On This Day – 15 February. A Newspaper History of Sailing

by Richard Crockett

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have 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.

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

1985. “Ocean Race Ends for Wings”. Wings, the Port Elizabeth sloop in the 1985 South Atlantic Race, reached Punta Del Este, Uruguay, yesterday after 33 days at sea.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 02 15 453

1985. “Yacht Girls Want Backer”.  An all-woman crew wants a backer to enable it to compete in South Africa’s first trans-Indian ocean international yacht race which starts in Mauritius on Friday, September 27.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 02 15 350

1990. “Club Mykonos Favoured”.  The second major ocean-yachting event of the year, the Sea Harvest Saldanha ocean race from Table Bay to Langebaan Lagoon, gets underway from the Royal Cape Yacht Club at 7 pm today, with Keith Bellamy’s Spirit of Club Mykonos, skippered by Geoff Meek, as the hot favourite to win.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 02 15 169

1991. “Park-Ross to Defend Indian Ocean Title”. Point Yacht Club’s “Yachtsman of the Year” Iain Park-Ross, overall winner of the last Beachcomber Mauritius to Durban race, will be defending his title in September.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 02 15 850

1992. “Yachtsman Slates SA’s ‘Gung Ho’ Escapers”. The escape from Maputo harbour by South Africans charged with plundering wrecks off Maputo could be disastrous for cruising yachtsmen, who can now expect a hostile reception from the Mozambican authorities.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1992 02 15 829

2005. “Crew Hurt As Yacht Hits Whale”. Two sailors were injured and another flung overboard when South Africa’s America’s Cup training yacht, Shosholozo, hit a whale during training in Table Bay off Cape Town yesterday.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2005 02 15 949

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.

Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have made contact.

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 do, 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. 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) who want a record of his/her sailing career for the family archives.

I have already done this by scanning in excess of 10 000 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.

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