On This Day – 10 January. A Newspaper History of Sailing

by Richard Crockett

I am scanning and archiving press cuttings I have accumulated and which I guestimate run into tens of thousands! A daunting task which I believe to be necessary as for many years I have been concerned about the lack of interest Clubs, Classes and other sailing related organisations give to preserving their history.

This is my personal crusade to save the rich history of our sport, and to share it in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing, and learning more.

To read the full reports, click on the LINK following the headline.

1990. “ ‘Neglected’ Yachts Lie At Moorings”. The South African navy’s two famous racing yachts, Voortrekker I and Voortrekker II, are lying neglected at their moorings because a shortage of funds prevents them from putting to sea.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 01 10 383 11_Redacted

1991. “Burglars ‘Shipwreck’ Club Regatta”.  A planned regatta at the Witbank Yachting Club (WYC) has been “shipwrecked” after burglars “completely cleaned out” the clubhouse at the dam.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 01 10 401 12

1991. “Frenchmen ‘Sucker Punched’ by Martin”. A confident John Martin flew into Cape Town from Australia this week for a two-week break after winning the second leg of the BOC Challenge.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 01 10 401 13

1991. “Seasoned Sailor on DIY Yacht to Canada”. A year of hard work has finally paid off for False Bay yachtsman Roger McCormick who plans to set off for a solitary four-month Atlantic crossing to Canada on his home-built yacht
“Alacrity” next month.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 01 10 401 8

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za

What is “On this Day” About?
I am busy archiving many boxes of press cuttings I have accumulated and which I guestimate run into tens of thousands! A daunting task which I believe to be necessary before ditching them as I have been concerned for many years about the lack of interest Clubs, Classes and other sailing related organisations give to preserving their history.

This is my personal crusade, and instead of simply archiving and keeping the contents away from prying eyes, I will share my spoils in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing as much as I have, and continue to do as I wade through the labourious process of scanning each and every cutting in my archives.

As each scanned cutting will be searchable, I will be able to create presentation packs personally tailored to a persons exact requirements – ie. Rathmines Week, the NCS Regatta, the Rio Race, Mauritius Race, Vasco da Gama Race and more – or simply by the name of an individual (like Ant Steward and his open boat exploits) who want a record of his/her sailing career for the family archives.

I have already done this by scanning in excess of 8500 pages of material I have on ‘Voortrekker’ – from idle chatter, to concept, to the formation of what ultimately became the South African Ocean Racing Trust (SAORT), to the fruition of the 1968 OSTAR Race in which Bruce Dalling and ‘Voortrekker’ excelled – and even beyond that.

The possibilities are endless – so watch this space.

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za

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