Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.
1969. “Yacht to Sail Round World”. Retired Royal Navy Commander Bill King (59) left Plymouth yesterday on his second attempt to sail non-stop round the world.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1969 09 22 – Pfotenhauer – 000106
1970. “38 Yachts for Rio Race”. Thirty eight boats from nine countries are already entered in the Cape to Rio yacht race – the first of it’s kind and the longest ocean yacht race in the world – which starts from Cape Town on January 16.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1970 09 22 512
1985. “Scouts’ Sail Adventure”. South African Harbours, as part of their contribution to the 1985 Youth Year, have selected the Sea Scouts to spend a week on an ocean-going yacht.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1985 09 22 – 000038
1989. “Drama on the High Seas”. It’s been 24 hours of drama in the fiercely contested Crystic Beachcomber Crossing with one boat being dismasted, another almost sunk by a whale and an emergency transfer of a woman sailor who broke a rib in rough seas.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1989 09 22 – 000132
1994. “Golden Sovereign Increases Her Lead”. A tremendous 24-hour run of over 200 SAILING nautical miles has Golden Sovereign firmly in the lead in the Point Yacht Club’s Mauritius Crossing race.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1994 09 22 997
1997. “Speaking A Language of Courage and Daring”. I wouldn’t do it …
This I decided after spending a few minutes on board the EF Language yacht with South African-born Marco Constant – one of the crew members who sailed into Cape Town yesterday after completing the first 7 000-mile leg of the 32 000-mile Whitbread Round the World Race.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1997 09 22 266
2004. “Fair Winds and Happy Sailing”. She will sail anything that floats, that is how passionate Lyn Griffiths of East London Yacht Club is about sailing. Griffiths is also the first female Commodore at the EL yacht club.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2004 09 22 488
2004. “Shosholoza II to Carry America’s Cup Hopes”. They gained valuable experience during the Louis Vuitton Act 1 regatta in Marseille, France. Now Team Shosholoza, South Africa’s first entry in the America’s Cup, is looking forward to sailing a more competitive version, writes Henri du Plessis.
A new Shosholoza will be ready to do battle at sea as early as June next year.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2004 09 22 – stitched final
2005. “Luxurious Fishing Vessel Sinks Near Mozambique”. Luxurious charter yacht Mieke, South Africa’s only sail-driven commercial fishing boat, sank due to unknown causes off the coast of Mozambique on Sunday morning.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2005 09 22 527
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.
