On This Day – 17 December. A Newspaper History of Sailing

by Richard Crockett

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

Today the written word plays a minor role in our history with the power of pictures taking pride of place. So be sure to follow the link to see all the pics.

1987. “Pole Has Done it Already: the Hard Way”. Many of the skippers and crew taking part in next month’s Cape to Rio yacht race will be sailing far out into the South Atlantic for the first time in their lives. But some have already made the transatlantic crossing, in one direction or the other.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1970 12 17 825

1987. Generous Sponsorship Boosts Nationals”. Sea Harvest have given the Junior and Youth Nationals a welcome boost by its generous sponsorship.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1987 12 17 6

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 4000 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