Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.
1967. “Yachts All Set for the Big Race”. The confidence of outside partisans that “their” yacht would win the America’s Cup in the series that begins at Newport, Rhode Island, tomorrow, was balanced today by temperate views on the outcome by those most deeply involved.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1967 09 11 – Pfotenhauer – 000111
1969. “Woodrose is on Her Way Back to Durban”. Men still dream and dreams it seems, still come true. Roy Tedder, the Durban engineer and businessman who dreamed of small boats and vast oceans, built the yacht Woodrose under a pergola in his backyard. Being a perfectionist he worked for seven long years on her so that he knew every plank, timber and fastening. Then he set about getting to know her and, finally, in March this year he sailed her to Britain. Now he – and Woodrose are coming home.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1969 09 11 – Pfotenhauer – 000107
1970. “Floodlit Mercury At City Hall”. Mrs. Kenau Havemann, wife of the Administrator of Natal, will perform the commissioning ceremony of the Natal Ocean Racing Foundation’s R75 000 yacht, Mercury, outside the Durban City Hall on Tuesday.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1970 09 11 521_Redacted
1986. “Record 62 Enter Cape Race”. A record fleet of 62 yachts has been entered for the Finance Week Double Cape Race which starts from four different points in the Peninsula tomorrow afternoon.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1986 09 11 -000021
1992. “Double Cape Fever Hits GBYC”. Excitement is mounting at the Gordons Bay Yacht Club (GBYC) as skippers and crew make their final preparations for the tough Double Cape Yacht Race which starts simultaneously from four Peninsula yacht clubs at 18:00 this evening.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1992 09 11 426 15
1993. “A New Man At the Helm”. South Africa’s premier yachting regatta, Rothmans Week, will this year have its youngest chairman ever following the recent appointment of 31-year-old Springbok yachtsman Rob Sharp.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1993 09 11 938
2006. “Off to Antarctic to Sail in the Legendary Wake of Shackleton”. Sailor, mountaineer and adventurer extraordinary Skip Novak and his team were hard at work in Cape Town harbour yesterday preparing Novak’s yacht Pelagic Australis for its departure tomorrow for further adventures in the icy reaches of the Southern Ocean.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2006 09 11 550
2009. “Cape Sailors Do Sa Proud in Portuguese Competition”. A group of Cape sailors this week achieved amazing success in Portugal, winning the silver and bronze medals in the Laser SB3 World Championships, competing against 56 top teams in an international fleet of leading Sailing nations.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2009 09 11 716
Comments, thoughts and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za
About “On This Day”
It was towards the end of September last year, yes 2019, that I started “On This Day. A Newspaper History of Sailing.” So nearly a year has passed without a day being missed and without there being any newspaper news or pics available in my newspaper archives to share.
It all started while I was 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 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, and that of our sport.
This is my personal crusade, and instead of simply archiving and keeping the contents away from prying eyes, I share my spoils in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing as much as I do.
As of the end of September the format will change as it’s simply not sustainable to continue for another full year on a similar basis. I have some 25 000 scanned newspaper cuttings, and have used the best so far – but as in life some variation and change is required. What those changes are I have not crystallised yet, and would enjoy feedback from followers of this Blog as to what they would like to see.
I have tons of material available – from every single issue of SA Yachting, Yachtsman RSA (newspaper – remember it?) and Sailing Inland & offshore Magazine. Between those publications – from October 1957 until June 2017 – a period spanning 60 years of coverage of the sport of sailing in this country – I have in my possession.
I am scanning every single issue of those 60 years – that’s 720 issues – and digitising them to get the fullest value possible from them. So far I have uncovered some incredible gems in their pages, and will share these as we go.
Plus I have a photographic archive of photographs in b/w negative format, colour negative, colour slide (transparency) and photographic prints I intend to scan, digitise and share with the sailing community at large.
But all this takes time – and is a slow process – so all I ask is for patience.
My plea thought – to all followers and everyone interested in the history of sailing in RSA, is to please assist me by sharing their personal archives, pics, press cuttings and whatever with me, so that I can scan them and share them. My promise is that I will treat them with the utmost care, and get them back to you safely.
To date, the response to “On This Day. A Newspaper History of Sailing” has been phenomenal, and it’s heartening to see how many people appreciate, LIKE and SHARE the material I have shared in the past year. And this is from ‘Saffers’ and others who have lived and sailed here, or have travelled internationally to sail here.
I am overwhelmed by the response – and thank all those who have personally made contact.
Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.
As each scanned cutting and article is searchable, I am able to create presentation packs personally tailored to a persons exact requirements – ie. Rothmans 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) – for those who want a record of his/her sailing career for the family archives.
I have already done this by scanning in excess of 18 000 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 as it all simply gets better every single day!
So sit back, grab a cup of your favourite brew, and enjoy what’s on offer today.
