On This Day – 2 February. A Newspaper History of Sailing

1985 02 02 320 11 2 1987 02 02 5 2005 02 02 194 2009 02 02 806 2011 02 02 962by 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. “Drama As Yachts Have to ‘Mark Time’. The South Atlantic yacht race between Cape Town and Punta del Este in Uruguay, took a dramatic turn yesterday when the two leading yachts, Apple Macintosh and Momentum Life, were forced to mark time less than 400 miles from the finish while the rest of the fleet raced on to close the gap.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 02 02 320 11 2

1987. “Kookaburra Trounced and Conner Goes Two Up”. Stars and Stripes skipper Dennis Conner, in total harmony with the heavy seas, handed Kookaburra III another thrashing yesterday and is now within two races of recapturing the America’s Cup.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1987 02 02 5

2005. “Team Shosholoza Charts Course for A Win. R100 Million Sponsorship Buoys Sailors”. Massive global sponsorship for Shosholoza – South Africa’s America’s Cup contender – has taken the highly motivated team to a new level.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2005 02 02 194

2009. “Breakages, Winds Hit Shosholoza”. Time lost in repairing one of the four yachts being used by all ten international teams competing in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, and building winds, forced a postponement of the match between South Africa’s Team Shosholoza and Italy’s Luna Rossa in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2009 02 02 806

2011. “City of Cape Town Looks Set for Rio Handicap Victory”. Gerry Hegie and his crew of four Capetonians and four Brazilians crossed the finish line of the Heineken Cape to Rio Race early yesterday; after a frustrating three-hour calm just short of the finish, to be the top contenders for the coveted South Atlantic Trophy; given to the winning boat on handicap.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2011 02 02 962

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 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