadler	TSC	Dalys Insurance
51	2004	Cape Town	L26	R. Nankin	TSC	Dalys Insurance
52	2005	Cape Town	L26	D. Hudson / R. Hudson	RCYC	RCYC Greenlight
53	2006	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / G. Blankenberg	TSC	Dalys Insurance
54	2007	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / G. Blankenberg	TSC	Dalys Insurance
55	2008	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / G. Blankenberg	TSC	Dalys Insurance
56	2009	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / D. Rae	RCYC	Dalys Insurance
57	2010	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / G. Blankenberg	KYC	Colorpress
58	2011	Mossel Bay	L26	G. Davis / D. Rae	KYC	Colorpress
59	2012	False Bay	L26	R. Robinson	RNYC	Orion B2G2
60	2013	Durban	L26	R. Weddel	PYC	PYC Choose Life Coordination
61	2014	False Bay	L26	G. Davis / D. Rae	RCYC	Co-Ordination
62	2015	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / D. Rae	RCYC	Co-Ordination
63	2016	Cape Town	L26	G. Davis / D. Rae	RCYC	Co-Ordination
64	2017	Cape Town	L26	Roger Hudson	RCYC	RCYC Race Ahead
65	2018	Durban	L26	Roger Hudson	RCYC	RCYC Homechoice
66	2019	Cape Town	Cape 31	M Hayton / D Rae	WYAC	Nitro