Sailing Magazine
by Kathy Manten
“Your face is your fortune” … This may come as a shock but we are not all as famous as we think we are. There are many boats that do not have skippers names, club names or any other info – please forward these details to me so I can update our records. By now, I am amazed at the confidence of the competing sailors. They are so certain that the bridge crews know exactly who they are and where they are from. The NKA handbook has repeatedly put out a call for sailors to sail past the committee boat prior to the race in order to share their personal and boat info which assists the bridge (and scoring) crew in doing their task.
In the first race, the Formula One “Jolly Roger”, sailed by Chris Duff and his band of merry men, showed all the other sailors just how to win a race. WRONG! We are not sure, but it seems as if a gremlin was at work and instead, it was the J 22 “Supa Sails” who finished in first place. So good to see one of our old stalwarts, Rob De Vlieg, on the water and still educating the rest of us in how to win races. Ben Mienie sailing on his Dragonfly “Krokodil” finished in a handy second place. Third place then went to yet another J22 “Majic” with Jessica Lenz on the helm. Jess and her crew have put a lot of time into their J sailing and have learnt a trick or two while away at the recent J22 Worlds
The second race saw an altercation between two J 22’s and we look forward to their report on the incident for inclusion in the sailing mag. If the participants have decided that it is not worth taking it to the protest committee, then please study your rule books and, while exercising extreme fairness and honesty, work out who was at fault and why. Share this with your fellow sailors lest we all learn from your experiences. This is such a good method of improving your knowledge. (While never quite getting to the bottom of the story, I hear that Supa Sails was guilty of a minor misdemeanour, promptly did a 360 penalty and realised by the end of the race that they should have done a 720 instead). They graciously retired after finishing.
The first position in the second race went to the J 22 “Majic” skippered by Jessica Lenz. The J27 “Bateleur” helmed by Al Leenstra ( I think) has not been on the podium for some time and so I am sure it gave them a lot of pleasure finishing in second place. J 22 “SS Harken” sailed by Casper finished in third place and I am sure she is aiming to narrow that distance down and climb to the top of the ladder. “Casper” is the Nom de Plume that Rob De Vlieg managed to shake off after identifying himself and due to the fact that SS Harken was also sailed by unknown beings, they may take over the name of Casper until such time as the culprits have identified themselves.
In the third race of the day, Rob De Vlieg on the J 22 “Supa Sails” proved that he has what it takes to get to the top and finished in first place. I wonder what sails he has on his boat? Trevor Hulleman and Kevin Campbell brought “Hay J” in for a second place finish. Congrats Guys, hopefully you will be able to replicate these results in the future. Chris Duff and the Boys on “Jolly Roger” finished in third place. They are just quietly keeping the pressure on the J sailors. It would be awesome if they could find a J to campaign in the 2014 J Worlds.
The overall standing in the 2013 2014 Northvaal Keelboat Association Middle of the Dam Series to date is as follows:
1 Dragonfly Krokodil Ben Mienie
2 Jazzy J 22 Frank Lenz
3 Bateleur J 27 Al Leenstra
Congratulations to all the sailors and thanks for your participation over the past year. There are a few interesting races coming up in the next month or two for those of you who need a bit more practice or won’t be going away for the holidays.
For those of you who are travelling or away for the Christmas hols, please take care, have fun, Love, Laugh and Sail.
Results. 2013-2014 NKA MOD Summer Series
