On This Day – 30 January. 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. “Dicey Spinnaker Run in 30-knot Wind”. Yachtsmen had to cope with gale force winds in the annual False Bay Yacht Club long distance race last weekend. The race, with 14 entries, started in a 30-knot southeaster, and owing to an unexpected increase in wind strength a short course of about 22 miles was set.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 01 30 583

1985. “‘Silent’ Yacht Could Surprise”. Relishing strong winds found in the last lap from Trinidad to Uruguay, the two leading Maxis, Apple Macintosh and Momentum Life have sailed into second and third places on handicap.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1985 01 30 320 42

1987. “Terlain Leaves Pack Behind”. Jean-Yves Terlain in the radical-looking canary coloured ocean racer with the jaw-breaking name UAP-Pour Medecins Sans Frontieres was well out in front of the pack again yesterday in the third leg of the BOC round – the world race.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1987 01 30 49

1990. “Dias Just Two Months Away”. The second Bartolomeu Dias race from Cape town to Lisbon, one of the longest blue water races in the world, is little more than two months’ away. Organisers are expecting at least 30 boats at the starting line on March 31.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 01 30 725

1990. “Masterly Meek Takes First Agulhas Stage”. Springbok yachtsman Geoffrey Meek, sailing Club Mykonos, showed his mastery of the sport when he crossed the line for the first leg of the Anglo-Alpha Agulhas race at Mossel Bay about four hours ahead of Ian Martin, sailing the larger yacht Get More Fun.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 01 30 383 19

1992. “Durban’s Ainslie to Go to Barcelona”. It’s official – Durban yachtsman Ian Ainslie will be travelling to the Barcelona Olympic Games to represent South Africa in the Finn Class in July.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1992 01 30 521_Redacted

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

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