Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.
1969. “Famous Yacht is Back”. Two items of cargo of major interest to South African yachtsmen arrive in Cape Town by sea this week.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1969 09 17 – Pfotenhauer – 000100
1990. “Martin Takes Early Lead in World Race”. South Africa’s John Martin, sailing his radical hi-tech racer Allied Bank, went into an early lead yesterday in the 1990-91 BOC Challenge singlehanded race around the world.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1990 09 17 – 000356
1991. “Top Racing Yacht Sinks”. One of Cape Town’s top racing yachts, the R1-million Spilhaus, has hit·a reef and sunk near here. Springbok sailor Ted Kuttel was at the wheel.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1991 09 17 854
1992. “New Optimists Launched At Start of Season”. Redhouse Yacht Club opened the new racing season last weekend, sporting a new extension to the clubhouse in the form of a junior training centre.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1992 09 17 426 28_Redacted
1996. “Double Cape Race Now A Royal Occasion”. The involvement of the Dutch Royal family, Cape Point’s global status as a sailing landmark and the participation of top international yachtsman have transformed next weekend’s De Nederlandsche Club Double Cape yacht race into a truly international classic.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1996 09 17 216
1998. “Bone of Contention Sailors Check Rigging”. This weekend sees the Bone of Contention regatta being sailed at East London Yacht Club.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1998 09 17 307
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 (www.sailing.co.za).
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.
